In the Arms of the Dragon Princes

by Jessica Miller

  *****

  Jasiah

  I stood by the passenger bay of the space port and waited for the human woman called Anna Spolekis. I even had to hold up a sign with her name on it like all the other aides who volunteered to mentor the humans. Their space shuttle had just landed and I could see through the large windows of the space port as the humans exited the shuttle and walked down the long curving hallway that would lead them to us. The hallway doors were opened and the humans spilled into the waiting area; I counted ten females and ten males. They all seemed to be competent as they identified their names and paired with their mentors.

  One female was fussing with the large rolling case she carried and seemed a bit flustered. I watched as no one from her own race stopped to help her, so I stepped forward and offered my aid.

  “Excuse me, do you need assistance?” I asked. I spoke English even though I was told the humans would have translators. I had been to Earth enough times that it was mandatory for me to learn the language.

  “You speak English!” she said in surprise and looked up at me with wide eyes. Her gaze fell to the small board I held and she pointed to it. “That’s me,” she said and gave me a wide smile. “You must be my mentor,” she said excitedly, and I nodded once. The human was a flurry of excitement; I knew I would have to learn to adjust to her nature in order to tolerate it.

  “You are Anna Spolekis?” I asked, and she nodded before handing me her Rolarian identification pass. I handed it back to her after confirming her identity and briefly studied her features. Humans and Rolarians were much the same in appearance, though there are differences in skin tone, and physical durability. Anna had long blonde hair that fell nearly to her waist and her eyes were a bright blue, the color of the sky. She had tanned skin and her body appeared to be athletically fit. She had soft looking pink lips, a gentle curve of a nose, and a soft jaw and chin. Her cheekbones were well formed and not too high, her eyebrows arched and her lashes were thick in framing her eyes. I supposed she was beautiful, even to Rolarian norms.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Jasiah Kane, you may call me Jay, or Jasiah,” I said, and she gave me another grand smile.

  “It’s great to meet you too Jasiah, you have a really cool name,” she said, and I inclined my head in acknowledgement of her compliment.

  “Shall we travel to your living quarters now?” I asked her.

  She bent down to push something into her traveling case and clasped it closed.

  “Yeah, I’m excited to see my apartment,” she said and then stood quickly to go. I led her from the waiting area out to the front of the space port where a transporter was hovering in wait.

  “Have you been given transporter lessons?” I asked her as I loaded her case into the holding compartment at the front of the vehicle. Anna’s eyes were wide with wonder as she circled around the sleek vehicle and acquainted herself with it.

  “It looks like one of those cars on iRobot! But it hovers…it kind of looks like an Audi too,” Anna said. I simply waited for her to answer my question as I stood by the driver’s side door. “They gave us simulation lessons back on Earth, it’s pretty similar to driving a regular car,” she said, and I gestured to the driver side.

  “Well perhaps you should get real practice in then,” I said, and she gasped in excitement as she hurried around the vehicle and got in. I went to get into the passenger’s side before she took off without me.

  “Wow, it’s so nice in here, leather seats and all…” she said as she fastened her safety harness and then tapped a control behind the wheel to take the transporter out of stationary mode. I watched her carefully as she eased away from the curb of the space port and lifted the transporter into regulation hover space before accelerating forward onto the road.

  “Very good, it seems to come natural to you,” I commented, and she glanced at me with a big smile before paying attention to the road space.

  “So where am I going?” she asked, and I input the target destination into her transporter’s directional system. A display came up on the windshield that passively alerted her when to turn and what signs to follow. “Wow this is so cool…and look at the city! It’s all white brick and silver and glass…” she said, and I hoped she was paying attention to her operation of the transporter more than she was sightseeing.

  “Tomorrow we have a full day to tour the city,” I said, and she glanced at me with wide eyes.

  “Great! I can’t wait to see what it looks like during the day time, at night it’s so pretty,” she said in awe, and I couldn’t help but smirk at how childlike she seemed.

  Soon we arrived at the residential building her home was in. I directed her to station the transporter in the garage underneath the building. From there we rode an elevator up to the lobby and that look of wonder came over Anna’s features once more. The lobby was ornate with its marble floors, chrome accents, and grand views of the city.

  “Wow I’m so lucky I was able to afford a place like this,” she whispered as we walked over to the front desk where she would get her key.

  “There are some residential buildings and home associations that welcome human immigrants, you got your home at a discounted price,” I informed her, and she looked up at me with an odd smirk.

  “Oh, okay then,” she said, and I wondered if I crossed some human social norm by telling her so. Anna stepped up to the front desk and gave her name to the building manager who was very excited to have her.

  *****

  Anna

  Pocco, the building manager was very excited to get me settled, he showed me where the ‘correspondence’ or mail room was, he gave me a pass key that would allow me to get into the building’s gym, pool, and lounge area. Then he gave me a specialized pass key that would allow me to operate the elevator to get to my apartment.

  “Now I will show you your home, yes?” Pocco spoke good English, not as well as Jasiah, but it was good. I loved their almost Romanian accent, it was a mix between an Italian accent and a Romanian one. Plus, the sound of their language flowed beautifully too. I couldn’t wait to master it.

  “Of course, I can’t wait to see it!” I enthused. I thought I heard a sigh from Jasiah, whom I was learning wasn’t the most exciting guy in the world. Yes, he was gorgeous, but he held himself so in order and was kind of stoic if you asked me. Jasiah was tall, as in upwards of six and a half feet, but then I was realizing that a lot of the Rolarian men were tall. He was well built for his height, not stocky at all and hardly skinny or flimsy. He looked exactly like a young James Dean, but with dark brown hair and striking green eyes. I mean Jasiah was…gorgeous.

  “Good, good, let us go then and I will give you…the grand tour, as they say on your planet,” Pocco said, and I laughed with him as we all walked towards the elevator. Pocco was a lanky guy with great black hair that was perfectly coiffed, his features were cute and he had pretty light brown eyes that were almost caramel colored. His skin tone was café au lait colored and he had a great smile. I warmed to him almost as soon as I met him.

  “So your home is on the…thirty-fifth floor. It has three bedrooms, and three grooming rooms, all of which have a separate ah, what you call toilet.” Pocco went on to describe the apartment as the elevator rode up to the thirty-fifth floor. It stopped and opened to a nice carpeted hallway that had occasional sweeping views of the city with large windows. I couldn’t get over how beautiful the city of Rado was. It served as the capital city of one of the main ‘islands,’ or continents on Rolar.

  We went all the way to the end of the hall where my apartment was. It had a marker on the door which translated to LQ-Seven.

  “So this is you, living quarter seven. On the entire floor there are only seven living quarters, which means the homes are quite spacious. We took high esteem in creating sound barriers in each home, so you will not have to worry about noise, even if a neighbor is having a grand celebration. Trust me, it has been tested,” Pocco said, and I laughed with him as he used my pass card
to unlock my door. We stepped into a nice foyer which had two large archways leading into the rest of the apartment.

  “So as I have given you ample description of the home, I will let you explore for yourself and get acquainted,” Pocco said as he handed me my pass card.

  “Thank you so much Pocco,” I said, and he inclined his head gracefully.

  “Please feel free to call the front desk with any questions, concerns, or needs,” he said and then bid me a good evening before he left me alone with the apartment and Jasiah who was like a silent pillar behind me. I looked up at him with a small smile and gestured to the right.

  “Shall we explore then?” I asked, and Jasiah nodded once before gesturing me to walk ahead of him. I went through the archway that led into the living room and on the right wall, which wasn’t really a wall at all, was a huge view of the city. The living room was fully furnished in sleek contemporary furnishings, though it didn’t make the place feel cold at all and there was even a gas fireplace.

  Behind the living room was another archway that led into a dining room which was open to the kitchen. I was relieved that all the stainless steel appliances seemed to be straightforward, there was a stove, an oven, a sink, dishwasher, and fridge. On the left of the kitchen was another archway that led to a wide hallway which housed all the bedrooms and a bathroom. Everything was spacious which was a huge change from my New York apartment, and I lived in a nice building in the city as well.

  “Is everything pleasing to you?” Jasiah startled me as I had forgotten the silent pillar was there. “I apologize…I frighten you?” he asked me with concern evident in his face.

  “No, it’s fine…I just forgot you were there, you startled me is all. But yeah this place is amazing, I think I’ll love it here,” I said, and Jasiah nodded.

  “Very well then, I will show you where you can buy food and supplies for your home and then afterwards, perhaps we can share a meal at a nearby restaurant,” he said politely, and I smiled.

  “That sounds great!” I said, and the ghost of a smile touched his lips. Jasiah was definitely too rigid for my taste. I wondered if I could shake him out of his shell somehow. “Hey before we go…I want you to know that it’s okay to be yourself around me. You don’t have to be so overly polite,” I said, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  “You think I am not being myself?” he asked, and I nodded and then gestured to his stance. His hands were held behind his back and his shoulders square.

  “You look so rigid,” I said, and he glanced down at himself.

  “Well I did not want to be too comfortable around you and risk conveying…the wrong message,” he said.

  I nodded in understanding. “It’s fine, we’re going to be around each other for a while, we might as well be familiar. You have my permission to lighten up,” I said, and he seemed a bit bemused. “You know…loosen up a bit, this isn’t a job right? You volunteered to be a mentor,” I said and he nodded.

  “Yes I did…and I will try to ‘loosen up’ as you say,” he said and then let his hands fall to his side.

  “It’s a start,” I said with a chuckle and then gestured him to follow me to the front door.

  *****

  Jasiah

  I had Anna operate the transporter once again. I was impressed that she got a handle on it so quickly.

  “So how did you get into the position to volunteer to be a mentor?” she asked me as we rode to the market. I looked at her and studied her profile as she was paying attention to the road space.

  “Well, I am a galactic exploration general. I took leave as a sort of vacation and found it to be an incredible waste of time, so I volunteered to mentor a human immigrant,” I answered, and Anna looked at me with a smile.

  “So you’re working on your vacation?” she asked, and I shrugged.

  “I do not think it is work. Work is taking long voyages into space to find other planets like Earth to exchange intelligence and create relationships with. This is…well it is not that,” I said, and Anna giggled. The sound was musical and I realized then that she had a nice voice. It was smooth and airy.

  “Well your job sounds really cool, have you found other planets in the galaxy like Earth, or like Rolar?” she asked, and I glanced at her again just as her eyes touched mine. She glanced away from me quickly and then looked back when she came to a stopping light. Anna’s eyes were beautiful; it was extremely rare that you would find blue eyes on Rolar. It was more likely to find violet eyes or purple even.

  “Well I cannot say exactly, but we do have two hopefuls we came across in a faraway solar system. Even at light speed it took nearly two weeks to travel there,” I said, and Anna turned her attention back to the road and she took a deep breath before speaking.

  “Wow, that’s incredible. It’s amazing that Rolar has such great scientific advances that allows you guys to travel the galaxy. On Earth the idea was still fantasy,” Anna said as she pulled up to the market. “Where do I park?” she asked me, and I directed her to the garage underneath the building.

  “Every place you go in this city, there is either a stationing garage underneath the building, or it will be on top of the building,” I told her, and she nodded as she took in the information. We exited the garage by way of elevator up to the market. It was clear to tell that Anna was human because of her eye color and also because of her height and the pendant she wore around her neck. Eyes and whispers followed her as if she were some sort of remarkable figure.

  “This is like a Super Target meets Costco…” Anna commented as she seemed oblivious to the stares. She retrieved a holding cart and we began to make our way through the market. “You know they have Rolarian fashion on Earth, but it’s not quite the same as what’s really here,” Anna said as we strolled through the clothing section of the store. Anna got something from every section of the store, mostly clothing and supplies for the house, and some human grade food as well.

  “You know I heard that humans can build up a tolerance for the food here, just like we can for the altitude and eventually even the temperatures,” Anna commented as we stood in line for her to pay for her purchases.

  “Yes, but it is very difficult and not exactly safe either. I would not experiment if I were you Anna. Neither with the food or withstanding the temperature here. Technically it is fall in Rado, but on Earth it would be as cold as the Antarctic outside of the winter season, without the snow of course,” I reminded her the dangers of experimenting with trying to force her body into adapting to Rolar.

  “I know, I know…I was just…musing I guess,” Anna said.

  When it came her turn to pay for her items, I noticed that she did not turn her translator on to speak with the item handler. Anna spoke surprisingly well Mandarolian, and the item handler explained to Anna that they ship her items to her home so she doesn’t have to worry about hauling everything out to her transporter.

  “Wow that’s convenient, you know they should do that back on Earth,” Anna said as we left the market. “So where are we going to next? To eat right?” she asked, and I nodded.

  “Yes, I know of a restaurant nearby that you might like. They serve human grade food that is prepared just as Rolarian food is prepared. You will be able to experience all the unique flavors without becoming sick,” I told her, and she smiled excitedly.

  “Oh that sounds fantastic!” she said as we got into her transporter. I entered the destination into her mapping system and then we were off.

  “So after we eat what are we going to do?” she asked me, and I chuckled.

  “Well seeing as after we eat it will be the equivalent of ten p.m. here, you must go back to your home and rest, so that you can get acquainted with the timing difference,” I told her, and she deflated in her excitement.

  “Who needs sleep,” she mumbled, and I found myself laughing again. She smirked at me and I quickly sobered myself.

  “You need it, don’t worry I will be by early tomorrow so that I can give you a proper tour of
the city,” I said, and she nodded, her excitement returning.

  “I can’t wait, then after tomorrow what are we doing?” she asked me, and I couldn’t help but compare her excitement to that of a child’s.

  “Then you get acquainted with your workplace. You will be working in the human embassy for Rado correct?” I asked her, and she nodded.

  “Yep, as a counsellor, they wanted to stick me in a hospital, but that would’ve been ridiculous as I was hired for delegates and officials and such,” Anna said.

  “I’m sorry I don’t follow?” I said, and she glanced at me and smiled a bit bashfully.

  “Sorry, I’m a psychiatrist and I help people through difficult times. Mentally, you know?” she said.

  “So you are an emotion physician,” I clarified and nodded slowly.

  “Yeah, essentially,” she laughed, and I had to respect her for her trade. It took the strongest individuals to help others deal with troubles they could not handle.

  *****

  Anna

  Jasiah’s expression was thoughtful after I told him what I did for a living. I wonder what he thought of me, then I wondered why I was wondering what he thought of me.

  “You are quiet,” Jasiah observed, I hadn’t spoken or asked a question for the last few minutes and I smirked. He had definitely already picked up that I was chatty.

  “I was just thinking,” I said.

  “I hope you don’t take this offensively, but I was wondering how someone who talks so much could be a professional listener,” Jasiah said, and I burst into laughter.

  “That is a really good question, really I force myself to shut up,” I said, and Jasiah looked at me questioningly.

  “Shut up?” he asked, and I laughed.

  “Yeah, be quiet,” I said, and he nodded in understanding. “Is there another way to say be quiet here? Like colloquially?” I asked, and he nodded and smirked.