I’m bored. That was the conclusion he came to when his feet touched the ground, and he set off at a quick pace, weaving along streets that were quiet, so different to the overcrowding of the lower market.
He knew where he was supposed to meet her, but as he approached he could see she had already left the shop, The Silken Promise. He wondered what promises she would make to him when he removed the silk from her body. Concentrate, he warned himself.
She was with a group of guards, who surrounded her as she headed in the opposite direction. Whether to protect her, or hold her prisoner, he couldn’t tell.
Another chance to run. She had already thought he had let her down, why not let that falsehood manifest into truth?
Sighing, he jogged after them. “Princess,” he called, and the guards stopped and turned to face him, hands on weapons.
He knew he looked magnificent as he approached. He towered probably two feet above them, and the sun would make his tattoos appear to move in a constant flow over his skin. A silver ghost. The guards stood still, mesmerized by him.
“I thought I had missed you,” he said approaching, walking through the men who were there to protect her. He took up her hand and kissed it, bowing slightly. He saw the appalled look on her face, as she wondered what exactly she was about to let into her life, and her bed.
Chapter Five – Tallia
He was magic. It was woven through him, across his skin and into his very soul. She had been wrong to go to Misha’Ha. This man would bring her nothing but trouble. Only her training made it possible for her to withstand the need to surrender to him. As he approached, he radiated trust and control, and the guards simply stepped aside.
“I thought you had run away.”
“I never run. I have given you my word.”
“You should put a shirt on,” she said sternly, as the nearness of him threatened to overpower the last reserves of her control. “They won’t work on the Emissars.” She pointed at his tattoos.
“It’s a pity they won’t work on you. I could have you on your knees right here, take you like a common whore for all your subjects to see.” He smiled, and she saw humor in his eyes, but she wasn’t sure if he was completely joking. By taking him as her husband, she would be trading one set of men who wanted to exert their power over her, for this one man. She did not know if she was strong enough to keep him at bay forever.
It won’t be forever; you only need one child. You only need a son.
“Cover yourself up.” He took her hand and kissed it, shocking her into life. She snatched her hand away, and stood stiffly while he took the shirt he had hooked into his belt, and put it on. “Don’t worry, you can see it all again when I fuck you later.”
She blushed at that, and hated herself for showing weakness. “You will have to keep it in your pants for a while longer; the wedding will not be until tomorrow.”
“Maybe I want a taste of you first. To make sure I like the goods.”
She lowered her voice. “That is what the money is for.”
He chuckled. “As you wish. I’m ready.”
As soon as he had covered up his body, the guards came back to life.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Danicle demanded.
A sword was about to be unsheathed, but the princess spoke. “This is…” She realized she had forgotten his name, a thing she never did normally.
“Johar T’Omil.” He smiled. “And I am the man your princess is going to marry.”
“Princess?” one of the guards asked in disbelief.
This was not exactly how she had planned the announcement. “Yes. I have asked Johar to accompany me to the palace. And to be my husband.”
The guards stood still for a moment, as if they were trying to comprehend how exactly this man had come to be standing amongst them, right next to the woman they were supposed to protect. Maybe it was a residue of Johar’s magic, but they accepted her words and they marched on.
Johar took her hand and threaded it through his arm. She wanted to pull away, and yet there was something comforting about him, whether it was the warmth of his skin that permeated the thin fabric of his shirt, or the knowledge that nothing or no one would get through him to hurt her. Could it be possible she had another person whom she could trust fully?
Stop it! she told herself. That is what he wants you to believe so that he can take your power. No, the only way she was ever going to rule completely was if she ruled alone. She just needed his seed inside her. At least their child would be able to defend himself. Especially if he had a body like Johar’s.
She tore her thoughts away from his body, and the images he had conjured up of him making her kneel in front of her while he took her here in the open air. Those images had made her body aflame. Another thing she put down to those damn tattoos and their effect on her brain.
“What’s the plan?” he asked, breaking her out of her daydream.
“Plan?” she asked, sounding dazed, and he grinned at her.
“I have that effect on people. Especially women. If you let your stiff guard down just a little, I will enter you in more ways than one.”
“Listen, I just need you to be my husband, give me a child, and then leave.”
“There’s no reason we can’t enjoy the whole process though, is there? Or do you plan to lay back and make me do all the work.”
She blushed deeper and he chuckled, making her feel intensely exposed. Snatching her hand away, she was shocked when his right hand shot out and put it back in place. “Now, now, we don’t want anyone to think we are having a lovers’ tiff. We have to make everyone believe we are in love; I have no intention of having my head sliced off by a laser if anyone thinks I am up to no good.”
“Then it would be better if you did not talk.” Turning her head, she stared in front of them, seeing one of the guards had gone on in front. Soon word would have got to the Emissars, and she would have to face them. “Let me do the talking.”
“But I am so persuasive. And I am sure I am better at making friends than you are.”
“They are not my friends, and they will never be your friends. All they want is power. My power.”
“And why is it your power, because your ancestors had bigger weapons?”
“No. I…” What had she done? Had she been a fool to trust Misha’Ha? Had the old woman planted Johar so that he could help bring down her family once and for all? Her father been right when he had told Misha’Ha to never practice her witchcraft again. The old woman had bided her time and was about to bring down her family. Had it been Misha’Ha who had convinced her mother that she would never conceive a boy, until it became a self-fulfilling prophesy.
As they reached the gates of the palace and they passed inside, the Emissars were already gathered, and apart from Rian, she felt as if she was surrounded by people, by men, who wished her harm.
“Emissars,” she said coolly.
“Tallia. We have word that you have chosen a husband,” Aleck, the self-proclaimed leader of the Emissars, said.
“Indeed,” Tallia said. This is Johar…”
“Where did you meet him?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“He is from Limera. That makes it our business. Do you have any idea what he can do?” Aleck looked worried, if not afraid. Perhaps she was wrong to mistrust Misha’Ha.
“He can give me an heir,” she said coolly. “You forget that I still have a month left to claim the throne as my own, and that you have no say over whom I marry. I have chosen, and you will accept this choice. And when I conceive, you will uphold the bargain struck with me.”
“Not if we feel it is wrong, or being made under duress.”
“Duress? Do you think a man could force me to do this? Is that how weak you think I am?”
“You are a princess, not imbued with the power of a King.”
“As you have reminded me so many times.” She took a deep breath to steady her voice, which threatened to rise enough
to show her anger at these men. “Have I not kept the peace of the city? Have I not vanquished the attack on Harroll by the Garundi? You would have had us bargain for what was rightfully ours, but I took the battle to them. And you call me weak?”
“The battle cost lives,” an Emissar said.
“But we kept the sovereignty of Carinia.” She had fought the Emissars every step of the way and wanted to remind them that if it was not for that internal struggle, the soldiers would have been deployed sooner, before the Garundi had mustered their forces together. Yet that argument was of no use; it was as if they were programmed to disregard everything she said and everything she did.
“We will never know the alternative outcome, never know how many lives might have been spared if you had followed our rule.”
She wanted to shout at them, to stamp her foot as she would have as a child and tell them to stop being so argumentative. Under her father’s rule, they had given advice, a lot of it wrong, but they had never exerted their will so much. Whereas with Tallia, they disagreed with everything she said.
“No. We will never know.” She flattened her lips, making herself stop talking, to stop unleashing the tirade of abuse that rolled around her brain.
“What we do know, is that you have brought this man here.”
“As is my right. I am to marry Johar; please make the preparations.”
“You are certain?” Aleck asked.
“Yes.” She stood with her hand looped under Johar’s arm and stared them down. This was her planet; she had the interests of her people upper most in her head. She would not surrender to men who would increase the accessibility of the slavers. Slavers whom she wished to ban from trading on the planet forever. One new law she kept to herself, or they would use it against her.
Some of the higher houses in the palace had built their lives on slaves. As had her family, but having Rian as a friend and confidante had made her realize that slaves were people, they had homes and families, and no one deserved to lose that because someone else wanted to get rich. Tallia walked a fine line, both needing the rich families to support her, but also hating what some of them still represented.
The Emissars didn’t move. An uneasy feeling passed over Tallia. Were they going to defy her, and simply seize control for themselves? They were well aware that if she married and conceived a child, then they would have to wait at least another nine months to take full control, and if she had a boy, they would lose their power almost completely for another generation.
The Emissars looked from one to another, and then bowed low, in that fake, groveling way of theirs which she hated. Then they turned to leave, with Aleck saying, “We will begin the preparations.”
She stood tall, although her legs felt weak. Glad of the support of Johar standing next to her, she let herself breathe.
“My Princess,” Rian said, coming to stand in front of her, “shall we get you changed?”
“Yes, that would be a good idea. I would like My Princess in something a little more comfortable and less restrictive,” Johar said.
She jerked out of her daze and turned to scowl at him. “We are not married yet.”
“No, My Princess,” he mocked. “But we soon will be.”
Chapter Six – Johar
There was more to this princess than he originally thought. When he had met her, he had assumed she was a spoilt little girl. Now he saw she was strong. And scared. It wasn’t the kind of fear most people would pick up on; in fact, she radiated a condescension that would make most people dislike her, but now he knew why. She was under attack, from within her own walls.
She blushed at his words, her cheeks turning pink, showing her naivety when it came to intimacy. It made him hard, uncomfortably so; he could not lie about that. If only their wedding was today. If only he could make her his tonight. Patience was not part of his character, and even the tattoos on his body could not change that.
“Rian, could you find Johar a room?” Tallia asked.
“Am I not sleeping with you? I promise to behave myself until our wedding night.” He smirked and she pulled away from him, and her hand twitched as if she wanted to slap him. Damn, she had fire: she was everything he could ever want in a woman, and a princess too. How convenient, he thought.
“No, you will not be sleeping with me. There are traditions and customs that have to be upheld.”
“Ahh, good old-fashioned customs.”
“They may not mean much to you, but they do to me.”
“Tell me, are they Carinian customs or those of your ancestors?”
“They are one and the same now. My ancestors conquered this world a thousand years ago.”
“A long time, but not long enough for the Emissars to forgive or accept your rule. I presume the Emissars are descendants of the indigenous people?”
“They are,” she said, frowning. “However, they are sworn to accept my people’s rule.”
“As long as the ruler is a male?”
“Yes.” She frowned again, and looked to where the ten men had gone, down one of the corridors leading off the great hall they stood in. “I suppose they have been waiting a thousand years to take back control of their own lands.”
“There. Now you are thinking like a ruler.”
“They wish to turn things back to how they were. Before my people came,” Tallia agreed.
“And is that bad thing?” Johar said.
“Yes,” Tallia replied, and then said, “Rian, will show you to your room. I am going to bathe.”
“Good. I like my women smelling fresh.”
She had already resumed her cold mantle, and did not let his words affect her. “Pity,” he murmured, and then looked to Rian. “Lead the way. I could do with a bath myself.”
Rian, small, dark-haired and fragile-looking, followed the princess, but then turned to take him up another flight of stairs. “This is where the guests used to sleep.”
“Used to sleep? You mean you don’t have guests here anymore?”
“The Emissars do not like it.”
“Why?”
Rian looked around, as if she were afraid of someone eavesdropping. “They have tried to isolate My Princess.”
“Why? So she doesn’t have allies?” Johar asked, looking up at the ceilings and the ornate carvings that showed a war between a race of spear-wielding savages and an alien race with lasers. “Always good to remind the natives they lost the war.”
“Allies,” Rian said. “And suitors.”
“Of course. So they really do want their power to be restored.” He looked at the next image; it showed a group of men in robes similar to the Emissars. They were commanding their followers, and he stared closer. There were other images, of men and women being sacrificed, thrown onto fires that flamed high into the sky.
Rian had stopped; she, too, looked at them. “This is what My Princess fights for. For the freedom of the people.”
“This is what the Emissars want to return to?”
“They pray to their gods. They spill blood to their gods. My Princess should have the power to stop this, but the laws say she has none. The Emissars have surrounded her with those loyal to themselves, her power grows weaker every day.”
“Why not call upon the guards loyal to her to fight?”
“They too understand that she is a woman, and as yet unproven. If the old king had a son, then he would have been trained to fight, to be able to prove himself. But My Princess has not, and the Emissars have spread rumors that she is weak. The battle of Harroll proved otherwise, but the Emissars have spoken out against that victory too and claimed it as the work of their gods.”
“She needs allies,” he murmured.
“Yes. She does.” Rian kept her features blank, but he heard the meaning in her words.
“And here was me thinking I was going to get paid for sex.”
Chapter Seven – Tallia
She quickly stripped off her clothes and ran a bath. Indoor plumbing; she was sure this
was one thing the Emissars wouldn’t have removed when, if, they took back power. While the water splashed into the tub, she went to the window to look out at the city below, taking in the solar panels that glittered in the sunlight. They certainly planned to dismantle the power grid, casting the world back into darkness, which was where their gods liked to roam.
Gods. As far as Tallia could see, they used their gods to instill fear into the people. Live sacrifices had a habit of swaying people to do as they are told. She could not let that happen; she might not be a male, but she had the same blood in her system, and she was not going to lose the hard-won triumphs of her ancestors.
Sinking down into the bath, she heard the door open and the soft steps of Rian coming towards her. “Have you found him a room?”
“Yes. I have shown him to the green room.”
“That is on the opposite side of the palace. There are closer rooms.”
“There are, My Princess. But the route to the green room is more educational.”
“You are a clever woman, Rian.”
“If I were clever, I would not have been captured by slavers,” she said sadly.
“I’m sorry. You could return.” Tallia had once offered Rian her freedom and a cruiser to take her home, but she had refused. Tallia had never worked out why.
“I know.” The woman smiled. “Maybe if we asked Misha’Ha, she would tell us that it was fate for me to come here.”
“You always try to look at things in a positive way, Rian.”
“What other way is there?” she asked, picking up Tallia’s dress and hanging it up.
“I don’t know. But I struggle every day. And today is no exception. I am about to get married to a big beast of a man who I do not know. And who possibly has the power to make me do his bidding. In what way is that better than bowing to the Emissars?”
“He is probably a better lover than the Emissars,” Rian said and then giggled. “He may have the power to make you enjoy lying with him.”
The Princess and her Alien Rogue: Alien Romance Page 3
