by Amber Stuart
“I chose you because you seem kind-hearted and you like animals,” he said, shrugging. “And you’re as beautiful in person as you were in your profile. Even better, actually.”
I relaxed a little bit when he said that. He seemed aloof but sincere. “Thanks. You look good, yourself.”
“Thank you. I’m a warrior, so I spend a lot of time honing my body.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. “Well, it shows.”
“That is why the Mirrotirik wear cloth woven from the silk of the erorik blossom. We take pride in our physical appearance.”
“I see,” I said.
“When you join me, you’ll get your own wardrobe of clothes made to show off your lovely form as well.”
I smiled at him. He seemed to like me well enough, but I was still too afraid of somehow making a fool of myself. “That would be nice,” I said. “Why is it important that I like animals?”
“That’s something you’ll more about when you become my wife,” he said. “We’re a species that loves studying other species.”
“Ah,” I replied.
“So, do you have any questions for me?” he asked.
Of course, I had about a million questions for him, but I couldn’t just ask them all during this brief meeting. There was nothing pressing I needed to know. I was taking a flying leap into the great unknown, so there was no point in asking detailed questions now. I’d hit the ground running and learn as I went.
“I don’t,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll learn what I need to when I come live with you.”
“Very good,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
As I took in his face again—so beautiful yet so alien—I could reply with some sincerity. “Me too.”
CHAPTER THREE
Tal
I was more than happy when I saw Maia in person. She was even more beautiful than I had imagined her to be, absolutely lovely. She had been attractive enough in her recorded image, but when I saw her in the flesh and took in her demeanor, I realized that she was something else.
A small part of me was pleased that I had managed to score an Earth girl. I imagined the way my friends would look when I told them. They’d want to meet her, too, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her. I’d have to do a lot of studying on human behavior and customs in the coming days while we prepared for the coronation and wedding.
Now that I had told Galactic Matrimony and my parents that I really did want Maia, preparations were being made to bring her over. Because she was to be my queen, she was going to get a whole wing of the castle to herself. I knew that many of the girls who signed up with Galactic Matrimony weren’t financially secure, which was a large part of the reason why they signed up. Maia would be thrilled to have so much space to herself.
She would have her own servants, too. I immediately signed them up to have some training on how to make humans feel comfortable. I knew that the brusque Mirrotirik way could be off-putting. I also knew that humans tended to like plants and cozy spaces, so we would have to decorate her chambers to make them a little more cheerful.
But even though I was excited about bringing Maia over—much more excited than I had expected myself to be—I was still apprehensive about the coronation. I could handle being married to Maia. But giving up my life as a warrior, traveling through the galaxy and fighting our enemies and defending our colonies, was going to be difficult. I couldn’t run our region while I was constantly out and about, with my life in danger, so there was no compromise.
My ship was still docked at the spaceport, ready for Maia to return with all her things so we could travel to my planet. It wasn’t too far away—not by my species’ standards at least, and we did have a huge empire—so she would be able to visit Earth from time to time. It wouldn’t be too frequent, but it would be better than it would be for some of the other brides, who were from backwater planets at the edge of the galaxy.
I was antsy with anticipation, waiting for her to arrive. At least a dozen times, I found myself checking with the servants, making sure her new home was perfectly prepared. I wanted everything to go smoothly. More than anything, I wanted to impress her. I’d never had to impress a woman before—the servant girls were usually taken with the fact that I was a prince—and even though she was bound by the contract, she was to be my partner.
Finally, I saw Skivvim, the Galactic Matrimony representative, striding up to the gate of my ship and entering with Maia in tow. She had two large suitcases, which another human was carrying. She had a smile plastered on her face. I knew enough about humans to tell that it was a smile hiding a great deal of nervousness.
“Maia is here, Prince,” said Skivvim. “She has said her goodbyes and is ready to travel to our home planet.”
I nodded. “I’m glad to hear it. Thank you for your help, Skivvim.”
“My pleasure, Prince,” she said. “Is there any other assistance you require from me?”
I shook my head and looked at Maia. “No,” she squeaked.
“Very well,” said Skivvim. “I’m looking forward to hearing how you are doing in a few months.”
I nodded again. I knew that Galactic Matrimony took their jobs very seriously. They would be checking in with both of us at some point later in our relationship to check that we were both happy and that they had made a good match.
Now that Maia was on the ship and my second was making the preparations to taxi out and take off, I felt like everything was finalized. And with that feeling came an unexpected burst of nerves.
I supposed that I had become complacent with my lifestyle. Now that something big was going to change it, I was becoming uneasy. I had had a comfortable life up until this point, with few responsibilities. It was all going to dramatically change within a week, and I had to admit to myself that I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle it. If someone thrust me into the midst of a heated battle on one of the colonies, I would know exactly what to do. But this was different.
On top of that, Maia herself projected a surprising aura of calmness and certainty. It was admirable, really, that she was willing to leave her life on Earth for the benefit of her family. She must really love them, I thought. If I had to be honest with myself, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do the same. Sacrifice in battle was something I understood, but I had rarely seen the same thing expressed in other situations.
“So, have you eaten?” I asked. “I’ve had the ship stocked with numerous delicacies, in case you’d like to try them, as well as some Earth sweets, if you would like something more familiar.”
She tilted her head and smiled at me. “That is so sweet,” she said. “Thank you, but I’ve just eaten lunch.”
I nodded stiffly. I had no idea how to interact with her; I felt so awkward. “Why don’t you follow me, and I’ll show you the different areas of the ship?”
Now, I was in my element. I loved my ship and spent a lot of time thinking about how I could improve it, upgrade it, and care for it. I always made sure it had the best new technologies and was extremely clean and well-stocked. It was a battle ship in addition to being suited for exploration, so I had to take good care of it in case of emergencies. It wouldn’t do to be caught unawares by enemies and find myself low on ammunition.
I also tended to the crew with the same care. It was a small crew for a relatively small ship, with six other Mirrotirrik, including my second, Iskirr, and four crewmembers of other species. They had all been with me for years and I trusted them. We worked well together. Unfortunately, none were of the female sex, so I didn’t have any other women present to help Maia feel comfortable.
But she was taking it all in stride. Maybe she was in shock; I couldn’t imagine a human being so cool about such a major life change. I recalled that her profile had only been posted to Galactic Matrimony for a dozen Earth days, so it would have been a very sudden change for her.
“This is the bridge,” I said, leading her out to my favorite
room on the ship. The bridge was the control room, where most of the crew spent time when we weren’t just cruising the galaxy on autopilot. I liked it simply because it had an enormous front-facing window, allowing me to see right what was in front of us. It felt like being on the stern of a water ship, patiently waiting to sight land, or in this case, another planet.
“The view is beautiful,” said Maia. We were almost ready for take off. Because the ship was tall, we could see some mountains to the east.
“Just wait,” I said. “We’re going to be leaving shortly, and you’ll get the most incredible view.”
“Don’t we need to be sitting down?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “The way the gravity is set up in the ship, you won’t feel a thing.”
“That doesn’t make any scientific sense,” she said. “But okay.”
I walked up to the very front of the ship, and she followed me. I could see figures walking and smaller vehicles moving around on the ground around the ship, getting out of the way as we taxied onto the runway. Just like an airplane, a spaceship had to get enough momentum to get out of the atmosphere. My species didn’t like how inelegant human rockets were, though even airplanes were noisy and inefficient. Maia was going to be so stunned by how smooth this liftoff was.
The ship made some beeps indicating that we were getting ready to go. I looked at Maia and noticed that she was gripping a rail tightly, her eyes wide. I wished I was able to say something to her to comfort her, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to lay a finger on her either; she might be startled by my touch.
As we continued watching, the ship very swiftly rolled towards the runway, where it rounded a bend and got into position. We were first in line; it was a slow day. And just as quickly as it got there, it started picking up speed and lifted off.
As I had told Maia, we didn’t feel anything at all. Her mouth was ajar in astonishment. “I can’t believe it,” she said.
I couldn’t help but feel some pride in my species. “It’s nice, isn’t it? Just keep watching.”
As the ship gained altitude, we could see the mountains to the east of Maia’s city becoming a snow-capped ridge. Lakes and other land formations came into focus. The horizon became more distinct, and eventually the curvature of the Earth became part of it. We went through all the layers of the atmosphere, and then we were in space.
“That’s it? That’s all there is to it?” she said in a quiet voice.
“It’s easy,” I replied. “As easy as starting a car.”
We were silent for a while. I had to give her some time to take in the sight of her planet, which wasn’t something a lot of humans got to see. Even I remembered my first trip into space—seeing the entire planet hanging in the dark vacuum was a sobering experience. It always was, for every sentient being.
We spent some more time on the bridge as we exited the solar system, so she got to see some of the other planets with which she was familiar. But soon enough, we were out of that and into the vast expanse of space, surrounded by stars, and we could continue our tour.
My ship boasted a lounge area, which was something only the wealthiest of my kind could afford. Every cubic foot of space and kilogram of metal added to a ship increased its cost of maintenance exponentially. Most Mirrotirik couldn’t afford to have extra amenities on their ships like lounges.
This room had several parlor games my species enjoyed, as well as screens connected to the music and texts of my planet. It also had comfortable places to sit and was decorated with gauzy, shimmering fabrics, in the Mirrotirik way.
“It looks very futuristic,” said Maia.
There was one room I couldn’t show her yet, but of course, as we passed by it, she noticed it. The door was unlike any of the others—it didn’t have a window, so you couldn’t look inside, and it was decorated with motifs of double helixes.
“What’s that one?” she asked.
“You’ll find out after we’re married,” I replied, eager to get the tour moving on. I didn’t want her to be too interested in it. It was a military secret.
She stopped and cocked her head. “Do I hear… a bird chirping? Do you have animals on your ship?”
“Of course not,” I said briskly. “We’d have to feed them and let them out, wouldn’t we?”
She gave me a strange look that I didn’t know how to interpret, but she didn’t push the issue any further, for which I was thankful. She wasn’t ready to know about that room. I was excited to show it to her when the time was right, but it was against my species’ rules to show it to just anyone.
After we concluded the tour, we went to the kitchen to eat dinner. The Mirrotirik had different dietary needs from humans—we needed much more calcium, for one thing—so I had had to look up what to do for Maia. Thankfully, because we had had Earth for over a decade, we knew exactly what to do. I could only hope that she wasn’t a picky eater. The cuisine of my planet could be strange to someone who didn’t have a varied palate.
“I hope you like plants,” I said. “The Mirrotirik are mostly vegetarian.”
“Mostly?” she asked.
“We do eat some small aquatic animals, but for the most part, we do not need much protein.”
“Hm,” she said, peering at the plate that the chef set down in front of her. I had instructed him to feed her extra meat. It was fortunate that she was marrying into my family and not a less well-to-do Mirrotirik family. Meat was expensive.
“Normally we just roll it up in one of the espriss leaves like this,” I said, demonstrating the customary way to eat the rolls. They were one of my favorite dishes, and I hoped she would like them.
“I see,” she said, neatly rolling up the leaf and popping the bundle into her mouth. She looked to the side for a moment while she considered the flavor, chewing carefully and lingering over the bite. “It’s good!”
I was relieved. If she liked the espriss rolls, then she was going to be just fine. I did also have a great deal of imported Earth foods at the castle as well, just in case she became homesick.
I got a bit of surprise when it came time for dessert, though. I had selected another one of my favorites—a cold, sweet soup made from the flower of theespriss plant, which I thought would be complementary.
Her face wrinkled up. “Er,” she started awkwardly.
“You don’t like it?”
“Um, it’s not my favorite.”
“It’s okay if you don’t like it,” I said. “It’s quite humorous, actually.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Everyone loves espriss blossom soup. It’s like the chocolate of the Mirrotirik. It’s strange to not like it,” I explained.
She smiled. “I guess I am a bit of an oddball then,” she said.
Sharing the joke seemed to put us both more at ease. Even in this short time, she was becoming more real to me as I learned about her likes, dislikes, and emotions. But even though I was learning so much about her, it was hard for me to imagine how I was to bridge the gap between us. I would have to do it sooner or later.
“We’re passing by one of my favorite nebulas now,” I said. “We should go out to the bridge to see it.”
She seemed happy with this suggestion. When we went there, we saw that some of the other crewmembers were gathered to see it as well. They nodded at her in acknowledgment, though it was obvious that they felt just as awkward as I did around her. None of us were quite sure what to do with this human woman.
“It’s beautiful!” she said, as the multicolored cloud came into view.
Some instinct in me told me that this would be the perfect time to touch her. We would have to do that eventually, especially if I wanted to get anywhere with creating an heir for the throne. I decided I just had to go for it, so I placed a hand on her shoulder.
I felt her stiffen under my touch and I cursed myself. I could feel her try to relax a little, but it was going to take a long time before she was t
ruly comfortable with me. I took my hand away and looked at her, my face emotionless. She couldn’t know how much I was cringing on the inside.
“Are there are other nebulas like this?” she asked, saving me from having to acknowledge my mistake.
“There are dozens,” I said, “though this is one of the most magnificent.”
After we had passed, everyone dispersed from the bridge. I suggested to Maia that she might want to get some sleep; we would be arriving at my planet in a few hours and she would want to be well rested before she had to settle in and meet everyone.
I helped her get set up in one of the private sleeping rooms. These were fairly small because the Mirrotirik didn’t need to sleep as much as humans did. We didn’t spend much time in our bedrooms; in fact, I remembered that one of the things we found so odd about the humans was that they had such elaborately furnished sleeping spaces. I was glad I had remembered to make sure that the biggest room in the queen’s wing was set up to be Maia’s bedroom.
Now that she was asleep, I was able to spend some time with my second, Iskirr. We had been friends for many years, since we were in the Training Academy together, though our families had known each other for long before then.
“It seems like you don’t know how to approach your new mate,” he said.
I frowned. “It will take time.”
Then Iskirr said something that surprised me. “Have you heard of the human concept of romance?”
I blinked at him. “I’ve heard of it, yes, but I don’t understand it.”
“I don’t understand it either,” he admitted, “but it is important. I recommend you take some time to research it.”
“What do you know about it?” I asked.
“You know females like to be courted, right? That’s really what it is. But humans like specific things when they are courted. They like to spend time with each other, so taking her on a tour of the ship was a good idea. They like exchanging secrets and gifts,” he said. “That’s all I know.”
