Pet's Pleasure

by Renquist, Zenobia

  A short trip later, the vehicle stopped. The aide resumed half-dragging her in his wake. He didn’t slow his stride, which made her bare feet trip several times on the hard tile floor.

  The people they passed stopped and stared at her. Some pulled their companions to a halt and pointed her out.

  Starling wanted to ask what was happening. What had they bought her for? Even if the man dragging her could understand, she doubted he would answer.

  The mad dash ended at a room that could be an infirmary. It smelled like one. Starling was glad to know disinfectant didn’t change odor the universe over.

  The doctors—complete with white lab coats—were the first people she’d seen who appeared happy to see her. They carried on in excited tones and wore big smiles. The aide said a few quick words and then left.

  Starling wasn’t sad to see him go and hoped he wouldn’t return.

  A woman rushed forward with a visor-looking thing held between her hands. She pantomimed wearing the visor then placed it over Starling’s head. Like most everything else until that point, Starling took it. There was no leather strip around her neck but fighting wouldn’t get her anywhere.

  The visor pinched her on the soft spot behind her ears, at the base of her neck and at her hairline. It didn’t hurt much but it did surprise her. She tried to edge away from it but the woman had a friend who’d sneaked up behind Starling while she was distracted. Said friend took hold of Starling’s shoulders the second she started moving and held her still.

  The minutes ticked by. Or it felt like the minutes ticked by. It could have been a few seconds.

  The visor beeped and the woman removed it. “There we go. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “You speak English!” Starling pointed an accusing finger.

  The woman laughed. “I don’t know what inglist is. I speak what I’ve spoken since I learned to speak. Because of the visor, you speak it now as well.”

  “How? Why?”

  “I love primitive cultures. They are so cute.” She turned away without answering the question.

  Now that someone could understand, Starling wanted answers. “Hold up. Where am I? Who are you people? What do you want with me?”

  Everyone continued ignoring Starling. The time for taking that kind of treatment had passed. She started to follow after the woman to make her listen.

  “Hold on there, itty-bitty,” the one holding Starling said. She held Starling’s wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction toward a below-ground pool filled with silvery, viscous liquid.

  Starling tried to get free but the difference in height translated into a marked difference in strength as well. “Answer me! Who are you people?”

  One of the other white-coated women said, “Isn’t her speech lovely? It’s actually intelligible. I saw a human once who tried to speak and I couldn’t understand a word it said.”

  The man standing nearby nodded. “I know what you mean. It’s almost hard to believe this one and the one I saw just last week are the same species.”

  “And look at how well-endowed she is. I almost thought she was a child until I saw these.” The woman holding Starling’s wrist hefted one of Starling’s breasts to emphasize her statement.

  Starling smacked her hand away. “Don’t touch me!”

  “So cute.” The woman patted her head.

  Starling snapped, “Have you stopped understanding me or something? Answer me! Who are you?”

  A man across the room behind a console said, “Make sure you tighten the straps completely, Kiva. She’s so small, she might wiggle free.”

  “I will.” Kiva tried to lift Starling, under her arms no less, but Starling pulled away. “Now, now, don’t be difficult.”

  Starling yelled, “Don’t touch me!”

  Kiva sighed and rolled her eyes. “Morn, help me with her. She’s turned stubborn all of a sudden.”

  The man named Morn scooped Starling against his side and dumped her onto the chair. “That was easy. Need help strapping her down too?”

  “No, but I could do without your sarcasm.” She pushed and held a button beside the chair. Leather straps slid over Starling’s wrists and ankles then tightened.

  “Ow!” The straps bit into Starling’s wrists. She glared at Kiva.

  The woman who had given Starling the language visor said, “That’s tight enough, Kiva.”

  “You’re sure, doctor?”

  “We don’t want to break her. That would make Dowager Queen Tinette angry.”

  Kiva nodded and moved away.

  Starling decided to try her earlier questions again but the chair sinking into the pool of silvery liquid stopped her. It was a good thing Kiva had tightened the straps as much as she had because Starling strained against them the second the slimy liquid touched her toes.

  Her struggles became more fervent when the liquid reached her neck. The chair didn’t stop sinking. Starling moved her head back to keep her mouth and nose out of the liquid. They were covered soon too.

  The chair stopped moving when it hit bottom. Starling coached herself to remain calm. It was probably an experiment. They would let her up soon. Besides, she had good breath control.

  Nothing happened.

  She wanted to stay calm but the lack of movement or sound started to get to her. Her heart rate sped up. She couldn’t keep her fingers from twitching.

  Wouldn’t it be better if she drowned?

  An alien race had kidnapped her for God only knew what. Rather than wait around for the anal probes and other experiments, she should end it.

  The mini debate came to an end when the chair sent an electrical shock through her body. Starling screamed in pain, inhaling the liquid without meaning to.

  And then she exhaled.

  And inhaled.

  Then exhaled.

  And…

  She was breathing. The liquid hadn’t drowned her. Her confusion mounted when the chair started rising back to its start position.

  Kiva released Starling then helped her stand. “See? All that fuss for nothing. You’re fine, aren’t you?” She patted Starling’s head.

  And that’s when Starling snapped. She grabbed the closest thing, a metal rod sitting on a table nearby, and swung it at Kiva.

  The woman jumped back with a startled yelp.

  Morn returned. “Kiva, can’t you do anything right? It’s a stupid little human.” He reached for the rod.

  Starling yanked it back then slammed it down on his wrist. The man cried out. He cradled his bleeding hand and glared at her. “You little—”

  She missed the rest of his statement because she started screaming. Large chunks of her hair detached from her head. She touched it and the hair came away in her hand. Hair rained from every part of her body, including her eyelashes.

  She yelled, “What did you do to me? What’s happening?” The hair stopped falling when she was completely bare. “My hair!”

  “What’s going on here?” boomed a newcomer. The man filled the doorway and looked none too pleased to be there.

  All the doctors—or whatever they were—stopped fussing with her and looked his way. The head doctor—Starling assumed the woman was the head doctor since she seemed to be in charge—rushed forward. “Sir Nausic, how good to see you. What brings you to my humble locale?”

  Nausic said, “I have come to secure the human for King Bekion. Where is it?”

  “There.” She pointed at Starling. “But Lord Schel said the human was bound to Prince Kuruk, not King Bekion.”

  “Schel was mistaken.”

  Morn said, “We’re having a bit of trouble with it at the moment, Sir Nausic. If you give us time to secure it, then you can take it.”

  “Just try it,” Starling said, brandishing the rod at him. “I’ll knock your block off.”

  They took her up on her offer. Morn tried to grab her again while another woman inched toward her from behind. Starling dodged out of the woman’s reach before swinging baseball-style at Morn’s s
hin. The metal rod rang and vibrated in her hands with the force she put behind it.

  Morn fell to the ground, clutching his shin and cursing her.

  Nausic said, “Enough! Clear the room, all of you. I’ll deal with it.”

  The doctors rushed out and closed the door behind them.

  Starling faced Nausic. He was the tallest she’d seen yet but that didn’t matter. All the stuff she needed to hit happened to be on her level. She’d make him incapable of having children if she had to. If the equipment was where it should be. His pants had a bulge in the right spot. She’d assume it was the same and adapt if it wasn’t.

  “Put it down!” He pointed to the floor with a stern look on his face.

  “Come and take it, asshole!” She made swinging motions.

  Nausic advanced. Unfortunately he did take the rod from her and with no damage to himself. He’d moved too fast for her to retaliate.

  Starling ran away from him. She screamed when he chased her.

  “Hold still.”

  “Leave me alone!”

  She tossed whatever she could move into his path—rolling stools, medical-looking utensils and even a tablet or two. He dodged it all and his angry look darkened.

  A hiding place presented itself. A cot bolted to the floor very close to the wall provided a small, defendable alcove. Starling ran for it. She grabbed another rod as she passed a table then slid into the space. It was barely big enough for her, so her giant pursuer didn’t have a chance.

  He looked at her before rolling his eyes.

  Starling stuck her tongue out at him.

  His lips twitched and he sighed. “Think you’re safe, do you?” He made a motion over the cot. It beeped then arced away from the wall.

  Starling squeaked and fell onto her side as the floor shifted beneath her. The cot was bolted down but the floor swiveled. She stood quickly and prepared to do battle if need be.

  Nausic snatched the rod away from her.

  “Leave me alone! Go away!”

  “I’m not—”

  “Go away,” she screamed. Tears erupted from her eyes as the last of her endurance left her.

  “Fine.” Nausic walked across the room and sat on another cot.

  Starling watched him for a few minutes. He didn’t move. She sank to her knees, huddling as far into the corner as she could get. Brushing her hand over her bare scalp, she cried harder.

  * * * * *

  Bekion had finally gotten time to come home and relax. He was king—ruler of planet Panagiota. When the affairs of his own kingdom didn’t bog him down, he had to fly off to planet Gorov and dance attendance on Supreme Emperor Udo. Bekion enjoyed his role as one of the supreme emperor’s most trusted and loyal kings but it was a taxing job that left room for little else.

  His secretary had managed to find a small amount of free time Bekion now wasted dealing with family issues.

  “I have told you time again, Mother, stop buying Kuruk presents—living presents especially.” Bekion’s anger grew at the sight of his mother ignoring him. “Mother!”

  “Don’t raise your voice to me, Bekion,” Tinette said in a bored manner. “I can hear you perfectly well without you yelling. I’m simply ignoring you.”

  “Stop.”

  She rolled her eyes up from her book with an annoyed sigh, giving Bekion her attention.

  “No more. I don’t want you getting him any more gifts. Do you understand? He is spoiled enough as it is.”

  “He is a growing boy who needs a mother’s love.”

  “Love is not shown with presents, Mother.”

  “Nonsense. It worked for you. It will work for him.”

  Bekion turned his eyes to the ceiling and begged the heavens for help. His mother actually thought he’d enjoyed all those superfluous gifts when he was a child. He’d wanted her attention but her duties as queen and her many hobbies had kept her too busy.

  His younger brother now received the same treatment. Unlike Bekion, a host of tutors and mentors teaching right from wrong and common decency hadn’t raised Kuruk. He ran amuck and did as he pleased without anyone to gainsay him. Bekion wanted to take his brother in hand but he didn’t have time.

  Bekion asked, “Where is it? What did you buy him this time?” Though he already knew, he wanted his mother to say it aloud. He wanted her to act a little guilty or concerned for her actions.

  “It’s only a human, Bekion. Earth has so many of them.”

  “It is from Earth then?”

  “That is what the poacher said.”

  Bekion hoped the boast was false. If not, he would have to explain to Supreme Emperor Udo why Dowager Queen Tinette felt the need to break one of Gorov Empire’s oldest laws—leave the inhabitants of Earth alone.

  “He was most adamant on that point, especially during the bidding. I think it was to drive the price higher. Not to worry, there was no way those present could outbid me.”

  “You went to the bidding?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t leave something so important to Schel. He would have chosen the first human he saw and at the cheapest price. There were many unscrupulous people there trying to pass substandard humans off as true Earth stock. Schel believed most of them.” She tutted and shook her head. “Poor man is so trusting. If he wasn’t so helpful to me, I would have replaced him long ago.”

  Bekion was sure Schel had meant to steer Tinette toward legal humans. The man did his best to curtail Tinette’s wilder ideas with little success. Schel remained an asset because of the few times he did succeed.

  “Did the poacher have proof of his claim?” Bekion hoped not. He could excuse Tinette’s actions later by saying she’d thought the poacher’s sales pitch was falsified to garner more money. A small elaboration of the truth he hoped the supreme emperor would believe.

  “The salesman gave my secretary the human’s belongings it had at the time of its capture. Some identification and clothing and money, I guess. I ordered it all disposed of. As a pet, it won’t need them.”

  “I can’t believe Schel was so stupid,” he said under his breath.

  “Whatever do you mean, Bekion? The female is genuine. I didn’t want one of those ugly inbred humans from the market. They are so unappealing. A pure human is preferred for my son. I want nothing but the best for him. The poacher said he only gathers humans from heavily populated areas. It will not be missed.”

  “I’m sure her family will miss her.”

  “Why? There are so many other females on the planet. They can pick one to be their child. Or its parents can have another. Those humans breed so easily and quickly, after all.”

  Bekion felt a headache starting behind his right eye.

  “It’s with the physicians if you want to see it. I planned to give it to Kuruk at dinner. His birthday is in another week. It’ll be an early present.”

  “Mother,” he bit out through his teeth, “Kuruk’s birthday was two months ago.”

  “Was it?”

  “Yes.”

  “It was?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where was I?”

  The headache spread to his left eye. He bowed his head into his hand and prayed for strength, not knowing why the conversation surprised him. He’d grown up with the woman and knew how she was. “You were there. You got him that rock, remember?”

  Tinette smiled, resting her chin on her finger.

  He could almost see the memory taking hold.

  “Oh, I remember. He killed that rock, didn’t he? How exactly does one kill a rock, Bekion? I never understood how he accomplished such a feat.”

  “It was a living creature from an unexplored planet. You had your soldiers kidnap yet another living being and Kuruk killed it. After that, I told you no more living presents.”

  “No, you said no more sentient presents.”

  “I told you no more sentient presents after he killed the Atigin Dragon-bird from Isia. Panagiota had to pay reparations to the male’s family as well as issue an apol
ogy with an extremely generous trade agreement. After the rock, I said no more living presents.”

  “I’m sure you’re right as usual, Bekion.” Tinette resumed reading.

  The conversation had ended with Bekion accomplishing nothing except giving himself a headache. He had to leave.

  He straightened, standing at his full height, and bowed to his mother. In a formal tone, he said, “I shall see you later at dinner, Mother.”

  “Have a good rest of day, my son.”

  He was halfway across the room when she called out, “Are you leaving, Bekion?”

  “Yes, Mother, I am,” he said without stopping or turning back.

  “Come give Mother a kiss then.”

  Bekion did an about-face and returned to her side. He didn’t bother wasting breath making excuses or arguing. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. She pursed her lips, making a kissing noise below his chin. That done, he pulled away to leave again.

  Tinette grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips. She whispered, “You do a very good job. I’m sure Haig would be proud of you, Bekion.”

  “Thank you,” he whispered back.

  She reached out and stroked his cheek. Her eyes took on a misty quality. “You resemble him more and more every day.”

  “I’m sorry, Mother.”

  It was rare for Tinette to mention Bekion’s father. Haig had gone into self-exile almost ten years ago to keep Tinette out of the supreme emperor’s prison. No one had heard from him since. Bekion knew that pained Tinette, so she acted as though Haig didn’t exist. That meant Bekion had to do the same.

  “Nonsense. You should be thankful to resemble your father.” She took in a long breath. Her somber attitude seemed to vanish as she breathed out. She patted his cheek and released his hand. “Now go off and do more things to better this kingdom. I’ll see you at dinner.”

  He nodded and turned away, leaving at a faster pace than last time. He had to leave before Tinette called him back. The sooner he got away from her, the sooner his headache would go away—a simple fact he’d become all too familiar with over the years.

  Tinette’s servants closed the door to her chamber once Bekion crossed the threshold. He sagged back against it, unable to support himself. His headache persisted. He looked at the men who waited for his acknowledgment and knew the pain would get worse before it got better.