“Okay, this has been great, really, but seriously...” She pinched at the tan skin on Placan’s long slender forearm, it puckered for a moment before sinking back against the bone of his arm. Meredith frowned and reached up to his face, Placan flinched. Meredith pinched both of his hollow cheeks and attempted to pull them away from his bony skull. When the skin snapped back in to place, Meredith’s eyes widened and she stared at Placan, horrified. His massive eyes stared right back at her quizzically. “You…” she pulled her hands back, her fists balled up. “You’re not wearing a costume…” Placan shook his head.
“On my planet we do not wear costumes like you humans do, just simple robes…” Placan reached his long fingers forward and fingered the sleeve of Meredith’s nightgown. Meredith stepped backward, a look of horror on her face as she looked him up and down. She had never seen a creature with eyes as large as his, they were twice the size they should have been and she couldn’t help but stare in to them.
“Why am I here?” This time her voice shook with uncertainty.
“You have been chosen to wed Obar, King of the planet Kalar.” Meredith shook her head.
“I know, you said that…but it doesn’t make any sense. There are billions of people to choose from on planet Earth, there have to be billions of people on planet…Kalam too? Why doesn’t he just marry one of you? Why drag me in to this?”
“Kalar, it is planet Kalar.” Placan couldn’t understand why she was not honored to be chosen as the king’s bride like all of the others had been. Instead she seemed almost panicked by her selection. “The king has chosen you, this is a great honor.” Meredith shook her head, great honor or not, there was no way it was going to happen. Even back on Earth Meredith had had her doubts about marriage, and now she was being asked to marry someone from a different planet who she had never met? It was never going to happen.
“Why has the king chosen me? I didn’t even know that he existed so how could he possibly have chosen me?” Placan had never faced a situation quite like this before and he found her unique resistance to be quite intriguing.
“King Obar is aware of all planets in the universe. It is his mission to take a wife from each of these planets to foster trade relations. You have been selected by the king himself to represent the planet Earth.” Meredith slumped down against the wall, shaking her head slowly from side to side. It was like a bad dream, none of it made sense.
“Wait a minute…” She replayed their conversation in her head, “Now I’m going to become part of some harem so that your king can foster trade relations? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!” She could feel her body shaking with a mix of anger and fear, “That is not how things work on Earth and I am not going to be bullied in to it on Kalam either!”
“Kalar…” Placan interjected.
“Kalar, whatever you call it. I don’t know how your king got my number, but I’d appreciate it if you told him I wasn’t interested. I’d like to go home now.” She tried her very best to hide her fear as she ordered the creature before her to take her home. Placan however, could hear her heart rate beginning to race and his own anxiety began to pick up. If he was responsible for causing the king’s new bride to have second thoughts about the marriage it would most certainly be his head. He began to wish that he had never stepped foot in to the cell in the first place.
“It is an honor to be chosen by the king…” Meredith glared at Placan and he shut his mouth knowing better than to finish his sentence.
“It may be an honor on your planet, but on my planet this is called abduction and I don’t want to get married, to your king or anyone else for that matter.” Her heart was racing so much faster than anything Placan had heard before. He took a step forward and leaning down he placed the suckers on his fingertips against her bare arm. Meredith felt the smoothness of his fingers on her skin, but more than that, the touch of his fingertips brought with it a peace. Meredith took a deep breath, her heart rate slowing down. “I am sure you are just trying to do your job…but this is…” she couldn’t think of the words to describe what she wanted to say, “illegal.” She wondered if the term even had any meaning here.
“This is not what you desire?” Placan asked as he cocked his head curiously to the side, she shook her head.
“I just want to go home.” Tears welled up in her eyes and Placan nodded. He didn’t know a thing about the women from Earth, but he knew about compassion and he knew about fear. Meredith was afraid and there was nothing he could do for her but give her compassion.
“There is nothing to be afraid of…” Placan lowered his head to look in to her tear filled eyes.
“That is easy for you to say, you aren’t supposed to be marrying the king of some totally random planet that you didn’t know existed until a few minutes ago.” The tears were now overflowing and sliding down her cheeks. Placan brought his face close to hers, he could feel the coolness of her skin radiating towards him.
“Do not be afraid.” Leaning in, Placan placed a kiss on her cheek. Her skin was much cooler than he had imagined it would be and it tasted of salt. He attempted to give her a smile but found his own sadness robbing him of the ability, this confused him. He had never been so close to someone that their emotions became his own and it made him want to give her everything that she desired.
The door to the cell vaporized and as Tevar stepped inside, Placan jumped backward away from Meredith.
“Placan, why are you taking so long to secure the prisoner?” A large furrow in Tevar’s oversized forehead conveyed his anger.
“I am doing so now, Tevar. My apologies.” Tevar stared down at Meredith as she sat in the corner wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her nightgown.
“You will do so quickly, the king is becoming impatient.” He shifted his gaze to Placan before placing his hand against the wall where the door had been, waiting for the door to vaporize and disappearing through the space that it left behind.
“What does he mean ‘secure the prisoner?’” Meredith looked at Placan questioningly. “Where are we going?” Her anger now completely gave way to fear.
“I have been ordered to take you to the king, he would like to meet you before the ceremony.” Meredith’s eyes widened.
“Ceremony? I’m supposed to marry this guy today?” She jumped to her feet, “No, no, no, you have to help me!” The panic began to rise and Placan could hear her heart racing once again. Stepping over to the wall where Tevar has been moments ago, she pressed her hand against it. Nothing happened. She stepped over to her left and tried again, she was desperate for escape. When nothing happened the second time she looked to Placan, desperation in her eyes.
“It will not work for a human hand, your core temperature is too low.” Meredith’s breasts were heaving with each breath that she took and Placan couldn’t help but watch them momentarily.
“Then help me! I have to get out of here. I can’t marry him, not today, not ever!” Placan watched her struggle for a moment with sadness in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to help her, but he knew that if he did it would mean a certain death.
“But you must, the king has decreed it and that means that it must be.” Her heart was racing even faster now, Placan could hear it thumping loudly in his ears. “If we do not obey the king’s orders we shall all be killed.” Meredith frowned.
“Then come with me, help me escape and come with me!” She pleaded with him, “You can live on Earth, you can come with me!”
“I cannot.” Placan reached for her wrist and pulled it behind her back gently, repeating the procedure with her other wrist before drawing a figure eight around them with his finger. Meredith tried to pull away in resistance, but whatever Placan had done had secured her arms tightly behind her back. She sniffled loudly. “We must go before Tevar returns, he will not be as gentle with you I fear.” Placan gently pushed Meredith against the wall as he pressed his hand to it. For the briefest of moments he could feel the cool softness of her body against his
and it made his soul soar. Seconds later the two of them were standing in the hallway.
The hallway was lit by a series of small lights running along the sides of the ceiling and the sides of the floor, it reminded Meredith of an airport runway. She tried to concentrate on each of the lights as they approached in an effort to distract herself from whatever it was that lay at the end of the light trail. The silence made Placan uncomfortable.
“Please do not be afraid, King Obar is a good man.” Meredith remained silent. “He will provide you with a good life, with anything you could desire…”
“I want to go home.” Meredith’s voice was sullen and sorrowful. Placan could feel her sadness radiating from her and it made his heart heavy with sorrow for her that he could do nothing to save her and for him that he would never have a bride like her.
“Please, I know that when you meet king Obar that you will like him. I am sure that you will be happy that you are going to be his bride.” Meredith was silent again. She would not be happy that she was going to be his bride, in fact she adamantly refused to be happy about anything – particularly not meeting the man who had you abducted so that he could marry you against your will.
After walking what felt like three miles of sterile lit corridors, Placan steered Meredith to a large set of double doors. He parked her in front of them and stepped to one side to knock. Meredith watched as his long slender fingers curled in to his palm and she wondered if king Obar had the same suckers on his.
“You may enter!” A deep booming voice emanated from the interior of the room and Meredith took a sharp breath in. Placan stepped behind her and took her wrists with one hand while he reached forward to open the door with the other.
“King Obar, your highness, I bring to you your human bride.” Placan announced themselves as he gently pushed Meredith down a length of shiny marble tile until the two of them stood at the foot of an oversized throne. Meredith kept her gaze on the tile below her feet, unwilling to look up at the king. She felt like a child who was about to receive their punishment.
“Bride?” the king looked down at Meredith with his large brown eyes, she still didn’t look up. “I said bride!” Placan nudged Meredith gently in the back and she lifted her eyes up to the throne. There he sat before her, the king of an entire planet and he looked nothing like she had imagined he would. He was similar in form to Placan, his tall slender body having a little more substance than his however, so that his rib cage appeared less sunken in. Unlike Placan, his tan skin had an opalescent sheen to it that shifted each time Meredith moved her head. She had imagined from his voice that he would be much larger and somewhat fearsome, yet he was just a little larger than Placan and looked almost identical. “She is quite large…” king Obar looked from Meredith to Placan and then nodded with a loud chuckle. “I like her!” Meredith looked to Placan and back to the king with a frown.
“She can speak for herself!” Meredith knew that speaking out of turn in front of the king was likely an offense that was punishable by something awful, but she couldn’t help herself. Her anger had returned and in its forcefulness it had shoved her fear out of the way.
“Oh yes?” The king eyed her suspiciously trying to hide the look of surprise on his face. “And what else does she have to say?” He tapped his fingertips on the arm of his throne, each of the suckers sticking briefly before he lifted them back up.
“Well for starters I don’t appreciate being abducted from my home. I also don’t appreciate that you assume that I would want to marry you.” Meredith could feel Placan’s hand gripping her wrist tightly in silent warning. “And to assume that I would want to be one of your wives?” She couldn’t stop herself despite the redness that was rising in the king’s cheeks.
“How dare you speak in such a way to the king!” The king’s voice boomed off the walls and even Meredith was shocked. He looked to Placan who was desperately trying to avoid eye contact. “Has this woman not been briefed of her position in this court?” Placan shook his head nervously.
“No, your highness, she was brought directly to your throne.” King Obar looked back to Meredith who had recovered from the shock of the king’s outburst and was once again being overtaken by anger. Her plentiful chest was heaving.
“THIS WOMAN does not need to be briefed of anything because she has no intentions of staying here. I want to be taken home, now!” Meredith didn’t know that demanding would make any difference in her plea, but she was willing to give anything a try if it meant the possibility of going home.
“You will not be taken home, you have been bestowed with the honor of being my next wife. You have no say in this decision, you will be my bride.” Placan took a step backward as he felt Meredith’s body begin to tremble with rage.
“This may be how things are done on your planet, but where I come from this is not how it goes. You cannot and will not force me to do anything against my will.” The king exhaled loudly in exasperation.
“You seem to have misunderstood your role, bride. You have been selected to be the bride of the king, this is a great honor and you will accept it with grace. You will be an obedient bride and you will obey my every command.” Meredith couldn’t help herself, she began to laugh, quietly at first and then loudly until tears filled her eyes. Placan looked on in disbelief. “Why do you laugh?”
When Meredith regained her composure she shook her head.
“You will never convince me to marry you. Ever.” The king seemed to contemplate this for a moment as his eyes swept over her plump body.
“I will make a deal with you bride, you will spend one night in my chambers. If after one night you still desire to return to your home, I will have Placan take you there personally and you will be freed of all obligation.” Meredith ran her tongue over the front of her front teeth and took a loud breath. She had no desire to spend any time with king Obar, let alone the whole night, but at the moment it seemed like her only option for escape.
“How do I know you are not lying to me?” As Meredith said this Placan gasped so loudly that she turned around to look at him before turning back to the king who was glaring at her.
“Because I am the king.” This hardly seemed like enough of a promise but unsure that she could get away with many more demands, Meredith nodded slowly.
“Fine, I’ll do it. But you swear that you will let me go home?” The king nodded slowly, a knowing smile on his lips. He was going to win his Earth bride one way or another.
After leaving the king’s court, Meredith had been escorted to a large room and left outside the door by Placan. Just as she contemplated running blindly through the corridor until she found a way out, the door to the room opened and a tall figure appeared before her.
“Come in, please.” The voice was soft and feminine and as she reached out a long slender arm a rush of bangles slid down to her wrist. Meredith walked in to the large room. A large claw footed tub sat in the center of the room with sheer white curtains surrounding it. Against one of the side walls there was a large vanity unit and a slew of makeup containers. The other side of the room featured a standing rack of outfits that Meredith could only describe as being as sheer as the curtains around the tub. “Come, please.” The woman strode in front of Meredith until she got to the tub. She pointed at the steaming water. “Please, get in.”
“Now? I mean, with you right here?” Meredith wasn’t a prude, but she also didn’t much care for the idea of being watched as she stripped off and got in to a bath of steaming water.
“Yes, I must bathe you for the king.” Meredith shook her head and began to strip.
The water was almost hotter than she could bear as Meredith slid down in to the large porcelain tub. She had to admit that it felt good to relax for a moment without worrying about what would happen next.
“This is rose water, the king likes all of his wives to smell of rose water.” The tall woman slowly poured the contents of a large white jug in to the bathtub and Meredith inhaled the warm floral scent. �
��It smells lovely, doesn’t it?” The woman smiled down at Meredith and Meredith couldn’t help smiling back.
“I’ve never actually smelled it before, but it is nice.” She watched as the tall woman walked away to place the jug on the vanity table. Her long legs were so slender that from the back it looked as though she had no knees at all. “May I ask you something?” Meredith opted for a polite approach and the woman returned to her side.
“Of course, I am your personal handmaiden, you may ask me anything in confidence.” Meredith had never considered the perks that would come with being married to a king.
“Why does he want me? I mean, I’m so different to everyone else I have seen here. I have long blond hair, you have short brown hair, I’m quite chunky, you’re all so slender, I’m…well…not nearly as tall as you all. I just don’t understand.” Meredith felt the woman begin to lather shampoo in her long hair.
“The king has an idea that a bride from every planet will help trade relations with Kalar. He chose you because you represent the Earth population.” Meredith laughed.
“I’m afraid that your king is sorely misinformed, I definitely don’t represent Earth’s population.” The woman massaged Meredith’s scalp soothingly and Meredith leaned back in to her touch.
“Well, our king would seem to think differently. He thinks that you are beautiful which is why he wants to take you as his wife.” Meredith smirked.
“That and the trade thing, right?” She heard her hand maiden laugh lightly.
“Yes, that too.”
“What is your name?” The woman stopped massaging for a moment, almost shocked that she had been asked her name by someone as significant as Meredith was to become.
“Harmoon, my name is Harmoon.” Meredith smiled.
“I’m Meredith, it’s nice to meet you.” There was silence for another moment as Harmoon gently pushed Meredith forward and began to rinse the shampoo from her hair.
“Meredith, you have lovely hair. I am not surprised that the king chose you.” Meredith smiled at the compliment.
Desired By The Cowboy (Love In Collin's Ranch 2) Page 42
