by Alyx X
As I read it over again, nausea clutched my gut. I hadn’t noticed before, but it was obvious now. I was really little more than a pet, though I was still grateful that I hadn’t been purchased by someone with more...nefarious purposes.
At a gentle knock on the door, I looked up and pushed the pile of paperwork titled schedule to one side to read later.
“Hi Tessa.” Gabby said as she opened the door. She spoke in a soft voice to accompany her gentle smile, and I jerked as I realized she was like me—human. “I’m Gabby.”
I relaxed. It was good to see another human, and she looked well cared for. If she was any indication, King Izon looked after his staff.
“You want that tour now?” She smiled again, and her pretty blue eyes lit up.
“Sure. I think I’ve explored this room pretty well.”
Gabby laughed, and her brown curls bounced on her shoulders. “There’s probably not a whole lot to see, right?” She shrugged “I arrived with nothing, too.”
“What have you got now?”
She shrugged. “Still not very much, but I don’t need a lot. I have everything I need here.”
She turned to lead the way from the room. “Let’s start with the children’s rooms.” She pushed through the double doors Dyan had indicated and opened three doors on the small landing on the other side. “Okay—one nursery. Luka sleeps here. There’s a cot in the corner for if he’s restless and you need to lie down. This is Jari’s room, and this one belongs to Vike.”
They looked as I expected—fit for a princess and two princes.
“You will have a sound system between Luka’s room and yours so you can hear him if he wakes up in the night. Your care responsibility covers both day and night.”
I sighed. This was what I had expected, but I still had held out hope for a bit of free time to myself. Maybe explore this planet a little... Perhaps my earlier assumption wasn’t correct. I wasn’t a pet, I was just a prisoner who also worked.
She closed the doors and we walked on down the wide hallway. “You won’t need to access anything else up here.” Her hand brushed a door. “This is where Dyan sleeps. He gets breaks but he rarely takes them.” She grinned. “He’s…dedicated, for sure. And that—” She pointed to another set of double doors, grander than the ones we’d just used. “Is the door to The King’s quarters. Don’t go there, don’t touch the doors, don’t even breathe on them.” She gave me an apologetic smile. “That area is out of bounds to you.”
I nodded. “The King said I wouldn’t be allowed near his private rooms. It’s okay. I’m also not allowed in his study, other staff rooms…” I ticked off the list on my fingers. “Oh, and the kitchen.”
Gabby nodded. “Sounds like you have what you need, but if you get unsure, come ask me, okay?”
I nodded, and she smiled brightly.
“Let’s go back downstairs.” She turned to where the wide stairway, with its beautiful curved wooden banisters, led to the lower floor.
For a moment, the chandelier captivated me again, and I turned to Gabby to ask her about it. But I saw a picture over her shoulder, and gasped.
“Who’s…who’s that?” My voice trembled a little and my hand shook when I pointed.
Gabby glanced over her shoulder. “Oh. I wondered how long you’d take to notice her. I can’t believe you didn’t notice the huge portrait in his office.”
“Wait. In his office?” I ran through all my memories of standing with King Izon in his office, but all I could see was his massive frame and his lips moving as he talked at me. “I didn’t…I didn’t…” I paused before I tried again. That woman looked so much like me even I could see the similarities.
“She was The Queen. Izon’s late wife.”
Okay, so that made sense. The King had pictures of The Queen, his wife. I looked at Gabby again, waiting for more information about my apparent twin. Seems none was coming though, as Gabby said “I think they said they were headed to the library.” I had too much swirling through my head to try to focus on anything, so instead I forced my brain back to the present. Back to the children. A planet with gorgeous men, a wife who’d looked just like me, so yeah. Children. Just the children.
Gabby led the way across the shimmering tiled floor and opened a door. Jari and Vike were sitting at a table, books—more paper—open in front of them like they were high level scholars. Meanwhile, the baby crawled his way across the floor like he was motorized, headed straight for a spindly table with what looked like a priceless vase perched on top of it.
“Woah! Wait, Luka!” I burst into a run, and Gabby laughed behind me.
“You’re not even in your uniform yet, and you’re already on the job,” she chuckled.
“It’s day one no matter what I’m wearing,” I returned to her over my shoulder as I grabbed Luka. I managed to grab him just as he reached his hand toward one of the skinny table legs.
I wrapped my arm around his plump, diapered butt and swept him off the floor. He giggled as I flipped him around mid-air to settle him against my hip.
I smiled at Gabby, still in the doorway. “See… I got this.”
Jari scowled at me, and Dyan shifted his position in an armchair in the corner, drawing my attention to him for the first time. But of course he was in here. I guessed I’d find him wherever the children were at all times.
“Ow!” My scalp burned with the force of a sudden sharp tug, and I returned my attention to the baby, who grinned at me as he gripped a fistful of my curls, his big red eyes sparkling.
I smiled back. “Hey now, Luca. No, no, no.” I tapped my forefinger gently against his closed fist. “That hurts Tessy. Let go of my hair. We don’t pull hair, little guy.”
His hand relaxed, and I teased my hair free before sweeping it out of the way over my shoulder. That was a good reminder to check if they had hair ties on this planet. If not, I was sure there was something I could fashion into one.
Luka snuggled against my chest and closed his eyes sleepily. I watched him for a moment and ran my forefinger over his cheek. I could get used to this baby. The entire library was silent, and I glanced up. Every face was turned toward me. Even Gabby hadn’t left yet.
“What?” I patted Luka’s butt and swayed as I held him.
To my surprise, Dyan spoke up. “Luka doesn’t do so well with strangers.” He nodded at me. “This is unusual.”
I looked down to hide my smile. Maybe that was a good sign.
After Luka fell asleep in the nest of blankets in the corner of the room, I sat at the table with Jari and Vike. I ran my gaze over the books they had open.
“You going to teach me about Hydronia?”
Vike looked at me.
“I mean, I told you about Earth, right? What can you tell me about here?” I pointed to one of the images. “I mean, we don’t even have books like this.” I paused. “At least, I couldn’t access them. They were too precious.”
Vike laughed. “Really?”
Jari crossed her arms. “That works for me. Hopefully you’re too stupid to know how to use them, too.” She looked at her brother. “Hear that? Daddy got us a dumb nanny. No school work for us, Vikey.” She lifted her hand ready for a high five. I’d have to ponder the similarities between these aliens and human children later. For now, I had to address the apparent notion that I was a “dumb nanny”.
Dyan snorted in his corner and shook his head at Izon’s eldest’s remark.
“Oh, okay.” I sat back and pretended to think. “I actually don’t think the schoolwork will be too much of a problem though, you know.”
“You can stop talking now.” Jari’s voice was cold and indifferent. She didn’t even look up as she spoke.
“Actually, no.” I made my voice indifferent too, but not as cold. “I’m an adult here, and I will speak when I like, and when I need to.”
I’d dealt with girls like Jari—highborn, wealthy girls—as I grew up, and also in the houses where I’d worked. Every so often, there’d been a child who wanted to order
me around rather than just ignore the fact I was there at all.
Jari glared at me, her red eyes narrowed, and I smiled in response. I believed in killing with kindness.
“Look, Tessa.” She spat my name. “Don’t make yourself too comfortable in that room, or at this table, or holding my baby brother. You won’t last.”
I nodded slowly in response. I wasn’t going to let one eleven-year-old girl stand in the way of my mom’s health, so I certainly wasn’t prepared to lose my job because of anything she said. If this little girl thought I wasn’t going to stick it out here, she was dead wrong. And I’d be happy to prove it to her.
5
Izon
The meeting had lasted two days. Two fucking days of my life I’d never get back. Two days of people shouting over each other, heedless of my time, while I tried to look engaged or have ready solutions. When that failed, I had just imposed my will. Although, the various mayors and island leaders tended to try to avoid that outcome. Because while it usually alleviated whatever headache they were causing me, it left them deeply unhappy.
If I wanted those kinds of troubles, I could just stay at home and oversee my children.
I blew out a deep sigh as my mind wandered back to the kids. Dyan had been sending me regular updates, and it seemed Jari was creating conflict for Tessa. She was apparently disrespecting the human’s authority and causing trouble in whatever way she could.
My head ached and I closed my eyes as I rubbed my temples. Losing Lyra had been hardest on Jari. The boys would grow up and not remember much besides maybe an associated fragrance, or vague images of a smiling stranger. Jari, however, had years of memories to draw on and grieve over.
And she’d watched every day as her mother grew a new life to add to our family, to never return from that moment of joy, swapping her life for Luka’s. At first, I’d been scared Jari might reject the baby, but she’d clung to him as if Lyra had left her a piece of her soul inside his tiny body. Since then, she’d become quite the adept little mother, helping to smooth the transitions between care while I went to meetings or travelled to our farthest flung islands.
I’d hoped to relieve her of some of that responsibility. She didn’t need to grow old before her time or seek to fill her mother’s shoes. She too needed to experience a childhood.
Perhaps I should have allowed her more time to grieve before throwing a wrench into her whole life in the form of a human stranger.
But.
I hesitated. The change was for the good of the whole family, right? The boys and Jari. I had to give her the life she should have been living back—birthday tea parties, friends, laughter. The life she’d pushed aside. Not diaper changes and nap scheduling and being tied to the boys outside school times. I didn’t want her childhood years lost to the weight of family responsibility.
I knew enough about that—the weight of it on my shoulders was as constant as the weight of the crown on my head.
I skimmed Dyan’s last message. Luckily, it seemed Tessa was able to deal with whatever Jari threw at her, and I knew the strength of my eldest’s tantrums. But so far, Tessa hadn’t given her an inch. Although, Dyan also said Tessa had shown patience and an ability to be kind to Jari despite her outbursts. I’d spoiled Jari a little—all of them, really—since Lyra’s death, so I could imagine it was a rude awakening that Tessa didn’t intend to be the same way.
A wave of protectiveness for my eldest child suffused me as I opened the front door to our home. At only eleven, hovering on the verge between child and difficult teen, any amount of change had to be difficult for her. A death, a birth, and a new primary carer inside a year would be difficult for anyone to adjust to immediately. Perhaps I needed to have a discussion with the new housekeeper about how I wanted my children to be cared for.
I checked the time as I strode across the entrance hall, the familiar smell of home welcoming me—although now it had a new note of vanilla. Plus something I couldn’t quite identify. According to the schedule I’d given Tessa to follow, Jari should be at school and Vike should be with his tutor. I headed to the library, both to see my children, and to satisfy a curiosity about whether Tessa was actually following the schedule the way I had instructed. I’d been serious about weekly evaluations.
The door creaked a little as I pushed it open, but no one moved as my eyes fell on a scene far more familiar than I had expected. Vike sat reading with his tutor at one of the tables, and I glanced toward his open books. His letters seemed to be coming on nicely.
Then I looked at Tessa, curled up on a window seat, reading. I narrowed my eyes, focusing my sharp eyesight on the title of her book—a recent addition to the library on Hydronian history. I lifted an eyebrow, regretting that I would have to reprimand her already, but she shifted and I caught sight of Luka, snuggled in her lap fast asleep.
Sudden anger surged through me at the image of them together, catching me off-guard. This woman didn’t deserve to have my son asleep on her lap. Not when she was both new and a stranger. Besides, the person he really needed—really deserved—was Lyra.
“Haven’t you got better things to do than sit around reading?” My tone was sharp, commanding, and louder than I’d intended. It seems my emotions had gotten the better of me.
Tessa flinched, and her gaze snapped to mine as her mouth fell open.
In her lap, Luka threw up his little fists as his bubble of peace and calm burst. He let out a shrill wail.
The confusion in Tessa’s eyes became a glare, and I took an inadvertent step back at the strength shown in them. Few people had the courage to meet my eyes, let alone with such obvious anger.
Then she looked down at my son and shifted his position, shushing and patting him until he calmed in her arms once more. When his sleepy eyes began to close again, she met my gaze for a second time.
“It states in my contract that I’m to be with the children at all times while they are home. That’s exactly what I’m doing.” She recited the words as if she’d memorized them.
Dyan laughed from his customary seat in the corner, but I ignored him, holding the oddly colored eyes of the woman in front of me instead. They looked like a scene in nature—moss covered tree trunks dappled with golden sunlight—and the warmth of that picture didn’t match her cold, business-like tone.
Irritation at her manner prickled through me, and my gums ached as my fangs began to descend, my fingertips itching as my claws begged to be released. She was exactly right. She was just carrying out my precise instructions for her, but I didn’t like being corrected in my own home. I especially didn’t like being corrected in front of others. Not when I’d made a career of not letting anyone in the whole world ever correct me to begin with.
When she registered the change in my face and demeanor, she drew away, pressing her back to the window. Her eyes widened before the color drained from her face. She lifted her chin but turned her head away a little, while pulling Luka a little closer to her body, making him less accessible to me. Like she was protecting him from me.
She was shielding him. The realization brought horror with it.
“I’d never hurt my children.” The words were stark, but my voice was thick as I had to growl around my fangs. Her hand fluttered across the front of Luka, smoothing his clothing.
I couldn’t tell if the comforting movement was to soothe him or her.
She met my eyes briefly again before looking away, and I wondered what she saw in my face.
“That’s reassuring,” she said, her voice flat. “But I suspect the same isn’t true for you hurting me.”
I blew out a breath at her words, fighting to bring my body back under the control of my rational mind. I couldn’t have the children’s nanny wandering about the house convinced I might lash out at her at any moment.
But she had gotten under my skin, sliding between my scales and irritating me with her existence. I couldn’t deny that.
I cast a look at Dyan, and he watched me with amusement in his e
yes. I left the room without another word. I was King, after all. I didn’t need to excuse myself in any way, and certainly didn’t need to provide reassurances to the people I employed.
Maybe I’d made a mistake in purchasing her. I’d acted impulsively, reacting to an emotion I hadn’t felt in a long time. I should have interviewed more of the humans and chosen someone less… less familiar. I’d allowed myself to be taken in by the feeling of knowing her, when I really didn’t.
I strode toward my office, I could solve this little problem very easily. After I unlocked the door and let myself in, I met Lyra’s painted eyes and a wave of guilt rolled through me, strengthening my resolve to fix things.
No one was happy in my house. Not Jari, and certainly not me.
I reached for my device and called up my contacts. I had my own rep at the Terran Program.
“Jahrood, speaking. How may I assist you today?”
The voice could have been male, female, or AI. I had no way of knowing, and the inflection gave the usually polite question the flatness of a statement.
I cleared my throat, trying to decide how to phrase my question, but I realized I’d called before actually knowing what I wanted to ask. Still, something needed to change. Tessa living and working in my home didn’t seem like it was going to work out.
“I…” I hesitated, then glanced up at Lyra again before closing my eyes as I carried on speaking. “Yes. I’d like to know when your next auction is, please.”
Later, as I left the children eating their meal to attend to some business, Dyan strode past me on his way into the dining room.
He touched my forearm. “You’re being an idiot, Izon,” he murmured.
I drew away and looked at him. “I’m King,” I stated, like it answered all accusations of any kind. To be honest, it usually did. For as many problems as the title created, it opened double the number of doors, and granted a lot of permissions.
But Dyan knew better than most as he assessed me with his gaze. “Even a king can be an idiot,” he said.
