Alien’s Bride Book Three
by
Yamila Abraham
Cover by Archie the Redcat, Edited by Michelle Henson
Copyright © 2013 Yamila Abraham. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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***
A Domestic found us after a while to ask if we wanted to join the others for a tour of the ship. I popped up from the couch.
“Yes.”
“No!” Inga said. “I don’t give a fuck about this stupid ship.”
The urge to cry buoyed up in my chest again, but this time anger came with it. Inga was just the sort of person I’d tried to avoid in my old life. No matter what her situation was she would always make the worst of it.
“I’ve never had a tour of the ship. I want to see it.”
She stayed planted on the couch and turned away from me to scowl.
Fine. Stay here and wallow in your self-pity.
No. That was callous of me. She really did have a living Hell waiting at home. I drew in a deep breath and found my compassion.
“Come on, sweetie.” I took her hand.
“Pah!” She half-heartedly climbed to her feet. “This is the only time I get away from that fucking asshole Rolf-Tem. Why do you have to ruin it for me?”
She kept stride with me behind the Domestic all the same.
We were brought into a large dining room that was walled on one side with concave windows showing outer space. Elentinus and Nayjoor sat close together, chatting. Rolf-Tem and Hor-Denay each sat one seat away from their masters to speak to each other from across the table. I came up slowly since they hadn’t noticed us yet.
“We could spread R78 spores on their home world,” Nayjoor said. “The planet would be dead in weeks without a single Dak-Hiliah soldier lost.”
“If we use such a devastating weapon their allies would retaliate,” Elentinus said.
“Not if they don’t know it’s us. If it looks like a natural disaster.”
“They’re not fools, Nayjoor.”
“They would practice selective ignorance.” He gave Elentinus a dismissive wave. “A moon base, then. Just as a warning. To tell them not to fuck with us.”
“Would you really put such a thing to a vote?”
“If we had a session today? No. But if more wives disappear—if things don’t change—“
Elentinus tipped his chin at us. Nayjoor looked behind him and snorted. He stayed seated while Elentinus rose to greet me.
My hand was trembling as I reached out for his. I squeezed tight to try to hide it. “We—we’re here for the tour.”
Elentinus kissed my lips. His calm, authoritative vibe reassured me.
“I’m glad you decided to join us.”
Inga walked over to the window and pasted her hands against it. “Is that Earth?”
Nayjoor lumbered to his feet with a grunt. He walked over to her. “Yes, Inga dear.”
We all huddled before the window. The planet took up the bottom fourth of our frame of vision.
“It looks like Earth…like space pictures.” She turned to me. “What have they done to our world?”
I pursed my lips. “Well, actually, I guess some space invaders call the Instajants pretty much ravaged the place. The Dak-Hiliah took over afterwards, when the damage was already done.”
“I know all about the Instajant bullshit. Tell me what it’s like there now.”
My brow twitched. “I’ve only been there once, and I wasn’t able to leave the ship.”
“Elen,” Nayjoor said, “I don’t understand a word your wife is saying.”
We all turned toward him.
Elentinus looked annoyed. “You didn’t get all seven Earth languages?”
“Fuck no. It was bad enough having to go under for Inga’s language. Why do I need that garbage clogging up my brain? I still haven’t used your fucking Dornovonian, you know that? I thought we were getting all the wives from the same area.”
My husband stared at him a moment. If he was a less serene being I’m sure Nayjoor would have tried his patience.
“Darling.” He caressed my cheek. “Could you try to speak in my language?”
“Ffff…Fthenbaukila…kila…dyehas,” I said. It should have been one fluid word: Fthenbaukiladyehas. I still think it was okay for my first attempt. It meant, ‘Okay, I’ll try.’
“I want to go see it,” Inga said, while still attached to the window.
“That could be difficult,” Elentinus said.
I wanted to jump on this opportunity to ask Nayjoor how long he was staying, but the words were coming together too slow.
“How long will we be having you?” Elentinus said (since we were of one mind as usual).
“Eh. Three or four days,” Nayjoor said.
Rolf-Tem puffed out his breath in disgust.
I bopped Inga. “Hear that? Three days at least.”
“Yes. I heard him.”
She shot daggers at me with her eyes. I didn’t care. Her fucked up deadline of an escape tonight had to be taken off the table.
Elentinus brought us into the vast kitchen, filled with hundreds of white cupboards above sterile shiny counter space. Loads of Domestics who looked different than the normal ones (Chef-bots?) were whirring around.
We proceeded up an elevator that led into a relatively small control room. Seated at two pilot chairs in front of a broad window and control panel were actual robots. Not the boxy cylinder head things like Kang, but two units with silver faces on round heads, as well as arms, legs, torso, and pelvis. They were crude metal sci-fi rejects but at least they had a humanoid shape. One of the robots spun his chair around and sprang up.
“Lord Elentinus,” it said in an appropriately computerized voice.
“Continue your work. I’m merely giving my guests a tour.”
It sat back down and faced its control panel.
“What kind of weaponry do you have?” Nayjoor said.
“Two thousand armed Defenders,” Elentinus said. “Most remain at the Earth colony. Five hundred man the yacht’s armaments. The hull can withstand anything the denizens of this sector can muster.”
Nayjoor looked smug. “They may not penetrate the hull, but they can still knock you out of orbit.”
“It’s not possible to be completely invulnerable.” He was unperturbed, as usual. “I accept the risks of my post.”
“It’s a shitty post. I wouldn’t do it. No one else on the council would do it. You didn’t have to volunteer for it. You’re above these sorts of missions now, Elen. You still think like a petty viceroy.”
Elentinus stared at him without responding. His jabs were like water off a duck’s back to my husband. He was so superior to Nayjoor that he didn’t feel it necessary to defend against his insults.
I still had to wonder, though. Why did he volunteer to be Earth’s overseer?
Elentinus led the way out of the control room. “Shall we continue?”
The tour went through the infirmary. (I noticed Elentinus didn’t bring us into the gestation room). We also saw a greenhouse on the second floor. We eventually en
ded up back in the lobby in a much larger sitting area than the one I frequented. Inga and I took the end of one couch, Elentinus and Nayjoor sat in chairs beside one another, and Rolf-Tem and Whore took spots on the couch across from us. Domestics set out drinks and snacks. The only ones talking were Rolf-Tem and Whore. Nayjoor was focused on tasting one of every kind of hors d'oeuvre. Elentinus stared at him in silence.
“Lord Nayjoor,” I said.
Nayjoor looked at me with a raised brow then gave a dubious look to Elentinus. My husband eyed me.
“It is sad to me that your wife is very unhappy.” I did my best with the clunky language, but the words came slow. “It is sad to me that you are unhappy, too. I would like to help things to be happier for both of you.”
Inga elbowed me. I moved over to a chair away from her. Rolf-Tem and Whore both stopped speaking to stare at me.
Nayjoor finished chewing his fish cracker thing. “My dear, your husband I and have already discussed this. I think we’ll just have a nice visit and not worry about these things. If Inga wants to be happy, she can be happy. If she doesn’t, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”
He wiped his hands together both to get rid of the crumbs and to end the discussion.
“It’s impossible for her to be happy when you let Rolf-Tem shock her whenever he feels like it. You have a terrified prisoner, not a wife.”
Inga covered her face in her hand. Nayjoor’s jaw had dropped open.
“Maritza.”
The sharpness in Elentinus voice made my heart race. I sheepishly turned toward him. He glared at me with a narrow-eyed expression that made my insides twist.
“You don’t shock her at all, do you?” Nayjoor kept focused on me as he spoke.
Elentinus leaned back. “She only wears her collar for protection. I disabled the shock mechanism.”
I blinked a few times. (I heard Whore groan somewhere off in the distance).
Nayjoor jutted his hand toward me in disgust. “But she’s impudent, Elen. She needs to be corrected.”
“No.” The anger remained in his voice. “This is what I tried to explain to you. The age of Shindray is over. Women may speak freely now.”
Nayjoor was aghast. “Pah! In front of guests?”
“Absolutely not!” Rolf-Tem said.
“Don’t make me argue with you,” Elentinus said. “You know Pakpo’s position as well as I do.”
“Of course I know. He’s a good druid, and he’ll bring about good things. But you want me to turn my house upside down. I know some changes are necessary, but I can’t abide chaos, Elen.”
“You haven’t made any changes whatsoever.” He refused to look at Nayjoor. “You run your house exactly as your father did.”
Nayjoor reached for another cracker. “My father was a good man.”
I took advantage of his chewing to jump in. “Lord Elentinus treats me as much as an equal as he’s able to, given the circumstances. I am devoted and loving to him because of that. We’re happy together. If you want to start getting the same thing from your marriage you must start by disabling the shock mechanism.”
Nayjoor gave me a disapproving look that said, Now, now. You know better than this. He wiped his mouth on a napkin.
“How embarrassing for you, Elen.”
Elentinus was massaging one of his temples. “I’m not embarrassed in the slightest.”
“Feh.” He made a snide smile. “I can tell you’re disturbed just by your posture.”
“I’m disturbed because you’re exposing my wife to a harsh reality I sought to protect her from.”
My lips parted.
Nayjoor frowned. “Oh, Elen…I didn’t realize.” He touched his hand. “I apologize, my friend. She’s you’re little candy drop, isn’t she?”
Elentinus looked at me. “I adore her.”
“Aww.” Nayjoor put his hand to his chest.
Nayjoor had just promoted me from someone impudent to a candy drop. I could have stayed sugary for him, but I was on a mission. Fortunately the words were coming to me much easier now.
“Don’t worry, husband. I already knew women were being treated like subhumans. I think it’s good that Lord Nayjoor gets to know me. He can start to get used to the idea of a wife who’s an equal partner to him.”
“I don’t treat Inga so bad!”
“You should treat her the same way you would like her to treat you.”
“Maritza, stop,” Elentinus said.
I turned toward him fretfully. As I expected he looked angry.
“I told you not to do this.”
I lowered my head. My heart was racing again.
Nayjoor clucked his tongue. “Perhaps now you see there’s some virtue to correcting them.” He shoved a mushroom thing in his mouth.
***
Inga needed to do some breeding cycle stuff and Nayjoor wanted to go online for a while. Elentinus offered to bring Nayjoor to a console. He shot me a look that said, Stay here, but I booked it back to our bedroom. I got on the bed and closed the curtain.
Inga wore me out, Nayjoor pissed me off, and Elentinus was mad at me. I needed some time alone. I guess I was being childish. I didn’t want to be scolded…or worse.
I heard a domestic rolling toward the bed. Kang pulled back my curtain.
“I believe Lord Elentinus is looking for you.”
“You believe? Or did he ask you to find me?”
“I saw him searching for you.”
I chewed my bottom lip.
“Mistress…in the time of Shindray, if a wife hid from her husband she’d be beaten most severely.”
“Uh…who says I’m hiding? I just wanted to lie down for a while or something. Maybe I have a headache.”
Kang bopped an invisible panel on the wall and a deep drawer popped out. I crawled over to see what he was doing. He dug around for a bit and pulled out a flask.
“This will get rid of your headache, mistress.”
He held it out for me, but I didn’t take it. All my focus was still on the drawer.
The control unit for my collar was right there.
“I…I don’t have a headache.”
Kang replaced the flask and closed the drawer. I flopped back on the bed. That nauseating ice in my stomach feeling had taken over. I wished I hadn’t seen the fucking thing.
“All Domestics, locate Maritza.”
I sat up again with wide eyes. Elentinus’ voice had come through one of Kang’s speakers.
After a few moments Kang said, “Mistress Maritza is in your quarters, Lord Elentinus.”
I swallowed.
“She has a headache and went to lie down.”
This made me smile. I assumed the position of someone lying in bed with a headache.
I could hear Elentinus walking across the vast room. I stayed huddled under the blanket. The side of the bed dipped and I heard him sigh. I ventured a peek. He sat on the edge of the bed closest to me.
“Did you really have a headache?”
I considered lying for one too many moments and lost the opportunity. I cleared my throat. “Inga is exhausting.”
“As is Nayjoor.”
Silence followed. I pursed my lips. Elentinus was keeping his back to me.
“You knew I had to try, husband.”
“Why couldn’t you trust me?”
“I didn’t think it would hurt anything.”
“That’s because you don’t understand.”
I thought over the situation. Elentinus was right.
“Explain it to me.”
“Nayjoor is my enemy. Everyone on that council is my enemy. They’re all old men who’ve never ventured off the home world. They make decisions for the empire based on statistics and theories, without having ever fought a battle. I’m a soldier and a governor. The man who reinvented Dornovonia, and then conquered the elusive planet Earth. Each council member is old enough to be my father, and yet I’m wiser than the six combined. They resent my wisdom, but have to concede
to it time and time again. Their rancor towards me…it’s intolerable. So childish, and yet, at times, they’ve found ways to humiliate me.”
He finally turned around to look at me. “This is why I left our home world. I’d much rather take missions Nayjoor considers the work of a ‘petty viceroy’ than stay in the capital.”
I nodded.
Elentinus caressed the side of my face. “Nayjoor knows he has no effect on me. If you try to engage him you’ll make yourself his prey. He won’t consider your ideas. He’ll only search for ways to hurt me by hurting you.”
I leaned my face into his caress. “But Inga…”
“I told you it was pointless. She gets a reprieve here. That’s all.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in and out. I didn’t let the actual thought of what I had to do form in my mind, but I knew. It made a sob shudder up my chest. Elentinus soothed my hair, but he didn’t know. He had no…no idea.
“I told you not to take on the weight of her suffering.”
I tried to collect myself. It was tough. My only solace was clinging to the hope that there might be another answer.
“I wish she’d never come here,” I said.
Elentinus puffed out a forlorn sigh. “It’s my fault. I really thought that imbecile wanted help to change.” He climbed into bed beside me. “I’m naïve, Maritza.”
I kissed his soft lips and managed to laugh. “So am I.”
He continued to caress my hair. “It’s strange…how the two of us have turned out to be alike in so many ways.”
This gave me such a warm pang inside. Looking into his eyes was like drinking ambrosia.
“That makes me think it was destiny,” I said. “You and I were meant to be together.”
“I feel so certain of that.” His voice had gotten breathy. “I could never explain why, but I know it. You were a gift to me from the gods themselves.”
I kissed him again. He brought his hand around my head and lavished my mouth. The kisses went deeper. Our tongues started to slide against each other. Then he rolled on top of me.
“We have to have dinner with them soon,” Elentinus said.
I wrapped my arms around him. “Fuck them.”
“Such impudence!”
He sat up and threw me over his knee. The dress didn’t allow me to wear the girdle underwear. My skirt was thrown up and I was exposed. He gently smacked his hand against my ass cheeks one after the other.
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