by Calista Skye
He had first thought that there might have been a terrible famine that had made everyone skinny, but then he had been told that thinness was just the fashion on the planet.
He had found it funny how this exquisitely round woman had fallen headlong at his feet, but he had been impressed with her composure. Not only didn't she stutter and blush when she had seen him, she had also been able to carry on a conversation with him, such as it was. She must have great self-esteem, the prince decided.
He had decided to keep her next to him because he enjoyed both her closeness and her alien way of moving. So graceless, yet so... alluring. And he liked the way she smelled, he had to confess to himself. In fact, he liked it very much.
And there was something else, something tugging at the edge of his consciousness... She awoke something in him, something he had never felt before.
The whole conference was not important, just a way to meet the earthlings and start some sort of trade agreement and appear relatively harmless. That way, the Earthlings would be completely taken by surprise when he later attacked and conquered the whole planet, taking it as his possession and adding it to his vast empire. He already thought of it as his empire, even though his father, the emperor, was still alive.
He only had one role in this meeting, and that was to give a short speech. Then he would leave, in order to not become too familiar with the Earthlings, and so preserve their sense of mystery.
And now, he was seriously considering taking that pleasantly curvy human female with him when he left.
A deep silence descended on the room as the prince slowly stood up and looked at the Earthlings with an expression that was carefully designed to be both warm and piercing.
He had not prepared the speech. Despite his young age, he had given hundreds of them and could talk about any topic in any foreign language for hours.
“Mister Ambassador,” he began. “Let this meeting be an everlasting memory about the friendship and good will between our two peoples. And let the peaceful existence reign while both our peoples take part in the warm intercourse we all feel.”
Huh? What had he said? Intercourse? Damn, he had to concentrate.
“In that spirit, let there be free trade and children and flowers and birds...”
What? This was nonsense! Children and birds? What on Derigaz was he saying? He felt a blush spreading across his face, a very unusual sensation for a prince regent whose word was law.
“I mean, let there be a spirit of co-existence and roses and love and long nights in passionate embrace...”
Oh dear Derigaz. He was spewing gibberish! He felt dizzy, and sweat was starting to form on his brow. He must have been poisoned. Someone must have wanted him to make a fool of himself!
He touched his forehead in despair and glanced at his delegation beside him. They were all staring up at him, alarmed at the unusual words he was using. Damn, he was supposed to be the Prince of Steel, the unyielding warlord, and here he was, publicly uttering words that were better suited for the poems of an adolescent girl! This had to stop.
The prince steadied himself on the conference table.
“Let me emphasize that my father the emperor, his people and I, their regent, only wish for the love of a good woman and the ecstasy that can only happen between lovers in the throes of the climax that-”
This was shocking! He stared at his advisers in disbelief as the cold sweat ran down his face. He must be very, very sick. He had to cut this short and return to his suite for immediate medical attention.
“In closing, let me just say that our two worlds should see one another as the one true love, the sacred beloveds who will supply unending tenderness and deep infatuation as their souls merge for all eternity.”
He sat abruptly down, barely able to keep his bearing and not collapse completely onto his chair. Oh good stars. That was worse than anything he had ever experienced!
He groggily leaned to his side to his chief assistant as the Earth ambassador got to his feet to reply to the royal speech.
“I must undergo a medical examination as soon as I get back to my suite,” the prince whispered hoarsely. “I'm unable to govern in this state.”
The assistant nodded and whispered “I have already arranged it, Your Highness.”
The prince looked across the wide table at the Earthling delegation. He hoped that they hadn't grasped the implications of his strange speech. But they were beaming happily at him, seeming to take his words as an affectionate assurance of friendship. That would not be a problem for his plans, of course. But still, he had not been in control of himself when he spoke. At the moment when he chose the words and spoke them, they had seemed reasonable and proper. But when he heard himself say them, just a second later, he heard how ridiculous they were.
What could cause such a shocking disruption in his thoughts and speech?
He distantly heard the human ambassador say something vapid about partnership, but he didn't care.
Suddenly he had an immensely strong urge to turn around and look at the human female next to him. He felt her presence with gigantic strength, but he was a disciplined, stubborn man. He was not someone who would follow every impulse he got without a good reason. But just a short glance couldn't hurt...
He turned around to just take a quick peek at her, but then found it impossible to turn away again. Oh good stars, she was even more wonderful than he remembered! Now she seemed to be radiating a purple light, her eyes were an even more exotic and marvelous shade of brown, her skin even paler, her lips even redder, her cheeks even rounder!
He swallowed in a dry throat. Now he was hallucinating. And he was staring, he realized, gawping at the human female with his lower jaw hanging open, looking to all the world like an astounded court jester! He had to get a hold of himself.
Years and years of military training, governing a giant empire and a stubborn cultivation of his own self-discipline paid off as he was able to tear his eyes away from the stunning female. But still he felt the urge to look at her, to stare, to take in every detail of her otherworldly beauty and breathtaking personality, her loving manner and feminine grace, the way she would look up at him with her huge eyes while making love, the way she would care for their children, the heirs of his empire...
What was he thinking?! He knew nothing about her lovemaking or child-rearing qualities! He must be much sicker than he thought, quite delusional. And it all seemed to focus on her.
A spear of fear shot through him. Had she poisoned him? Had she enchanted him with some alien witchcraft? Was her unbelievably attractive scent laced with poison? Was he somehow allergic to humans?
He dimly realized that the meeting was over and his assistant nudged him to get to his feet. He did, feeling his legs shake. Only a lifetime of diplomacy and self-control kept him upright as he tried to keep his back straight and walk out of the meeting room ahead of his delegation. As his physical distance to the female increased, he felt a piercing pain in his chest and a violent urge to turn around and go to her, stay with her forever and forever.
He whimpered very softly and marched on.
4
The speech the prince had given had been just fantastic, Jen thought. She been worried that it would be boring, full of platitudes about the commerce and trade and taxes and customs tariffs and things like that. After all, that was all the Earth delegation had talked about when preparing for the meeting.
But Prince Tar'Shoc had seemed so emotional and real, talking about love and romance and even children! How wonderful that had been. He was very different from the dry and businesslike Ambassador Wilson.
The prince had looked at her once, too, after his speech. His eyes were just crystal clear and seemed to send out a light, and with the eyelashes radiating out from them, they looked like huge, blue stars in a golden sky.
Then the prince left and she was alone on the alien side of the table. Again the members of the Earth delegation were staring at her, whispering among themselves w
hile looking at her.
“Sullivan!” Mrs. Deveaux barked. “What in the name of all that is holy did you do? Have you gone completely transformative?”
“Sorry, sorry... He just grabbed me! I didn't know what to do! And he smells so nice...”
“Smells nice? That's Prince Tar'Shoc you're talking about, Sullivan! Be more respectful and not so... so... logarithmic!”
Huh? Jen distractedly grabbed her pads and papers and everything else except the water bottles. They were dirty and slippery from rolling around on the floor, and she had her hands full already.
Then she followed in the wake of the ambassador's entourage, the junior assistant sub-secretary sending her an angry look as she once more tried to keep up.
“Come on, Sullivan,” he seethed again.
She didn't hear him, because she suddenly noticed that there was a strange longing in her chest. Something was missing. Something big.
5
“Tell us everything, please, Your Highness,” the Chief Royal Physician said. His name was Dr. A'Atk, and he was an old Derigaz who had invented many medical procedures that were long forgotten, but he was still considered the best doctor in history. Now he was the leader of the team of six doctors that followed the prince everywhere he went. He had never needed them before, so they were very excited to finally be of use. They had put the prince to bed even before they knew what was wrong, just to be on the safe side.
“Very well,” the prince said. “I was speaking at the conference. I've done similar things many, many times before, for all kinds of species. I usually keep it mostly friendly, but with a threatening undertone that they feel, but can't quite pin down. It always works. But this time... this time...” His voice trailed off as he stared ahead, reliving in his mind what had happened.
“This time,” his chief adjutant continued, “His Highness used highly unusual words and phrases. Children were mentioned, flowers, lovers, even intercourse. It was very flowery language that no one has ever heard from the prince before.”
“Intercourse?” the doctor said, knitting his brow.
“Yes, it was one of the first things His Highness said,” the adjutant confirmed.
Several of the doctors in the room exchanged glances.
“Then,” the prince said, despair on the edge of his voice, “I made nonsensical statements about ecstasy and the love of a good woman. Roses! Passionate embrace! Entirely out of the blue. It was quite shameful. Birds! Good Space, I must be very sick.”
“Hmm,” said Dr. A'Atk, examining the prince's eyes with a small laser device. “It sounds unusual, certainly. But not... hmm... not unprecedented.”
Other doctors in the room nodded and murmured.
“What?” exclaimed the prince. “You mean... similar things have happened before?”
“They have,” the doctor said calmly, noting something on his old-fashioned pad. “Tell me, Your Highness, was there anything unusual about this particular conference?”
“Well, I suppose. Every conference with an alien species is different. These ones, the Earthlings, are not as different from us as most other aliens. Their language is primitive, of course, but logical enough. But apart from that, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all!”
The room was quiet as the doctors considered the diagnosis.
“But wait,” the adjutant exclaimed. “The female!”
“The female?” Dr. A'Atk said, interested. “Which female was this?”
“His Highness sat right beside a human female that he met in the corridor,” the adjutant said eagerly. “She was quite... voluminous.”
The prince sent the adjutant an angry look. He suddenly felt a surge of fury. He very strongly disliked the other male talking about her, as if it sullied her, made her dirty. Only he should talk and think about her! No other male should be allowed to even lay eyes on her!
“Tell us more about the female, Your Highness, if you please,” Dr. A'Atk said.
“There's nothing to say,” the prince snapped. “There was a marvelously attractive Earthling female there, attached to the Earth delegation. On a whim, I decided that this heavenly woman should sit next to me during the meeting, so that I might enjoy her company and her sensational smell and consider what we shall call the countless children she will bear me after we spend many months in ecstatic and orgasmic bliss together, enjoying the magic that only two intertwined souls can experience. That's all, everything quite ordinary. Now let's return to the topic at hand! I'm losing my patience.”
The doctors carefully avoided looking at each other, but the tension in the room was tangible. The prince was saying some outrageous things. And he seemed to be completely unaware of it.
“Certainly, Your Highness,” Dr. A'Atk said, very soothingly. “And yet, before we continue the examination, let me just ask you this, and please bear with me: When you looked at this female, did she overwhelm you with her beauty and her obvious allure? Did she attract your eyes in a way that was impossible to resist? Did you find her to be the perfect, genuinely flawless mother to your heirs? Did you imagine her face underneath you in the throes of passion, looking up at you, her eyes wide in ecstasy?”
With an insane roar, the prince bounced up from his bed and tried to attack the elderly doctor. But the physician had been prepared, and slipped away from his royal patient with a speed that surprised everyone. Immediately, strong officers grabbed the prince and held him back, barely able to keep the young, powerful male under control.
“How dare you speak about her!” the prince yelled, struggling against his officers. “How dare you even think about that heavenly creature! You're not worthy to feel her otherworldly scent from miles away! She's mine, do you hear? Mine!”
There was murder in the prince's eyes and a stunned silence in the room. Only the grunts of the prince and his officers could be heard as he tried to escape their iron grip to attack the doctor.
Only the Chief Royal Physician was not perturbed. “Let us turn to other topics,” he said smoothly as if nothing had happened. “Your Highness, you played Migiuz yesterday, did you not?” The doctor shrewdly turned the conversation to the prince's favorite topic, the intricate sport of Migiuz, which he enjoyed every day.
Soon the prince had calmed down and was lying down again. The adjutants took the opportunity to start their daily State of the Empire orientation, informing him about the various events taking place in his huge empire and the items where his decision or ruling was needed. It took his mind off the terrible illness he was obviously suffering from while the medical team quietly left his suite.
The doctors assembled in the lobby outside the royal quarters.
“Well, gentlemen,” the Chief Physician sighed, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. “I suppose we all realize what has happened. The prince has found his Hon'eekoh, his One True Love, his Meant To Be, his partner for life. And she's not a Derigaz. She's an Earthling. It's strange, but there can be no doubt. His behavior and reactions point only to that. Unless anyone has any objections to that diagnosis?”
The doctor looked around the circle of the best physicians in the Derigaz Empire. They all shook their heads sadly and sighed heavily in agreement.
Except one.
“I think there could be other reasons for his strange state,” Dr. Mon'Toc said. She was a renowned psychologist who owned several institutions on many planets. It was a mystery to most of her colleagues why exactly she was renowned, because she had never published any papers and seemed not to ever have treated any patients except the prince.
“I highly doubt,” she continued, “that His Highness has a non-Derigaz as his Hon'eekoh. It has never happened before to any Derigaz. And certainly not to a royal prince! The scandal alone... No, it's out of the question. If the heir apparent were to marry a non-Derigaz, there would be uproar! The people will never accept an alien Empress. It could threaten the throne and indeed topple the entire empire!”
“Those are all political arguments, Dr.
Mon'Toc,” the Chief Physician said mildly. “What we're considering here are the medical sides of things.”
“When the patient is a prince of the realm and in line to become the next emperor at any moment, then the medical and political sides are one and the same!” Dr. Moc'Toc shouted. “And this Earthling female cannot have a place in his life! Not at any cost!”
“If she is his Hon'eekoh,” another doctor pointed out, “and he is somehow not allowed to marry her, then he will remain childless. He will never marry anyone and he will not leave any heirs. And he will probably not live for much longer. That, if anything, will plunge the empire into chaos and civil war.”
“I am well aware of how we Derigaz procreate,” Dr. Mon'Toc said icily. “Yes, we all must find our One True Love, our Hon'eekoh, to be able to marry and have children. That's trivial for most of us. But for His Highness, it's a matter of the gravest importance!”
She suddenly jerked her head back and her eyes widened, as if struck by an important realization, and she drew her breath in an excited gasp. “Wait! On reflection, I think that his state was indeed brought about by his Hon'eekoh. But I don't think it was the Earthling! I think it was another female, a Derigaz female, his real Hon'eekoh, who released this Madness of Love in him!”
The other doctors looked at her, puzzled.
“Dr. Mon'Toc, it's well known how the Madness of Love shows itself,” one said. “The prince's symptoms are a perfect fit for the male Madness when having met his Hon'eekoh for the first time. Certainly he has a particularly powerful Madness of Love, but that is to be expected from such a virile and strong young man. Everything about him is magnified.”
“Precisely!” Dr. Mon'Toc said triumphantly. “It was so powerful that it had a delayed onset! The Madness was released slightly after His Highness was in the company of his real Hon'eekoh!”
