Taken by the Aliens

by Anna Lewis

  She straightened her back with greater confidence, imagining the entire scene to be part of one of her movies. “Let me speak to my friend Belinda. She’s my only family and I want to let her know I’m okay.”

  He paused for a while, thinking. Then he shook his head. “It would put us all in a risky position.”

  “But…”

  “Are you done?” he followed up quickly in a cool voice. “I’m busy.”

  Fuck this asshole of a prince, Lindy thought, her blood boiling again. You’re a heartless bastard and if not for the kind Vortons I’ve become friends with, I hope you lose that damn war!

  The prince’s cool gaze turned into a glare for just a second, but it was gone so quickly she may have conjured it up. “You wanted to say something else?” he asked in that nonchalant tone again.

  In a snap of a finger, Lindy teared up and feigned weakness. Maybe, just maybe, playing “girl in distress” will work better. It does with most men. She played it up well, and on screen it would have earned her a Best Actress Award! However, she just couldn’t make herself beg. She simply explained that she’d been feeling homesick and it had been making her feel ill.

  Her tears began to feel real, and she could sense her heart constricting as she recalled the frightening storm in her mind. Her shoulders began to shake as her sobs increased. “Just let me go home…”

  She thought it was working at first because his distant eyes seemed to be softening. But then, when he finally spoke, her cheeks flamed and her entire body heated with anger at his words.

  “Lindy, you’re really a gifted actress,” he started. “Unfortunately, we’re not into movies here. We have much better, more important things to take care of. Don’t waste my time and yours. So if you’re done with your drama, you can go find our Head Cleaner to talk about your new job for tomorrow.”

  Lindy straightened up and wiped her tears away as she glowered at the retreating back of the prince. “Asshole,” she muttered, wanting to strangle him.

  ***

  The next few days were busy for Lindy as she was trained to be one of the cleaners in the training area. Since she’d grown up helping her aunt with house chores and working as a student, she was able to adjust well to the job. It entailed tough tasks, but she wanted to prove to the prince and to herself that she could do it all excellently.

  She often worked in silence, focusing all her energy on completing tasks efficiently. The Head Cleaner would frequently praise her and even said that he admired her for doing such an amazing job at this despite her celebrity status back home. He was beginning to feel like a big brother to her, which was quite endearing.

  There were times when she would feel so degraded, but she would immediately try to shift her perspective, thinking that this was a great way for her to stay in shape and to strengthen her body.

  She remembered all those assistants who had been at her beck and call. She felt bad for all those moments when she’d felt so pressured at work that she sometimes took it out on them, snapping, or giving orders without a care in the world. During those times, she forgot about her past and it always made her feel guilty—especially now.

  Often Prince Kristan would pass by as he was on his way to his office or to a meeting. He’d greet the other cleaners, but to her he would nod in acknowledgement only. Well, at least he was being polite enough. Maybe he was afraid of what the other cleaners might think.

  One time when she’d seen him rounding a corner in the building, she had followed him with her eyes as he spoke to a device in his watch. When he’d abruptly turned around, their eyes had accidentally met. She’d felt something inside of her jump, but he’d simply shifted his gaze and ignored her.

  Lindy, you better watch it, she had warned herself. You are not crushing on this guy! You’re too old for that and it was never your style. Besides, he’s not even worthy of your attention. He is the least worthy! Yet she couldn’t deny the physical attraction that drew her to him and activated her senses into full alert every time he was around.

  One morning, despite the exhaustion of Lindy’s body from the work of the past weeks, she woke up at dawn and decided to watch the sunrise on the beach. It had been a long time since she’d last seen it, and she was hoping it would again have that magical effect on her. She needed to rest and refresh her mind, heart, and spirit.

  As she walked down the stretch of the shore, absorbing the beauty of the sky and the heat of the sun, she started to relax. She pushed away all worries about her present and future, and simply concentrated on the spectacular view, the grains of sand rubbing against her bare feet, and the cool breeze blowing on her face.

  Her blonde hair danced in the wind, along with the hem of her long skirt which she had paired with a sweater-type top that one of the ladies had given her. Her anxiety seemed to melt away as the minutes passed by and the sun finally rose above the sea, shining radiantly.

  She was about to head back, ready to face reality again with renewed strength and conviction, when she saw a figure hunched under a tree near the beach. Her heart skipped a beat as she came nearer and she recognized the muscular body of the prince, bent forward while seated on the ground, his arms casually resting on his folded knees. His handsome face was shadowed by the tree’s leaves, but she could see that he had not shaved for a while.

  Despite his treatment of her over the recent weeks, her heart went out to him. She wondered if he was still worried about that spy, or if his father remained doubtful of his ability to lead the army to victory. It was such a huge burden to carry.

  She took several steps in the other direction, knowing she might be late for her tasks that day, but something seemed to pull her back toward the prince. She looked back and gazed at him in silence. He didn’t look as intimidating at that moment. He didn’t even resemble a prince or an army chief or the leader of a planet. In that instant, he was just an ordinary man looking forlorn, needing a friend, as he stared out into the ocean.

  Pushing her second thoughts aside, she plodded over to plop down on the ground beside him. I am Lindy Miles, famous multi-awarded actress! she thought to herself proudly, gaining confidence as she recalled her career achievements.

  She hadn’t realized she’d positioned herself a bit closer to him than she’d planned. Their shoulders grazed, making him throw her a look of disbelief. Even through the sweater she had on, she could feel the heat passing between them.

  He regarded her with interest for some time, which made her feel really self-conscious. But then his intense brown eyes narrowed, the golden sparks darkening too. He was obviously taken aback by her boldness in approaching him.

  “You,” he said in a terse voice. But he did not move away.

  Her eyes met with his. She smiled bravely, trying to look friendly. “Hi, Prince Kristan,” she said casually. “So, you’ve decided to watch the sunrise again today.”

  He ignored her and faced forward again in silence.

  Lindy tucked her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs and following his gaze. They sat side by side in silence for a few minutes before he finally spoke again.

  “I don’t need a friend right now, Lindy,” he said bluntly, motioning for her to leave. “And we’re not even friends to begin with.”

  Lindy could feel her cheeks flaming. Here he was pushing her away again. She had never made a fool of herself so many times in front of the same person in her entire life. And she’d never before had to keep asserting herself to any man.

  “Why are you mean to me? I didn’t do anything bad to you…” Lindy said in a sharp tone, trying to control her rising anger. “You don’t seem as harsh to the others. Is it because I’m an outsider?”

  He breathed deeply then turned to face her again, looking her in the eye.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she found her face inches away from his. She felt herself becoming entranced by the mysterious golden sparks gliding across his eyes, their color dimming and brightening alternately. It seemed to si
gnal the emotions he was keeping locked inside.

  “Maybe it’s just wrong timing for you and me,” he whispered.

  What is he saying? she wondered with a mixture of puzzlement and excitement.

  He continued. “What I’m saying is that we could have been good friends if we had met a long time ago… back when I didn’t have to worry about my people’s welfare or about my planet’s future…”

  “Hmmm… I find that hard to believe somehow,” Lindy told him. “I can’t picture you as someone relaxed or friendly at all. But well, something told me a while ago that I’m the only one with the guts to approach you and offer a shoulder to cry on. Come on! Try me. I’m a good listener!”

  “You are one weird, persistent woman,” he noted, frowning. “But I don’t need a shoulder to cry on as you put it. I’m perfectly fine.”

  Lindy laughed. “Suit yourself!”

  To her astonishment, he chuckled. Then with a bit of hesitation, he eventually said, “Maybe you’re right. And everybody else is right about me too. I’ve become too obsessed with this upcoming war.”

  “Well, I would be miserable too if I lost a really important acting award that I was expecting to win,” Lindy said in understanding, already hating the imagined scene and knowing she would do whatever it took to win the next time around.

  “You’ve heard of my story…”

  Lindy nodded with a grin. “Word gets around.”

  “Yeah, well… Guess even Vortons can gossip.”

  Lindy actually giggled. “Oh. My. God.”

  “What?” he said in confusion.

  “You just cracked a witty remark!” Then scrunching her nose, she retracted her comment. “Well, not so witty but just… something not so serious.”

  Kristan gave her a strange but obviously amused look.

  She felt her heart soaring. “You know what I mean,” she said quickly, looking away.

  Then to her shock, she felt his hand touching her knee very gently. “Thanks, Lindy,” he said in a genuine tone that made her face him again. “I really appreciate it.”

  A few seconds of silence passed as she felt the physical attraction increasing between them. She could feel its thick presence in the air, making her imagination fly. But she stopped it before it got further. Besides, he had that smirk on his lips again, as if he knew something that she didn’t.

  “Okay, tell you what!” Lindy said excitedly, wanting to break the spell just to relieve herself of the invisible tension. Her blue eyes twinkled as she came up with a bright idea. “How about we play hooky for today?” she suggested. “Just for today, like high school kids cutting classes for the first time!”

  He laughed then. “You’re crazy, human lady!”

  She grinned. Her heart fluttered from the way the sound of the nickname rolled off his tongue. It wasn’t anything romantic, but it was still special. She was different to him, and that made a difference. What’s more, he was just so cute when he wasn’t busy being an uptight prince preparing for war.

  “When was the last time you did something crazy?” Lindy said curiously, nudging his shoulder with hers.

  He was surprised again, but seemingly captivated now. “Uh, never?” he said, shrugging.

  It was her turn to laugh aloud. “Seriously? Not even when you were a kid?!”

  He shook his head, chuckling. “Was always a good kid.”

  Lindy turned serious then. “You’re always seeking your father’s approval. Must be tough to follow in the King’s footsteps, huh?”

  He seemed amused again despite her bringing up his father. “You read my mind.”

  Lindy smiled. “It’s my secret power!”

  Kristan shook his head in incredulity, but he was smiling from ear to ear.

  “Come on!” Lindy said, suddenly getting up. As she did, her toe caught on a rock causing her lose her balance. She gave a slight shriek as she fell backwards on the prince, awkwardly ending up in a sitting position on his knees! But to her delight, he had his arms around her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked with concern.

  She nodded, suddenly speechless. She hastily clambered to her feet and hurried down the trail. “Let’s go!” she called.

  Following reluctantly, he was shaking his head and chuckling. “Where are we going?”

  “I want to show you something,” Lindy shouted. She led the way to the edge of the island that she had explored a few days previously. It wasn’t a long walk and there was a trail that was barely visible, which had obviously not been used frequently.

  As they fell into step together, she felt him beginning to loosen up and become more comfortable with her. She was very pleased to see that she still had that ability. If it wasn’t to seduce men, at least it was helpful in making people feel more at ease just as she’d accomplished with the rest of the Vorton community.

  They finally came to a stop in front of a small cave entrance. She studied his face and knew he did not know about its existence.

  “When did you discover this cave, Lindy?” he asked, turning all serious again.

  “Let me think…” she paused. “I think just a few days ago when I was looking for materials for the craftswomen in the community…”

  “You’re helping them out?” he asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, why? Is that bad?” she asked defiantly.

  “No, no!” he immediately answered. “Just…interesting.”

  She led the way into the dark cave. “It’s a small one, but there are no animals here inside, I believe… I did see some odd-looking gadgets that I think you should check out.”

  “Gadgets?” he repeated curiously, quickening his step to follow her further into the cave. The pathway was quite dark now as they ventured farther from the entrance.

  Lindy had no slippers on, but she didn’t really care. She’d gotten used to the feeling of bare earth beneath her feet, and sort of enjoyed it now. Besides, it was less slippery when navigating inside a cave.

  “Just a few more steps…” she said without looking back. “Come on, hurry…”

  She came to a sudden stop when she reached a point where there was a drop from the ground. “Whoa!” she cried out, almost falling forward. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back. She felt her body pressing against Kristan’s and it took all her self-control not to turn around and start kissing him.

  “Be careful,” he whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her neck temptingly.

  She was breathing heavily now, her heart feeling as if it would burst out of her chest. And for a moment, she forgot what they were doing there.

  He pulled her closer, his hands enfolding her tightly. She could feel his chin on the side of her head. “What did you want to show me, Lindy?” he asked then.

  “Uh…” She could not even think straight!

  He slowly moved her to his side. “Is it down there? I’ll go first.”

  She was so wrapped up in the rising temperature of her body and the crazy thudding of her heart that she didn’t have the energy to even protest.

  To her disappointment, he let her go and sidestepped her to take a peek down below. He shone a light from his watch to check the height of the drop. “It’s not far at all,” he said. “It’s safe to jump. Wait here, though… Let me go first.”

  He jumped to the ground below and called out to her. “Lindy?”

  She took a deep breath, looked down and met his eyes. Somehow, she knew she could trust this alien prince. Without thinking any further, she went down to a sitting position on the edge before jumping—straight into his waiting arms.

  They stood there face to face, staring at each other. And because he didn’t immediately let her go, she followed her instinct and placed both arms around his neck.

  Kiss me, she demanded in her head, eager to feel his moist lips on hers. But aloud she started to say, “Prince Kristan, I—“

  He didn’t let her finish. He swooped down fast and kissed her on the lips, taking her by surprise. Her
heart felt like it exploded as their lips caressed one another passionately. Their tongues met in a fiery dance of desire, the sexual tension between them mounting dangerously.

  They kissed some more, oblivious to their surroundings. But abruptly, the prince stopped as the desire they had for each other started to escalate. He gently pulled back.

  “What’s wrong?” Lindy asked, out of breath.

  “Nothing,” he answered with raspy breathing, trying to calm himself down. He quickly took his eyes away from her and changed the subject. “So where are the gadgets you were telling me about?”

  Still feeling elated but a bit disappointed, Lindy wordlessly pointed to the black velvet string bag hidden in a crease in between some rocks.

  Kristan seemed to have forgotten about her as he examined the old, worn-out gadgets in the bag. There were a few crumpled papers that were confidential documents regarding the army in the bag with them.

  “Those papers weren’t there before…” Lindy said, puzzled.

  “It means that the spy recently returned here,” Prince Kristan said thoughtfully. “He may have been in the training building or within the army grounds the past few days. I will have the security cameras checked.”

  Lindy was already running through the people she’d seen over the past few days while she’d been cleaning up in the training area.

  “Have you noticed anything weird lately?” the prince pressed on. “Maybe someone who looked suspicious or even a soldier who wasn’t supposed to be in a particular place at the time…”

  Lindy tried to recall the memories. She remembered wondering why that quiet soldier often went inside the officers’ hall when he wasn’t even an officer yet.

  “Branzon, the new graduate?” Kristan blurted out, his eyes clouding over in deep thought. He took out a communication device from his pocket and started snapping commands to one of the officers.

  Lindy then had a picture of Kay’s boyfriend Calone in her mind. She remembered seeing him just yesterday, rushing out of the training building but trying to act nonchalant. It was almost night time then.

  Kristan stopped speaking into the device he had on his hand. He turned to her and barked, “Calone? What the hell was he doing there?!”