“I will stay out here, my queen. You go in eat.”
“Forget it. If you’re not welcome, I don’t want any part of it.”
“Golugua can go many days without sustenance. Humans must eat several time a day to survive.”
Cutting him off with a gentle scratch behind his ear, she replied. “Shows how much you know. I’m still full from all the food I stuffed in my face at Arac’s place last night. I probably couldn’t hold more than a mouthful.”
“You are doing what you accused the other queen of doing.”
“Am not.” She knew exactly what Jax was referring to. He was insinuating she was a liar. Shoving open the door, she strolled outside. The grounds were well kept, with benches, fountains and blooming plants decorating the landscape.
“Yes, you are, my queen. Penny says humans must eat at least twice a day or they become weak. I do not wish you to become any weaker than you already are.”
“Humans are all different. I like eating every other day. It suits me.”
“Penny says human queens are very noble and self-sacrificing. Those are fine qualities for a person to have, but not if it causes you to go without nutrition.”
Sitting down along the edge of a fountain, Tara laid back and put her arms behind her head. Staring up at the twin moons and the unfamiliar stars, while her strange friend splashed his face in the water, it finally hit her how bizarrely different her life was from anything she’d known before.
Her life on Earth had been filled with deprivation. Even though she was hungry now, it was different. She was hungry because standing up for herself and Jax was more important than eating a meal. For once going to bed hungry didn’t bother her. What did bother her was how quickly Arac had turned on her. Going from sweet to thoroughly disrespectful in an instant had been jarring. Now that her initial anger had melted away, she wondered why.
“You are thinking of the drone, are you not?”
“Yep.”
“His is damaged and not right for you. You need a family group with several drones. This will enable you to produce a larger number of young. Your line must survive.”
Grinning, she quipped, “I’ll take your suggestion under consideration.”
“I have been observing the drones and have some suggestions for you to consider.”
“As much as I’d like to shirk the responsibility, you can’t pick my mate, Jax.”
“It is my responsibility as your protector to present suitable males for your inspection. I will line them all up in a row, and once you have selected a drone, I will investigate his family unit make sure they are worthy of a queen.”
Shaking with laughter, she tried to visualize him lining up worthy drones. God only know what his criteria would be. Rolling over on her stomach, she ran one finger gently through the water to make a ripple as she teased her new friend. “You should open your own little business. We’ll call it ‘Mate Finders’ or something like that. Lots of women would probably love your help.”
Unfurling his wings, he jerked his head up indignantly. “You say this to tease me, but beware, my queen. Not all Maruvian drones were created equal.”
Blinking innocently at him, she replied, “I wasn’t making fun, honest. I just think we need to spread the joy around.”
“The Golugua do not like liars, my new queen.”
“Well, how would you feel if I insisted upon finding you a mate?”
Jax froze. His voice dropped a level. “I am but a single male with no family and no dowry. A golugua male can only secure a mate if a member of his family negotiates on his behalf and a dowry is paid.”
“Since you and I only have each other, instead of picking out each other’s mates, why don’t we concentrate on supporting each other in making the best possible decisions for ourselves. I’m the closest thing you have to family, Jax, so I’ll do any negotiating you need.”
“Queens do not sully themselves with such things.”
“I’m not a queen. Heck, I’m nobody special. Remember, even Arac pointed out that I’m inconsequential.”
“Arac is an ass.”
Attempting to steer him away from talking about what a gigantic asshat Arac was, she asked, “Besides, once you get a mate, she’ll be your queen, right?”
Licking a claw, he responded sincerely. “If I am fortunate enough to secure a mate, you will be queen to us and all our line.”
“Do you have your eye on anyone?”
Almost before she got the words out, he replied, “Armon has a niece. She stares at me. I like her dark eyes upon me.”
Tara quickly sat up. “Tell me more.”
“Much like myself, she is barely ripe for mating. Nahara, is small and has delicate claws. She needs a strong and dedicated protector, like me. Penny says she is sweet and beautiful.”
“What is it with you quoting Penny constantly? Sometimes, I think you picked the wrong queen.”
“I pay attention to Penny only because she is Nahara’s queen.”
“Ah, that makes sense. What do you think it would take to secure her as your mate?”
“She is Armon’s favorite. I do not think he will let her go without a large dowry and some evidence of a stable line.”
“Would all our gemstone do it?”
Shaking his head, Jax pointed out the obvious. “Any here may dig for gemstone at their leisure. The golugua do not value such things. It serves no purpose. We only desire practical things.”
Sliding her hand into her inner uniform pocket, she removed something wrapped in cloth. Gently unwrapping it, she held it up for him to see. The pleasure stone glowed softly in the moonlight. “Do you know what this is?”
Tilting his head, he replied. “Heart stones are very rare, even among our people. You should hold close and keep it safe.”
Shaking her head, she explained. “I don’t give two hoots in hell about pleasure stones. I’m not going to use it, so I won’t ever know what I’m missing. Vraden gave me this one in case my headaches started again. I guess not many people know it, but the stones can stop pain as well as give pleasure.”
“The stones were not circulated among my people. If what you say is true, it is more valuable than all the gemstone on this world. Our kind are often injured in battle protecting our queens and their young. Sometimes our suffering is great.”
“I’ll bet Armon would love to have a pleasure stone to help soothe the suffering of his line. The stones last a long time and are totally natural.”
Looking down for a brief moment, Jax clawed listlessly at the ground. “I cannot allow you to trade something so precious for me a mate.”
“Do you remember at the beginning of the conversation I said that I didn’t care about pleasure stones? I was being totally honest. Besides, when I choose a drone, they’ll have their own stone, so that makes this one pretty unnecessary in my book.”
“You could trade it for a very nice shuttle and make all your dreams come true.”
“Yep, but once it’s gone I could spend the rest of my life digging gemstone and that would get us no closer to you having a mate. We have to be smart. We’ll give the pleasure stone to Armon to as your dowry then dig stones and buy a shuttle anyway.”
“You are both wise and generous my queen. Though everyone counseled me against attaching myself to your line, I could sense the goodness inside your small frail body.”
“Well, there is no time like the present. What do you say about us paying Armon a little introductory visit before it gets too late?”
Growling, “Yes,” Jax bolted over and lowered himself so she could ride on his back.
“Are you sure you don’t mind giving me a lift?”
“Your weight is nominal. I can bear it easily. Let us make haste.”
Jax seemed to know exactly where he was going. After a short flight, he landed in the back of a large single family dwelling, with a pack of golugua lounging around. Dismounting, she noticed some were chasing each other while others laid around in sma
ll groups that looked suspiciously like tiny family units. They operated kind of like a pride of lions. She recognized Armon immediately, as he was now huge and cuddled around his mate.
Several drones approached before she could approach them. “Are you lost, young queen?”
“Why are you here unannounced?” That voice sounded familiar. Swiveling her head around, she saw it was it Arac’s brother, Raec. Staring at her in shock, he stated. “My queen is not expecting or prepared to entertain company tonight, Queen Tara.”
Trying to be polite, she responded quietly. “I didn’t know I needed to ask permission before coming to your home. We are actually here to see Armon.”
“I will get Queen Penny.”
“I don’t need to speak with her, unless there is some rule that says I have to get her permission in order to speak to her golugua.”
“Have you no fear in approaching a pack of golugua on your own?”
Patting Jax on the head, she replied sincerely. “I’m not alone since Jax is with me and no, I can’t say I’m afraid to speak with Armon.”
“So be it, Queen Tara. If you need us, just scream.”
Turning, she walked across the vast lawn towards Armon. He sat lazily, grooming his female. Tara didn’t miss that he was keeping one eye trained upon her. When they got close enough, he spoke. “We welcome you and your queen, Jax. What occasions the visit?”
“As you know I have no family, so my queen insists upon negotiating breeding right on my behalf.”
“Curious. Queens usually do not involve themselves in such matters.”
Tara spoke up, careful to keep her tone respectful. “Jax is my best friend and most trusted confidant. It is an honor to see him properly fitted with a mate.”
Armon’s mate purred, “Sit and we will talk with you.”
When she sat, Jax dropped himself down into her lap, much as he had done a hundred times. She ran her hand down his pelt as she spoke. “I believe my friend has come of the age to seek a mate and I am given to understand you have females in your family that are of an age to embrace a mate.”
All heads turned as an adolescent girl approached with a female golugua at her side. Since Jax’s eyes sought her out, and he’d mentioned she was Penny’s favorite, Tara assumed the small delicate female was Nahara. Penny dropped to the ground beside Armon and he wrapped a huge wing around her.
Since no one spoke Tara continued. “As I was saying, we have secured a worthy dowry to offer in exchange for the priceless privilege of securing a mate.”
“We have four age appropriate mates among my pack. Will any of them do, or are you requesting mating rights with one in particular?”
Looking down at Jax, she nodded. “We are requesting, Nahara.”
“Impossible. She already promised.”
“What would it take to renegotiate that arrangement?”
Armon sat up a little straighter. “What you are asking is not unheard of, but it would take much time and trouble to arrange another mate for the male in question. She has been promised to the line of Zadon. Her life is to be one of luxury as they serve the royal line. What do you have that possibly compare to that?”
Thinking quickly, Tara stammered. “We present a dual offering. Where she might have luxury in the palace, instead she would have freedom with us. Jax and I would support her in whatever educational or occupational endeavors she would like to pursue. Long have the golugua attached themselves to families. I believe it is time for the golugua to branch out and think of what else they might enjoy doing with their lives. Perhaps Nahara would like to train dragons, become a healer or even learn to fly a shuttle. With us she would have the freedom to choose her own destiny.”
Looking around, Tara was relieved to find that she at least had everyone’s attention. Clearing her throat, she reached her hand inside her uniform and pulled out the pleasure stone. “We also offer a heart stone as dowry. Jax has explained that the golugua are practical people. Though you may not value the stones for giving pleasure as do humanoids, the stone has another purpose which I believe will prove to be a great value to your line. It is a natural pain reliever. This one was given to me by a healer in case the pain in my head becomes unbearable. We humbly offer it in exchange for mating rights with Nahara.”
“Not for Nahara, for she is precious to us. We would consider another female from our line.”
Shaking her head, Tara responded, “We seek no other. Your niece has found favor in both my eyes and the eyes of young Jax. If you think about it, you will see how well suited they are for one another.”
“I do not think it would be wise to anger the house of Zadon. Nor do I think it wise to give my favored niece to a male with no intact line. His queen has not yet chosen a family unit, and can therefore offer her no stable home.”
“How about I leave our heart stone as evidence of our interest in Nahara joining our family and you can speak with the house of Zadon to see if anything else can be worked out. Meanwhile, Jax will return each day with a small token of our esteem. We will work on ensuring a stable home for your niece. In thirty days we will speak again.”
Armon’s mate spoke again. “You are a good negotiator, Queen Tara. Word has already come to our ears that you declined to dine tonight because the other queens objected to Jax being with you. I think this speaks to your character. I, for one, am inclined to accept your short term proposal and give the two of you time to prove yourself worthy of one such as our Nahara.”
Armon’s growly voice sounded off. “My beautiful mate has spoken. Let her wise words guide us in this matter.”
Laying the stone down in front of them, Tara and Jax shoved up from the ground. “Thank you for speaking with us tonight. We leave you peace to see to your concerns.”
The female in Armon’s arms spoke again. “No matter how this ends, know you have our gratitude for your service during the great battle. You fought hard and suffered much to keep our world safe.”
“It was an honor.”
Stepping back, she slid onto Jax’s back and he took off.
“That went much better than I expected. They did not laugh at my desire to have the lovely Nahara at my side. You have won their respect for your service in battle.”
“You had best be thinking up some tokens of esteem, ‘cause I stupidly said you’d bring them one each day.”
“I have some ideas about that.”
Gliding down to the women’s tower, they landed smoothly on the stone steps. Walking into the front of the building, several women stopped to stare at them. Tara pressed her lips together and ignored them all. If they thought for one second, she was leaving Jax outside at night; they could all go straight to hell.
Storming by the reception desk, she stopped short when someone shouted to her. “Are you Queen Tara?”
“Yes. What can I do for you?”
“You have a package.” Gesturing down the length of the counter at dozens of packages, she stammered, “You have several packages, in fact.”
“I didn’t order anything.”
“They’re from admirers.”
“Look, are you sure they are for me? I really don’t know anyone except one family.”
“I’m certain. The couriers were very specific. They are for you and no one else. I can bring them to your room.”
Grabbing an armload, she nodded. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
Dropping the packages on the small table in her room, Tara sank down in her seat. It was getting late, but after sleeping most of the day she was alert and intrigued about who would be sending her packages. Turning them all right side up, she didn’t recognize any of the names.
Jax curled up on her floor as the receptionist pulled in the rest of the packages into the room on a hover board. Looking through them, she did see a name she recognized. Arac had sent her a package. Plopping down on the sofa, she opened it. Inside was row after row of fancy little disks that looked similar to the ones he made last night for dinner. Tossin
g one to Jax, she pulled out another for herself. It tasted divine. After eating and sharing most of the box as she looked over his note, she smiled to herself. He’d heard about her not having dinner and sent her a little something to tide her over. That was sweet.
Pulling out her handheld, she typed him out a message.
Thanks for the food. I really enjoyed eating them.
I’m glad. You don’t deserve to go hungry because the other queens don’t like your protector.
Sorry I gave your father a hard time about accepting the handheld. I was just hurt over the things you said.
I am the only one who needs to apologize, little queen. Being harsh with you was uncalled for and I regret my words more than you can possibly know.
Well, maybe we can still be friends. I just need some time to get past this.
I would never push you into being around someone like me. It is probably for the best that you spend time with other drones. Perhaps you will find with them what it is I am lacking.
I enjoyed the time I spent with you, for what it’s worth. It was nice of you to process my gemstone and sell it for me.
I was my pleasure to be of assistance. If ever you need anything else, please let me know.
I will. Sweet dreams, my friend.
You as well, little queen.
Turning over, she clipped the handheld to her clothing without looking. Sighing, she knew whatever they had was over, because he was calling her little queen instead of his queen. That handsome drone would be lingering around in her mind as the one who got away for a very long time to come.
Sitting up, she began reading the cards and opening the other packages. They were all from drones or family units hoping to secure a queen. Several had been present in the room at the time the two women tried to keep Jax from eating. Others said they had heard about the incident and wished to meet her in person. It was sweet. Most of the packages included food items, and few included images of drones, small handheld games or other tokens. She carefully typed them each out a thank you message, promising to meet them in the near future.
Sinking down on the floor beside Jax, she asked, “Any idea what you’re taking to Armon’s pack tomorrow?”
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