“I would frequently get myself thrown in the dungeon in order to meet with leaders of the other prison camps. One time, a high priest of the Blacknor people, helped me eliminate several of the guards that were raping our women using a poison that we slipped into the water offered to the wicked men. More than once, one of the Blacknor would leave vials of medicine or poison in the corner of the dungeons buried in the dirt. The Blacknor leader told me that the beastly horned people of Estormia were working the wooded hills knocking down the trees and tending the ona herds in pastures created after the trees are gone.”
“The truth is Son; there may be many more work camps that I don’t even know about. It’s surprising that it only took Gatton only forty years to destroy UV-49. As of now, he has spent the last ten working on obliterating Drylon. No telling just how many other planets in the universe have died by his hand. We can still save Drylon if we act fast. Aggressive terra-farming and other means can probably reverse all the harm done. I don’t want to see another planet’s inhabitants suffer like those of UV-49 as long as I live.”
Chapter 6
Ceran loved to watch Laura in the market. From her work with the other earth women and in the clinic in the hospital, she knew many more people than he thought she did. They walked around from booth to booth looking at all the merchandise that the vendors had to offer. She spent most of her time around the clothing stands. She needed more clothes. Most of the clothing that she brought with her consisted of those unflattering green surgical scrubs that she wore at the hospital in San Francisco and her well-worn running clothes. When he asked her about why she did not bring more, she told him that she worked so much that she rarely had time to shop. He watched her come out of the little makeshift try-on rooms where a corner of the tent was blocked by a hanging sheet for privacy. She would come out and model the clothes and he would smile or shake his head. He was flattered that she seemed to value his opinion. She didn’t purchase anything that he didn’t like.
After she had finished buying clothes, she led him to a book vendor. “How hard do you think it would be for me to learn to read your books? I don’t have to speak your language because everyone here has translation chips. But, I would love to read some of these books as well as some of the ones we have in the library at home.” He watched as she flipped through an old volume titled “The Illustrated History of Theron.”
“As fast as you learn, you could probably read that in a month. Do you know what you are looking at?” He asked as he edged his way closer to her. He leaned in close touching his chest to her shoulder and pointed at the pictures with his finger. He wondered if she felt it too. That shock of electricity that instantly tracked its way to his heart, making it beat faster. The rapid increase in his heart rate would result in that shot of adrenalin that tended to make him light-headed. “This is a legend of how we came to be on this planet. Those are the moons of Theron right here. It is said that we were brought here by the Gods, although nobody knows why.”
He shrugged his shoulders and added, “It’s one of those heavily debated stories that the teachers and philosophers used to argue over time and time again. Did our original planet die before we were brought here by the Gods? Are we making the same disastrous mistakes when we engaged in war with the Drylon’s and our cities were destroyed? Are we finding our way back to nature among the trees and living the way we are today because of something we learned in the past? There are many questions about why we are so blessed by the Gods now,” He took her free hand and laid a kiss on her knuckles. “I know that the Gods have truly blessed me with you. You are so beautiful, smart, and everything I could want in a woman. It is like the Gods took my order and offered me the perfect gift, you.”
He could see the pink color rise into her cheeks. He actually made her blush. “You are really sweet.” She looked at the vendor and said, “I will take this one.”
The vendor was a Phesian and had a thick, dry, cracked gray skin. He grunted out the cost and she dug into her purse. She dropped several coins into his dry, cracked hands. His black tipped fingernails showed when he closed his fist and turned to put them into an ornately carved stained wooden box with beautiful metal scrollwork. He wore silk looking robes of many colors that bellowed out into the wind with each of his graceful steps. His eyes were huge and almond shaped with dark violet irises that were lined with thick black eyelashes. His nose was long and hooked down to his chin with his mouth just under it. Putting the book into her bag, she looked up at Ceran and asked, “Can we get something to eat now? I’m hungry.”
“Sure,” he led her out to the food court area and they looked among the vendors. Over to the right, she saw a booth that she had not seen before. The area under the counter was painted brightly with many colorful, odd looking fruits and vegetables. She started pulling him to the stand and he immediately recognized one of the earth females behind the counter.
“Sarah, is that you? How are you?” Laura asked. He watched her step behind the counter and give the woman a hug.
“I am pretty good. Jacko is doing great too.” She called the little rewa to her and it jumped up on her shoulder. He remembered the day on the ship when he and Brylon got the crazy idea to buy each of their mates a rewa. Emma loved her pet and even got two more. Jacko, Laura’s rewa got lonely and sad when Laura started working so much that she really couldn’t care for it like she should. Rewas require a lot of attention and love. One day, Laura ran into Sarah on the ship and noticed that she was having a terrible time adjusting to the new environment, not unlike several of the other earth women she had run into that day. She offered to let Sarah have Jacko, her little blue rewa. It was probably the best thing that Laura could have done for her little pet. Jacko moved along Sarah’s shoulder hiding just under the tips of her brightly colored hair and waved timidly at Laura with a big silly grin on his face.
“How is Donal?” Laura had met Sarah’s mate on the day that she collected the DNA evidence for Grace’s trust. With all the work she had been doing, she had not seen Sarah since then.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve spoken, hasn’t it?” Sarah said as she petted Jacko on her shoulder. “Let me make you guys a smoothie and I’ll join you. Then, we can catch up.” Sarah disappeared behind the counter of the stand and measured out several cups of what looked like vegetables and fruit and blended them. She brought a big frosty glass mug to each of them and had a seat at the table.
Laura noticed Sarah had changed drastically in appearance from the first time they had met. In the holding room, Sarah looked like a human pin cushion with long unkempt dreadlocks that were brightly colored pink and electric blue. Now, the only jewelry she wore was a stud in her nose, a small gold ring in her left eyebrow, some small dangling earrings that replaced the gauges she once wore. The holes in her earlobes from the large gauges were beginning to shrink back. Her hair was cut to just above her shoulders now, and while still colorful at the tips she could see the roots of her natural brown hair coloring starting to show. She had the numerous tattoos on her body including the “Alice in Wonderland, through the rabbit hole” motif going down both of her legs. Her hands had beautiful patterns similar to the henna tattoos that Indian brides and their women of her wedding party would paint on their hands before the marriage. On her arms were varying Celtic knots and tribal tattoos. It seemed that very little of her body was not covered with a tattoo. Only her face and neck did not have any visible ink. She seemed happy here and finally at peace.
Jacko was squeaking wildly to get a taste of the food that she brought for him. She lifted a berry up to her shoulder for him to take from her. “It really has been awhile since we talked. I’m not with Donal anymore.” She set each mug before each of them. “These are on the house. Let me know what you think.”
“What?” Laura and Ceran said loudly at the same time. Jacko started to climb down Sarah’s arm and inched nearer to Laura, who was closer to the bowl of his tasty treats.
&n
bsp; “For the record, on the house means that you don’t have to pay.” Sarah giggled. Laura looked over at Ceran and knew that she must have the same expression plastered on her face. “I know,” She laughed again, “You two look funny. Anyway, Donal and I really did not get along very well. I think that he misjudged me by my appearance. I am sure that you will agree that I wouldn’t be considered ‘normal’ even on our planet.”
Laura nodded her head understanding her meaning and said, “But, I don’t judge you like that.”
Sarah quickly said as if to clarify what she meant, “No, I know that Laura. But, I think him and everyone else here thought I was a different kind of person. I don’t know if you would believe me if I told you about myself. I am a vegan. I don’t drink alcohol or do drugs of any kind. After having to take care of my mom as a child, I was determined that I wasn’t going to end up like her. My mother was a stripper. When I was a kid, I would spend my evenings looking for her in her favorite bars on the Vegas strip. Most the time she was drunk or high on some type of drug. She wasn’t too proud to prostitute herself for drugs or alcohol. She died when I was 16. I was forced by the state to live in a group home until I turned 18.”
“The day I was taken from the earth, I was walking to the Vegan grocery that I managed. You could only imagine the reaction of the other girls in the room when I was brought up to the holding room to join them. I was surrounded by a group of ‘normal’ looking girls. I was the only one with tattooed sleeves and blue and pink hair. When Aten came in and told us we would be going up for auction, I knew my appearance would dictate how I was treated or cared for. Then, soon after, I was brought into a room with a bunch of screaming men unable to understand what was being said around me. I could tell that they thought I was strange. If only I could have understood what was being said at the time.”
“It was no surprise to me that when Donal brought me back to his quarters after the auction he thought that I was wild. He naturally expected me to be much different than I really was. In the end, he was disappointed in what he got for his money. It wasn’t easy living with him either. We fought all the time. Sometimes he would hit me.”
“Right before we left Earth’s orbit, I couldn’t take it anymore. I spoke to the Commander about being put up for auction again. I was told that the auctions would have to wait until we reached Theron. Commander Zeb said that I would be unsafe on the ship without a mate to protect me. Apparently, a bonding ceremony is necessary for our safety.” Laura looked quizzically at Ceran. “He assigned me a personal guard and moved me to a different stateroom on the ship. Then, all Hell broke loose. The ship was being attacked and though I didn’t know at the time, Avery was gone.” Sarah tenderly patted the little rewa as he ate another berry. Jacko looked up at her affectionately with his big bright eyes. Laura could hear the small ball of fur start to purr at her touch.
“The guard assigned to me brought me and my belongings to my new stateroom. He despised me at first. He watched over my door just as he was instructed to, but I could tell that he wanted more than anything to be on the scout team assigned to find Avery on UV-49. He later admitted to me. He said that for a time resented me for having caused him to be assigned to some useless guard duty. Apparently, there is nothing worse than guarding a poor human unmated female. Frankly, I thought he was a bit whiny when I met him.” She giggled.
“Anyway, he came into my stateroom to check on me when the first pulsar blasts hit the ship, and that’s when it happened. The ship quaked with each hit and when an especially hard blast shook the ship, I fell into his arms and he caught me. We held onto each other for a while. When the battle was over, we found ourselves talking about everything. We soon discovered that we had more in common than we once thought we did. When we finally arrived at the planet Theron, I was assigned a small room at the base until I could be put up for auction. Donal had been very vocal about the sort of bride I was. His stories had reached many warriors and consequently there weren’t many bidders. I was surprised when my guard placed a bid and won the auction.” She popped a couple of berries in her mouth and started to chew them.
“So who’s the lucky warrior?” Ceran asked.
“Manko.” She said with a smile.
“Manko, I know him. He has long hair and works security under Zeb’s command. Am I right?” Ceran said.
“That’s him. In fact, his parents own a farm where I get all my fruit and veggies. That’s his sister Lena behind the counter. How did you like the smoothies, by the way?” Sarah asked.
Both Laura and Ceran said at the same time, “It’s delicious.” Laura could taste the tangy fruit of the yazo berries and something that tasted like banana. “What is in this?” Laura asked.
Sara started listing the ingredients one by one as Jacko inched closer to Laura. She hadn’t seen him in so long. He smiled at her and showed his little, pointed teeth covered with pink berry juice. She slowly eased her finger out to pet him. He backed away at first, but then reconsidered. He inched forward to sniff her fingers. Then, all at once as if he remembered who she was, he jumped into her arms. She stroked his soft downy fur, tickling just under his jaw where he liked it. She was glad that he didn’t hate her for giving him away. She always wondered how he would react if when and he ever saw her again. After all, rewas were supposed to be intelligent little creatures.
Sarah looked affectionately at her rewa and said, “Jacko is great. Thanks for giving him to me Laura. I don’t know what I’d have done without him. He was the only salvation I had when I was trapped with Donal.”
“I am glad that you could take him and shower him with so much love. He looks so happy with you. I would have never been able to give him the attention that he deserved working as much as I do. It’s nice that he can come with you to work. He really hated being alone. Giving him to you was the best thing that I could have done for him.” She smiled up at Sarah as she picked Jacko up off her chest and handed him over to her. “Thanks for the smoothie and the story. I am glad that you have finally found your happiness with Manko. He sounds like a great guy.”
Ceran added, “He is an honorable warrior. I am happy for the both of you.” Looking over to Laura, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, but if you will both excuse me for a minute, I have to go and check on my patients.” She walked away from the two. Ceran had greeted Lena and was talking to Sarah, probably telling her a story about her mate and they all started to laugh loudly. Meanwhile, she called and checked on Emma. It was a relief to find out that Emma was doing great and would probably be ready for release tomorrow. She rejoined Sarah and Ceran at the stand.
“What a story. We will have to get together soon.” Sarah hugged Laura and shook Ceran’s hand. “I will call and invite you guys over sometime soon.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Ceran said as they walked away from the food court.
“See you later Sarah. Goodbye Jacko,” Laura wriggled her finger to wave goodbye. She picked up her bag and walked off with her mate.
They walked in silence for a little while with Laura deep in thought. Ceran broke the silence by saying, “Is everything alright?”
“As I was listening to Sarah’s story, I realized that I don’t really know that much about you. I mean, I know what you’re doing now, but I don’t know anything about your past. I guess, I thought you would tell me more when you were ready. But, I’ve been thinking. Since our relationship becomes more intimate, maybe it’s time for you to tell me something about yourself.” He walked next to her, remaining silent. “You could start by telling me about your parents? Do you have any sisters and brothers? Where did you grow up? What experiences made you into the man you are today?”
He looked at her sincerely as if he wasn’t sure what to say. He was quiet for longer than she felt he should be. It was as if he was trying to make sure that he ordered the words correctly or something. Why was he so reluctant to talk about his past? What could this man, this perfect man for her, be afraid to
tell her? She waited patiently for his answer and finally it came, “My parents and brother and sisters were all killed during one of the first attacks on our planet by the Drylon’s. It is hard to describe where I grew up. It would probably be easier if I just showed you than it would be to tell you about it.” Something about his manner was off. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to ask him. Just when he stayed silent for just a moment too long, he asked, “Do you want to see where I grew up Laura?”
She could tell how hard it was for him. That upward tilt of his eyes when he smiled, which was just about all the time, was gone now. The brightness of the blue in his eyes became darker, ominous even. In her inexperience, she was worried that asking him to share with her a piece of his past would drive a wedge between them. However, she still wanted to know something, anything about this man that she was about to give her life to. “Yes, I would. But, we will go only if it is alright with you. Look, I hope you don’t think that I am prying and I’m certainly not trying make you upset. I really just want to know more about you.”
He looked at the ground for a minute as if to collect his thoughts. “It makes perfect sense. I know all about your family. You’ve answered every question that I’ve asked you. Honestly, you have the right to ask the same of me. I just want you to know that with regard to my family, I have some very painful memories. You had such a great childhood with your family. Mine wasn’t the same. You see, I haven’t been home in ten years. The last time I went there was several weeks after the attack. I’m afraid that I don’t even know what it will look like today, but I can promise you, that it won’t be like it was when I left it.” He cupped her face in his hands, looking into her eyes with tears brimming in his. “It is time that I shared my story with you. If we are going to be a mated couple, I need to tell you my story.”
The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) Page 8
