by Dinah McLeod
“I’m sorry.”
She didn’t sound contrite, but Binnix decided to let that fact go unnoticed. At least this time. “Very well. I know you consider yourself very ill-treated—you’ve made that point clear. But I hope that you understand that Rowth, the magistrate that fought for you and the other females’ freedom, did you a great service. If he had not spoken up, you might have been killed—indeed, you certainly would have remained in prison for the rest of your lives, however long that might be.”
Sarai shifted in her chair once more, but didn’t reply.
“So while I can certainly understand that you are not pleased to be kept here, like a prisoner, as you say, you should regard yourself very lucky to still have the privilege of breathing and being able to insult my food.”
She seemed to be considering this, which she did for a long time. Binnix didn’t add anything more, instead giving her the time she needed to process what he’d said. Then, at last, she picked up the spearing utensil beside her plate, cut off a bit of meat and put it into her mouth. She chewed slowly, then swallowed, all under his watchful eye. “It’s not bad,” she said at last. “Why does it have to smell so vile?”
Binnix picked up his own spearing utensil and began to eat once more. “I am beginning to think smells must be very different on our planets. I think it smells quite wonderful. And it certainly tastes that way—even you can’t deny that.”
“I could too,” she grumbled, but he couldn’t help but notice that she took another bite, this one bigger than the last.
“This might be a good time to tell you the rules of our planet,” he said as he ate.
“Let me see,” Sarai said. “No running away, no lying, no yelling and no interrupting. I don’t think I missed anything—oh, wait. No killing anyone, not deliberately, or otherwise,” she finished with a little smile.
Hmm. Thus far, she’d retained everything that he’d told her. Perhaps she wasn’t as stupid as he’d first found her. “That’s correct. And while the rest of what I’m going to tell you aren’t necessarily laws on our planet, I also refuse to be disobeyed, or disrespected. Those things will always be followed by swift punishment.”
“I see. And what are my rights, on your planet?”
“Your rights? I don’t understand.”
“What I mean is, if being disrespectful to you actually just means using free speech, do I not have that right?”
He blinked at her. What was she talking about?
“Oh, boy,” Sarai sighed, taking another bite. “I can see I’m a fish out of water here.”
“If your intention was not to land here, where were you headed?”
The female seemed surprised by the question, but after a moment, she answered. “A number of years ago—twenty-three, to be exact—we located a planet that is very much like our own. It took us well over a decade to assemble a team to go there, not only for exploration but also to begin making it habitable for those that would follow. I was part of the second team, and our mission was to continue the work so that other teams could follow. They were hoping to have a third team ready to go in half the time, but I don’t know if that will come to fruition or not.”
“I suppose you are disappointed not to have arrived there.”
“Yeah. I mean, not that this time with you hasn’t been loads of fun, but I was looking forward to finding out what they’d learned, and I wanted to make my own contribution.”
“Which would have been?”
“I do a bit of everything.” The hesitancy in her voice, as well as the way her eyes slid away from his when she spoke, told him that she wasn’t interested in sharing. Why, he wondered?
“Well, as you know, here I am police chief. I spend a great deal of my time trying to secure safety for my people.”
“I suppose that can be difficult, what will aliens falling from the sky and all,” she remarked drily.
“Tell me, on your planet do people find this cryptic way of speaking that you have amusing?”
“Actually, most do. On my planet, I’m considered quite a riot. And I’m not making that up this time—I can provide references. Though how you’d go about contacting them is beyond me.”
He decided to ignore that remark altogether. “It can be, yes. I imagine you had many criminals on your planet, as we do here.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Did you have many murderers?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, people kill people, and all too often for ridiculous reasons.”
Binnix’s brow furrowed despite himself. “People? You aliens kill one another?”
“I…well, yes. Some do.”
“How very shocking.”
“Well, I thought you said you have many murderers here. How shocking can it be?”
“Many people kill more animals than they’re allotted,” he said slowly, musing at the vast difference. “We are taught that all life is sacred, and every family is only allowed to hunt so many animals a year, based on its family size. Too often, people feel the need to have more than they are granted and I have to find them and see them punished according to the law. No one would kill a fellow Pra’kirian, not in his right mind. That’s simply barbaric.”
“I suppose that I have a lot to learn about your planet, your people.”
“Yes. But beyond the rules I’ve mentioned, there really is no hurry. You’ll have a lifetime to learn.”
***
Sarai slept well that night, although with Binnix’s words ringing in her ears: you’ll have a lifetime to learn. The idea made her shudder. She couldn’t wait to begin her research and be that much closer to getting off this god-forsaken planet! While she’d slept her subconscious had mapped out a plan. She awoken ready to greet the day, excited about the task ahead of her. Oh, it still seemed nearly insurmountable, that hadn’t changed, but Sarai had always enjoyed a challenge. And though she wasn’t exactly sure how, one thing she knew for certain was that this was an obstacle she would overcome, even if it took a couple of years. Two years was certainly better than spending the rest of her life in this hellhole.
She just had to stay focused and committed. Not that that would be hard, given her current very unsavory circumstances. If nothing else, she knew with certainty that she’d remain dedicated to getting away from here. Ideally, she would have had a copy of the flight plan so she would know where they’d been headed, and she would journey on to Zeta-12 as planned. But at this rate she’d be lucky to get back to Earth—hell, anywhere had to be better than here. Floating aimlessly through space would be preferable to the threat of being beaten with some horrific alien implement.
Binnix had told her the night before that he would be gone when she’d awoke the next morning. He’d also added, in that inscrutable way of his, that the house would be locked from the outside so that she could not leave. As if she’d try that again! She wouldn’t dare, at least not until she had a better plan in place.
But she assumed that at least exploring the house wasn’t off limits. After all, what else was she supposed to do all day?
Sarai walked through the house, taking her time to look around—not that there was much to see. The Spartan furnishings of her bedroom seemed to be a theme throughout. There were heavy nearly colorless dark blue curtains on the windows, but the same white walls without a single decoration anywhere. There were no mirrors, no “dust catchers”, as her dad called them. Not even a single throw pillow. She was tempted to call it cold, but somehow that didn’t seem accurate. It was just as ordered and no nonsense as her captor himself was.
She wandered until she found her way upstairs. As soon as she’d hit the top stair, her eyes widened in delighted surprise. Binnix apparently was quite the reader. That, or the only things these aliens decorated with were books, because he had wall-to-wall bookshelves crammed full of the things. In fact, there were no empty spaces that she could see. Sarai moved toward them in a bit of a trance, her eyes darting around i
n amazement at the thick, leather-bound tomes. As soon as she neared the shelves she reached for the nearest one, but her hand froze mid-air as realization dawned. Surely she wouldn’t be able to read these. They’d be in an alien language that was as foreign to her as Greek. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. This wasn’t going to be just difficult—it really was impossible. The frustration she’d been feeling mounted and she felt tears well up in her eyes. She blinked them back, however, determined to fight her feelings of hopelessness. If there was one thing she knew it was that she couldn’t give up. She’d never forgive herself if she did.
Chapter 5
Binnix rose from his desk as he caught sight of the magistrate walking toward him. His arms stiff against his sides, he bowed his head in acknowledgement as he approached.
Rowth nodded. “Binnix. How are you?”
“I am well. What can I assist you with today?”
“I’m not here on business. Well, I suppose I am, of a sort. I am making my rounds among all who are fostering the aliens to see how it’s going. You were next on my list.”
“I see. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the chair across from his desk and waited for Rowth to take it before he resumed sitting in his own chair.
“How are things going thus far?” the General Magistrate asked without wasting a moment’s time on pleasantries.
With anyone else, Binnix would be tempted to make the situation sound better than it was, but while he and Rowth weren’t exactly friends, they respected one another a great deal and he knew that he could share his honest feelings without having Rowth think less of him. Knowing that, he took his time to think about it before he responded. “She’s certainly a challenge. These aliens—”
“Earthlings,” Rowth asserted. “Brinley keeps reminding me.”
He nodded. “Earthlings, then. They are not like us, that goes without saying. There are moments when I cannot believe the vastness of the differences, and still others when I think…”
“Perhaps they are not so different?”
Binnix bowed his head in acknowledgement of the truth of that statement. “I am coming to think that my charge is not quite as lacking in intelligence as I first found her.”
“I wouldn’t underestimate them.” Rowth’s mouth tightened for a moment, and Binnix suspected he spoke from experience. “They are not unintelligent. Nor, do I think—” He paused and glanced around for a moment before leaning forward slightly and finishing in a lower voice, “nor do I believe they are children.”
He observed the other man carefully, wondering if this was the first time Rowth had come to that conclusion. “Oh, no? I thought that was the only reason the council decided to grant leniency and allow them to leave prison.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, then, if they found out that they were not, do you not think they would rethink their ruling?”
“A ruling, once made, is final.”
“Exceptions have been made before, in certain cases,” he reminded the Magistrate.
“And you would wish for an exception to be made in this case? Do you find living with the Earthling—what’s yours’ name?”
“Sarai.”
“Sarai. Do you find living with her so distasteful? If you are having second thoughts about fostering her, if you are finding it too difficult, I am certain we could find a willing male who would—”
“I didn’t say that.” Binnix instantly regretted that his words came out sounding harsh.
Rowth regarded him with black, unblinking eyes.
“I will not shirk my duty,” he told the Magistrate. But there was more to it than that, and he knew it. But being that he had not completely analyzed his own feelings on Sarai he could hardly explain it to anyone else.
“No one doubts your loyalty to our ways. If you are certain that you can deal with the female Sarai, despite everything, then I will not question you.”
A flicker of pain shot through him, but he pushed it away before the emotion could take hold. “And your…Brinley, did you say? These alien names are so strange. How is she?”
“Yes, but I imagine they think the same of ours. And she is…assimilating, with some difficult patches.”
“My female tried to run away. I do believe she plans to do it again, despite her punishment.”
“Knowing you,” Rowth said with a rare smile, “I tend to think you let her escape the first time, and very well might again, depending on how great your desire is to correct her.”
He bent his head in silent acknowledgement. “I do not believe that she has detected that our sense of hearing is so much greater than theirs.”
“If she’s anything like Brinley, she’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“And knowing her, probably attempt to find a way to offset it,” he grumbled.
“Yes, well, it keeps things interesting.”
Binnix did a double-take. “I didn’t think with your job, Magistrate, that you had cause to need something interesting.”
“Nor you, and yet…”
Just then, the telecommunicator on his desk began to blink with a green light, signaling that he had an urgent call. “Forgive me, but I must take this.”
“Of course. I should be going. Keep me posted on your situation, and if you should need anything, I would be happy to assist.”
“Thank you.”
“I know you’ll never ask, but I thought you should know just the same.”
Binnix nodded before tapping the device and saying hello. His mind, normally so sharp and focused on his job, wandered as the caller began to speak. He couldn’t help but wonder if Rowth was really checking in with everyone, or if he’d merely made a special trip to see him. Perhaps he should be flattered that Rowth cared, but all he felt was annoyance. He was a grown man, after all. He knew what he could and could not handle, and the fact that Rowth felt the need to question him not once, but twice on the matter, was offensive. He knew what he was doing. Yes, hard things had happened recently, but he couldn’t change them, so why focus on them?
All he had time to focus on at present was his job and the strange alien—ahem, Earthling—that occupied his house. As his mind turned to her, he couldn’t help but wonder how she was doing. He hoped that she had learned her lesson and would stay inside the house.
One thought led to another and suddenly in his mind’s eye he was seeing her light pink backside turn a deeper shade of red until it was crimson. Oddly, her face had turned almost that same shade as tears ran down her cheeks. It only took remembering for a moment for his cock to begin to tent his pants.
Perhaps a very small part of him—okay, not that small—hoped that she hadn’t learned her lesson after all.
***
“Sarai? I’m home.”
The sound of another voice in the house made her jump. Only then did she realize how stiff her neck and back were from having been hunched over a book for the past several hours. She’d gone through each and every book on the shelf until she’d managed to find what could only be a children’s primer. She’d been studying it for quite some time, apparently, so engrossed in her study that she hadn’t even realized how many hours had passed. When she moved to set the book down and stand up, however, she felt just how stiff her muscles were.
Before she could call out to Binnix and tell him where she was she heard the sound of his footsteps on the stairs. Apparently he knew without her having to say a word.
She was trying to stand when he made it to the top. She was having more difficulty than she’d anticipated because having been hunched over all day with her legs folded Indian-style meant that her legs had both inevitably fallen asleep.
“Do you need some help?” he asked, seeming to have read the situation in an instant.
“No, I’m fine,” she said, but he’d already walked over and reached down a hand. She took it, albeit reluctantly, and allowed him to hoist her to her feet. “Are you home for lunch?�
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“I had lunch already, several hours ago,” he replied matter-of-factly. “It will be time for the evening meal soon.”
Her mouth dropped open. He couldn’t be serious.
“What have you been doing all day? I noticed that you didn’t leave the house.”
She gave him an odd look, wondering how in the world he could know that for sure. “I’ve been reading.”
“All day?”
“I guess so.”
He glanced at the book she’d set down and looked back at her, his face void of expression.
Even though she couldn’t tell what he was thinking she felt sure that he must be judging her. “I know it’s a children’s book, but I’m not from here,” she reminded him, her tone defensive.
“Of course not,” he replied. “You have to learn.”
“And I will,” she assured him, jutting her chin out defiantly.
“I could help you, if you like.”
The offer caught her off guard. “You…you’d be willing to do that?”
“Certainly. I don’t see why not. If you’re going to spend the rest of your life here, you should be able to read our language. You seem bright—you’ll pick it up.”
Sarai had been so pleased by his offer and was made even more so by the compliment. She was so grateful, yet she couldn’t seem to find the words to thank him. She was, after all, still a prisoner. How confusing this whole situation was! Was Binnix just a merciful warden?
“I think you need a bit of exercise to loosen up your body from all the sitting. Why don’t we go for a walk, then I’ll make us something to eat?”
Surprised at the suggestion to let her out of the house, she eagerly agreed. As soon as they were out the door, however, she found that she had to shade her eyes against the bright glint of the sun. It had been a long time since she’d spent an entire day reading—she’d had a job back on Earth, and a fiancé, but here she had nothing but time.
