by Ashley West
No wonder Kaia had been upset. She must have been on the receiving side of her brother’s anger a fair few times. Though Danielle had to wonder, had Kaia ever suggested to her brother another course of action besides violence? One that could, perhaps, be more productive? She might have been wrong to address it in front of his generals, but could she put it to him privately? She couldn’t help but think that now that these people were hers, she might at least try to save as many of their lives as possible – just as she’d once thought she could help save humanity.
She could put the idea to him gently, when they were alone, and apologize in the same breath. It was the best plan she could come up with – and hopefully, he wouldn’t be too upset to hear her out.
Lying on the bed, Danielle watched the three suns sink, one after another, beneath the horizon.
And she waited.
But Kael didn’t come to her that night. She fell asleep when it seemed she had waited an eternity, and she woke alone, her heart sinking. An entire day passed, and then two –and though she tried to concentrate on learning about the history and the culture of the people she would soon rule, all she could think of was the unease lingering in the back of her mind like an itch aching to be scratched.
Wouldn’t he see her? Would he leave her on edge, wondering how he felt, until she lost her mind with anxiety?
He wouldn’t be so cruel…would he?
**
“Kael, please. It’s been a week. You’re torturing her.”
The Prince looked up from the scroll he read over, fixing his sister with a stern look. Her expression pained, her mouth taut. For the past two days she had come to him, asking him to see Danielle. She promised that the human woman meant to apologize, but Kael’s pride was still thoroughly bruised.
He knew it had been a mistake to let her into the conference room. But he had been intrigued when she’d said she wanted to learn. Kael had only ever heard of one other royal Garinian woman interested in the dealings of war, and that was his sister. Of course, when Kaia questioned him, she did it gently and diplomatically, always asking permission. Danielle seemed to know nothing of tact, blurting a thought the moment it entered her head.
“I understand that you’re angry, Kael, but how can you expect her to know her place if we don’t yet know it? She wants to be your queen…and not just in your bed. She’s trying to understand, but it’s only been a few weeks. Can’t you spare her some leniency” Kaia’s voice softened slightly. “She misses you, I think.”
Kael snorted, even as his stomach twisted in a very unfamiliar sensation. How could she miss him? They didn’t even know one another. While they might have spent a carefree week consummating their legal union, they had barely had a single conversation…unless you counted the one in the conference room.
The thought made him scowl. She couldn’t miss him. And he certainly didn’t miss her…not the soft slide of her skin against his, the way she said his name when he pressed deep inside her, or the way her entire body flushed when he stared at her naked form.
He missed none of those things. “I will be training in the cellars this afternoon. It’s high time I returned to it. I haven’t the time to indulge her whim.”
Two bright spots of color appeared on Kaia’s cheeks as she glowered. “Perish the thought. It’s not as if she’ll spend the rest of her life indulging yours.”
When the door slammed behind his sister, Kael winced, before emitting a long suffering sigh. Women. It had been enough when there was just one in the palace. He needed to clear his mind. He was under enough stress as it was with planning the coming raid – just four short weeks away. It had been a long time since he’d been on the battle field. He would have to jar his mind and body into remembrance.
Kael was rusty, and so he started off his practice session facing only four soldiers – more than a fair fight. He stood, alone, in the middle of the sparring room, a single figure clad in loose black exercise garb. When his raised his twin practice swords, the blade of each dulled to prevent undue injury, his opponents knew he was ready.
They rushed him, all at once, in a flurry of whirling limbs and glinting weapons. Kael’s body reacted automatically, and he spun round, muscles coiling in his torso before he lashed out, knocking the first man senseless with the flat of his blade. He ducked under another’s attack, whirling to drive his foot into the third man’s chest, driving him backwards several feet to land on the pad beneath him. Kael clashed swords with the third soldier, pressing him backwards with the coiled strength of his upper body before head-butting him. While the man was stunned, he tripped him before turning to his fourth opponent to catch him in the nose with his closed fist. There was the audible crunch of the bone breaking – and, knowing it would heal momentarily, Kael felt little guilt for the damage he’d caused.
With three men now down, he turned to the other, who was rising from his place on the mat when Kael touched his dull blade firmly to his throat. “Yield.”
The soldier immediately dropped his weapon, ceding victory.
Not bad for his first bout in two moons. He intended to go many more, each time increasing the amount of soldiers he pit himself against. At his best, he’d be able to face ten men, taking most out within five minutes. But there was no reason to push himself. He’d work his way back up to fighting condition well before he met the Remans in battle.
“My Prince.” He whirled at the low, subservient tones of his sister to see her standing in the doorway as she dipped a curtsey in greeting – and beside her stood his diminutive wife. The sight of the human woman was physically arresting. She was clad in a deep purple gown that dipped low over her chest, almost to her waist, barely containing her bosom and showing a tantalizing slice of tan skin. There was a dark spot just below her collar bone – moles, humans called them – that he vividly remembered laving with his tongue until she squirmed, trying to escape him.
The deep blue eyes that met his reflected both hunger and nervousness, set in her carefully pained face. Her golden hair had been pulled back from her face to drop down her back, leaving a completely unobstructed view of her slender beauty.
And he wanted her – desperately. He’d managed to convince himself in the week that they’d been apart that he was too angry at her to want her – that the human woman deserved to be punished for her indulgence. Now, when he was faced with her, he found himself swallowing ravenous hunger – and surprising guilt.
She looked both lovely and miserable – and he knew that he was the cause of her misery. “We’ve come to watch you spar.” Kaia’s voice was smooth, even as her gaze clearly proclaimed a warning that he was meant to make peace with the human woman by her side. “Haven’t we, Danielle?”
“Yes.” The young woman dipped a curtsey even lower than his sister, revealing the swell of her cleavage. “Sorry for the intrusion, my Prince.”
Gods damn it all.
He supposed it wasn’t all her fault that she knew nothing of their history with the Remans – that she couldn’t possibly understand how much blood had been spilt over their refusal to accept Garinian supremacy.
With a sigh, Kael twirled his swords expertly before striding over to the two women. His eyes lingered on Kaia’s expected face before finally turning to that of his wife – who was eying him with such hopefulness that he’d be a monster to refuse her now. “Husband.” He growled lowly, sheathing one of his swords to take her chin in his hand and tip it up to meet his gaze. At her confused look, he repeated his low command. “I am your husband. You will address me as such.”
The relief that flooded her expression was almost tangible, and she turned her face into his hand indulgently, only further fanning the flames of his desire for her. But now, he knew, was not the time. He had training to do. They could make up later – and he would show his human bride just how much her supple form had graced his thoughts in his hours away from her.
But Kael didn’t return to his wife that night, or the next. After his training s
ession, he found himself embroiled in the acclimation of the humans to their new home – and more specifically the unrest they displayed at the suggestion that they take Garinians as husbands and wives. While the Prince knew full well that it was his duty to keep the peace, he found himself frustrated with the backlash he faced from their newest human citizens.
He had saved them, didn’t they realize that? Without his intervention, they would have been left to drift and breed, becoming more and more susceptible to illness until they died out completely. At the news that some of them were attempting to flee the city for the lifeless deserts beyond, Kael could take no more.
He needed a reprieve.
His temper boiling, he returned to his chambers, expecting to find the wife his body had yearned for far too long. When he found the space empty, however, his mood only grew darker. Stalking through the palace, he searched for her, intent on having his way with her wherever he found her.
However, when he stumbled upon her in the royal gardens, for a fleeting moment, all his troubles fled his mind.
She had found her way to the very center of the lush, green space, and knelt amongst the deep lavender grasses. Her expression was utterly enchanted as she breathed in the fragrance of the flowers that surrounded her. Of course, to he, who had lived his entire life on Garinia, the flora and fauna were commonplace. Large, bright orange blossoms as big as a man’s torso; fragrant purple petals that collected the morning’s dew, turning it into a perfume his sister and many other Garinian women favored; bright blue buds that drew tasish flies to their mouths, only to consume them slowly, over a number of days.
He barely cast the plants a second glance, but his wife seemed completely enthralled, cupping each and every blossom in her hands reverently as she took in the minutest of details. Posed as she was, in her striking backless gold gown, she was every bit as regal as every Garinian princess that came before her, and for a moment, all he could do was stare.
For a brief instant, he forgot that she was human – that she had never set foot on his planet until a few weeks ago, and that he had been reluctant to marry her. All he saw was the vision before him, and he knew any man would be proud to call her his own.
All at once, as if she sensed his presence, Danielle turned to see him approaching and immediately rose to her feet in the most graceful motion he’d ever seen her execute. She dipped into a deep curtsey, lowering her gaze respectfully. Kaia’s lessons in etiquette, he realized, must have rubbed off on the young woman. Despite how stern he’d been with her, she’d learned much in only a few weeks. “My Prince.” Her voice even seemed more demure– but there was no mistaking the desire in her eyes when she ventured to raise them to him once more.
“Wife.” He replied lowly, swallowing the urge to take her right in the open air, where anyone could come upon them. “I see you’ve found the gardens.”
Immediately, her eyes went as wide and enchanted as they’d been before, and the young woman gazed at the plants around them with an affection shining in her eyes he’d never seen before. “They’re absolutely beautiful. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place. I would have come sooner.”
He glanced around the artfully landscaped space, which extended for well over the distance of the entire wing in each direction. “You like flowers?” It was an inane question. Of course women liked flowers –they liked most pretty things.
“I am…was a botanist when I was on Earth. I worked with plants…deriving drugs from them, caring for them, splicing two species together to make new ones…it’s something I’ve…missed.” She trailed off, turning from him to take in another lovely bloom near her.
Even if she hadn’t told him that living greenery was her passion, he would have been able to see it in her eyes. The way her entire form softened and she seemed completely at ease- it gave her away completely.
“If you like,” He began, somewhat awkwardly, “I could have a garden planted in the courtyard outside our rooms. You would not have to venture so far to see the greenery.” Danielle whirled to face him, her expression one of absolute joy.
“Really? That would be amazing, Kael! Do you think I could help plant it? I’d love to see the root construction of some of these flowers. They’re absolutely amazing.” It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that princesses did not roll around in the dirt and perform gardeners’ work, but he simply couldn’t. She looked too excited – happier than he’d seen her since she’d arrived on Garinia.
It wasn’t as if anyone would witness her in their private rooms, so why not give her what she wished. “I suppose it could be arranged…” Kaia would, no doubt, be completely mortified. But there was no need for her to know right away, was there?
Danielle beamed at him before commencing to pummel him with questions about the names of several plants and where they came from. Unlike most other women, he found, she did not merely smell the flowers and expect them to sit prettily in her bedchamber. Being a scientist, she wanted to know about their origins and life cycles, and more importantly, if it would be possible for her to splice them together to make new plants.
Kael wondered vaguely if the young woman had been speaking to his brother. She sounded vaguely like him with her inquiries – her almost childlike curiosity about the world around her. When she mentioned that she wondered how the other humans were finding Garinia, however, the Prince’s problems rushed back to him.
The humans were not finding their new home to their liking at all. Quite the contrary in fact. While he had been in isolation with his new wife and over the past few weeks, matters with the humans had reached a fever pitch. His answers to Danielle’s questions became more stilted as, once again, he began to lose himself in his own private world.
“Kael?” He was jerked from his contemplation by his wife’s worried tones, and when he focused his attention on her once more, he found her expression concerned. “Are you OK?”
He was tempted to deny anything was wrong. All Danielle really needed was to concentrate on her lessons. Inviting her into politics at this juncture could only end in disaster – she simply wasn’t ready. But, on the other hand…she was one of the few humans that seemed to be cooperating with the Garinian government; atop that, as the wife of the crown prince, she was perfectly poised to deliver the right message to all of her fellow humans.
She might be the only one willing and able to help him keep her own people from causing a rebellion.
“Danielle…” Still, he hesitated. For Danielle to be queen because she was wed to him was one thing…but for her to take her title…to really do good by the Garinian people and her own…that she had to do for herself. “The human people…they are not adjusting well to their new position on our world.”
Immediately, the young woman’s face fell. Kael knew she’d had precious little information about the people she’d come to Garinia with. Of course, everything had been done to ensure that they lived comfortably. They’d been provided with housing, food, jobs – and a place in an empire that depended on every one of its citizens. There was a part of him that understood how they must feel, plucked from their planet and placed into an entirely new environment.
But, at this juncture, it had been explained to them why they’d been taken – why they’d had to leave behind their loved ones. Their wives, their husbands, their children and grandchildren…he had spent his entire life making sacrifices for the greater good. Sending men to war, deciding to save the lives of children rather than elders, giving up any semblance of normalcy to make sure that his people had lives they could enjoy…humans wouldn’t understand such sacrifice.
Not unless they were told of it by one of their own.
“They will not yield to the enforcement of…mingling. I have encouraged them to go out amongst the Garinian peoples. Encouraged them to…start anew. New wives, new children, new families. It will be a long while before they return to Earth. In that time…all that they know will have passed. They need to accept their new lives here
if they are to be a part of this world.”
For a moment, Danielle spoke not a word. She looked away and he watched her shoulders knot in tension, knowing he’d upset her.
He should have known. She wasn’t ready to hear the nature of things as they were, let alone to make movements to change them. Perhaps he would be better to hand her off to Jalil, to see if she was any more confident in the scientific realm than she was in matters of social and economic problems. “My Prince…can I speak freely?”
Her words were soft, almost inaudible, and when he registered them, the prince reached down to take her chin gently between his fingertips, urging her to turn her face upwards towards his once more.
Kaia had indeed taught her well. “You may.”
She flushed, hesitating, before finally putting words to her thoughts. “I think you might be asking them for too much…too quickly. I’ll be the first one to admit…I don’t know much about Garinian culture or history. Your people are a mystery to me. But, I do know humanity. And they’ve suffered, Kael. More than you can imagine.”
In that instant, the sorrow he often saw glimmering deep within her blue eyes suddenly rose to the forefront, and for a split second, she laid her heart bare for him to see. “We have lost everything. Loved ones, faith, hope…we’ve watched ourselves dying with no end – most of us for more time than we’ve ever been happy.
For people to have given up what they have…you have to give them time. If you force them…they’ll only resent you.” Danielle took a deep breath before she continued, her eyes perusing his expression carefully as she tried to gage his reaction. “Mourning is an essential part of what it is to be human. Let them mourn…and after…they might be more receptive to what you’re trying to implement.”
