by T. J. Quinn
"Thank you; it's very generous of you." Gil Ra nodded. "Could you please tell me how to introduce new patterns on the cutter?" she asked him.
“Yes, it’s actually quite simple. You just draw them here.” He showed her a screen similar to the one she had used at the palace for drawing, attached to the cutter. “It needs to be accurate, with the measures, so you have to use these.” He handed her some kind of metallic rulers. “The measures you introduce on the screen will be the ones transferred to the fabric. You just need to display all of the pieces you need to cut.”
“It’s easier than I thought.”
“Can I buy these from you?” Colborn asked, pleased with the results of the visit.
"Maybe a lease would be better. After all, we don't know what I'll be doing shortly." She suggested, with a slight frown.
“They are my gift to you. Take them with you and used them as you need. If you decide you won’t need them anymore, you can return them or give them to someone else.” Olaf said, with a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do with them.”
She gave him a shy smile. “Thank you. I’m just a student, but I’ll gladly show you all I do with the machines.”
He nodded. “Why don’t I take you for a tour of the factory?”
“That would be great, thank you.” She nodded. “If you don’t mind, of course.” She added, looking at Colborn.
“No, it will be a pleasure.” He immediately accepted, trying to restore her smile, with no luck.
They spent a while walking through the factory. Despite its size, few employees were working since most of the process was automatized.
Gil Ra seemed very interested, but it was difficult to see through the mask of courtesy and kindness she had been wearing ever since he agreed with her idea of staying at the palace. She had taken it as a rejection, he did not doubt it now, but he had no idea how to fix it.
Gil Ra enjoyed the visit to the factory. She had never seen anything like it, and it had been interesting to see how they did things on this planet. Olaf’s factory made the tunics she had been wearing as pajamas, and she had to refrain her desire of telling him how to make them a bit more interesting and attractive to the eye. He seemed to be using the same patterns for decades.
But she was sure it would be out of place and seen as rude, so she kept her ideas to herself.
She kept the whole tour looking surreptitiously at Colborn, determined to end the visit the moment she saw him bored or eager to leave, but incredibly, he seemed to be enjoying the tour as much as her.
Each time she looked at him, her heart missed a beat inside her chest. No matter how hard she tried, his presence affected her more than she ever thought possible. What was wrong with her? How could she feel that way for a man she didn’t even know, and that clearly had no interest whatsoever in her? Hadn’t she learned her lesson?
When they left the factory, the sun was starting to come down on the horizon. Colborn had arranged for the machines to be taken to the palace and that had taken a bit longer than she had expected.
He helped her get in on his vehicle, and soon they were on their way.
“I’m taking you to my place for the night meal.” He informed her, as he drove away from the factory.”
"That's very kind of you but unnecessary. You don't have to bother…" she started rejecting the idea. She didn't want to spend time alone with him. She was sure that wouldn't be a good idea.
“It’s essential. You need to get to know the place where you’ll be living as soon as I manage to finish this mission the king has assigned me.” He interrupted her.
“But…” she insisted.
“No buts. Your stay at the palace is just temporary. As soon as I can, I’ll bring you home as it was planned so that we can start your tutoring as it was supposed to be.” He insisted.
She guessed he was just playing his part. He had a duty, and he would do all to comply. But she was sure that moment would never arrive. She would see to it. The last thing she wanted was to become a burden for him.
“As you wish.” She accepted, squeezing her hands together over her lap to prevent them from wriggling.
Chapter Four
Colborn nodded and kept driving home. His house wasn’t far from the palace, and soon he was parking his vehicle in front of the main door. The place was too big for a single person, but he had inherited it from his parents, and he had never had the courage to sell it and move to some place smaller. Instead, he had turned a couple of the empty rooms into a small office where he usually took care of his private patients, like the king himself.
He helped her out of the car and guided her towards the house, feeling a bit anxious, not sure what she would think of the place.
Once inside, he showed her around, attentive to her reactions, but she kept her mask on, and it was impossible to read anything on her face.
“Do you mind if I ask you what you do for a living?” she asked when he showed her his private office.
“I’m a doctor. In fact, you should have met me on your trip here, since I was the doctor in charge on Asgar’s vessel, but I was so busy with Eleanor, I didn’t get the chance to meet the rest of the women.” He explained.
“Oh, I had no idea.”
"I keep this office here for when my private patients come to visit me. It's more comfortable for them to come here and not to go to the hospital."
“I thought you were self-healing.” She said, with a slight frown.
“We are, but we still get infected by diseases our bodies don’t recognize, and it’s then when we the doctors come in.”
“I see. You mustn’t have much work then.” She teased him a little.
“I’m also a warrior. That keeps me a bit busier.”
“A warrior? Do you have wars here?” she asked, with a deep frown. Her country had been in a cold war with North Korea for so many years that all wars seemed cruel and useless.
“No, not here. But we’re hired to fight on other planets’ wars.”
“You’re mercenaries?”
Colborn didn’t recognize the term, but there was so much despise in her tone, he frowned.
“What’s a mercenary?”
“Someone that fights for the highest bidder.”
“We don’t fight for free, but we sure don’t fight for the highest bidder. We’re natural warriors, and it’s so hard to kill us that when we intervene in a war, we usually win. But we always fight on the right side. We don’t help invaders, tyrants or any similar scum.” He explained.
“Do you need to fight?” The idea of him going to war suddenly felt wrong, too wrong.
“No, we don’t need to fight. But it keeps enemies at bay.”
“Wars are never good.” She said, shaking her head.
“Yes, that is true, but sometimes they are a necessity.”
“I guess…” but she wasn’t convinced.
“What would you like to eat?” he asked her when they reach the meals’ room, changing the subject.
“Whatever you chose, will be fine.” She replied, politely, taking a seat on the chair he pulled for her.
“We, the drogons, are a very carnivorous race. We prefer meat over anything else, but we do have other things on our menus.” He explained, sitting in front of her. “How was the food back where you lived?”
She closed her eyes for a second before she answered him. “Korean food was varied. Meat, fish, rice, noodles, vegetables… all of it.” She replied in a plain tone.
“What was your favorite?” he asked again, feeling he had to extract the answers forcefully from her.
“I liked everything, but I guess my favorite was ramen. It’s some sort of noodle soup.” She explained, but there wasn’t a hint of the enthusiasm you would expect when someone talks about their favorite things.
“There’s a noodle soup on our menu. Would you like to try it?” he suggested, sure she would say no.
“No, I’m sure it’s not even similar to the one I us
ed to have at home. Please, order as you wish. Anything will be fine.”
Colborn held back a deep sigh and proceed to order the food; choosing several dishes in small portions to allow her to have a taste of their food.
“Tell me a bit more about you.” he asked, as they waited for the food to be teleported from the refectory.
“There’s not much to tell. I was still studying fashion design when I was abducted, so my life was dedicated to my studies.” She replied, and he was sure her answer was a memorized one that had nothing to do with the truth, or at least, not the whole truth.
But how could he make her open up with him? He was sure he was still paying the consequences of his mistake.
“What about your family? When did you lose them?” he insisted.
Her eyes fluttered, and he was able to see a flash of pain in her eyes before she hid it from him.
“A year ago.” She replied.
“And you had no other family?” he asked again.
“No, no one close or with whom I was in touch with.” She explained.
“It must have been hard for you to find yourself alone all of a sudden.” He said, covering her hand with his over the table.
The jolt of energy that rushed through his body surprised him in such a way he almost pulled his hand away. He had never reacted to a person the way he did with her. It was amazing and exhilarating.
But she didn’t allow him to enjoy it much. Gently, she pulled her hand from underneath his.
The moment he covered her hand with his, she almost jumped in her chair. Energy rushed up to her arm and through her whole body, making her heart speed its pace. So this was feeling aroused. For a second she allowed herself to relish on the feeling, soon, reality crashed on her, and she slid her hand from underneath his. She couldn't allow herself to be weak now.
“Having a family is no guarantee you won’t feel alone.” She replied, in a cold tone. “I was never close to my parents. They wanted a boy, and after I was born, my mother wasn’t able to conceive again. I was a great disappointment for them.”
There was a shock on his face. “I’m sure they didn’t feel that about you. Sometimes kids misinterpret…”
“I didn’t misinterpret anything. I was told so my whole life.” She interrupted him.
“What the… why would people do that to their own child? Children on this planet are the most precious gift life can give us. We would never treat a child like that.” He protested, clearly upset.
“Then, I guess your orphanages are empty.” She said, sarcastic.
“What’s an orphanage?” he asked, unfamiliar with the term.
“It’s a place where you leave the kids you don’t wish or that you can’t keep, along with those who have no family.” She explained, keeping her tone as blatant as possible.
“We don’t have such places in our society. If any kid loses his family, and that doesn’t happen often, offers to take care of him will come from all of those that know him,” he assured her.
His words felt like daggers being thrust deep into her heart. It only confirmed she would never fit on this planet. People would certainly hate and despise her for what she had done, just like her parents had hated her for not obeying them.
“That’s wonderful.” She replied, avoiding facing him.
At that moment, a soft gong indicated the arrival of the food, and fortunately, they changed the topic.
They tasted the food he had ordered, commenting its ingredients and where on the planet you could get them and time flew. By the time they finished, the moon was already lightening the skies, and the temperatures had dropped a lot.
She helped him clear the table, and when they were done, she looked at him, feeling a bit uncomfortable. It was time to go back to the palace, but she didn’t want to sound rude proposing it.
“It’s getting late.” She murmured, instead.
He looked at her, curious. “Are you tired?”
She almost sighed with relief. He had just given her the perfect excuse. “Yes, a bit, it was a long day.”
“Why don’t you stay here tonight? I would take you back to the palace on my way to work.”
“No… I mean… I wouldn’t dream bothering even more than I already did.” she said, nervous.
“You’ll never bother me, and I really would love to have you here, with me.” He said, closing the distance between them and taking her hands in his.
Once more, jolts of pleasure rushed through her, and she had a hard time concentrating on what she had to say. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?” he asked, taking one of her hands to his lips and gently kissing it.
She pulled her hands from his and took a few steps away from him.
“I would like to go back to the palace, please.” She said, in a cold tone, still feeling the fire on her skin where his lips had touched it.
What the hell was in his mind? What did he want from her? He couldn't possibly want anything serious from her, not when she was supposed to be mated with God knows who. Did he think that becoming her tutor entitled him to use her as his toy?
Or perhaps she hadn’t been mated, and they had decided she should become some sort of prostitute for all of the single males? After all, there was no unmated woman on the planet, right? Why wouldn’t they use her for it? They sure as hell had paid a significant amount of money for her. Perhaps that was the reason why he didn't want her living with him.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked her, in a soft tone, without moving from where he was.
She nodded, unable to talk, feeling a huge knot in her throat. If he wanted her, he would have to say it and come clean with her. After all, there wasn’t much she could do to stop him if he decided he had rights over her.
Colborn wished he could hammer his head against the wall. He had screwed up again, big time with her. Kissing her hand had been a huge mistake, and now he had pushed her even further away from him. He could almost see the armor she had put on once more.
With a deep sigh, he nodded and picked up a pair of cloaks from a closet near the main the door; he invited her to follow him.
“Come, I’ll take them."
“Thank you.” she walked towards the door and accepted the cloak he handed her.
Soon, he was driving away from the house and heading to the palace. It just took him a few minutes to get there, and the moment he parked the vehicle in front of the main door, she tried to jump out of it.
“Please, wait.” He asked, holding her by her elbow.
She turned to look at him with so much fear in her eyes he immediately removed his hand.
“I just wanted to tell you I had a great time with you today and that I’m looking forward to repeating it.” He said, in a soft tone.
“It’s very kind of you. I had a good time too. Good night.” She muttered the words, quickly and almost ran out of the vehicle, leaving him behind, feeling lousy and unable to do anything right around her.
He could tell she had issues and his stupidity hadn’t helped him at all. He would have to go slowly around her until he was able to conquer her scared heart.
Gil Ra ran all the way back to her room. She wasn’t running away from him… she just needed to be alone. He hadn’t insisted for her to stay and despite her initial fears, she now realized he was just being polite with her. There were no other intentions on his invitation. How could it be? He had already rejected her that same morning. Why would he have changed his mind so quickly? She had just assumed he wanted her, and that was ridiculous. Why would a man like him ever want a woman like her? Especially after all she had done.
There had to be something seriously wrong with her. How was it possible she was feeling bad because he hadn’t wanted to make her his slut? Had she lost her mind? She should be happy, not feeling devastated. Was she that needy that she would want him to use her?
Her mind was total chaos, and she wasn’t sure of anything, anymore.
Wit
h a soft sob, she allowed her body to slide down to the floor and covering her face with both her hands, she let all the tears she that had been welling inside her to come out.
She lost track of time as she stayed there crying, but by the time she was able to crawl into bed, the sun was starting to come up in the skies.
That morning, when Miranda came looking for her, she was already up and ready to face another day. She knew the other girls would leave with their tutors and she intended to be out of the way before that happened. She wanted to avoid the questions, and the commiseration looks she was sure her friends wouldn’t be able to hide.
She was happy to confirm Eleanor was safe and sound and she even offered to make a couple of dresses for her, before she quickly disappeared into her work room. Ingvar had sent the machines there the afternoon before, so she was ready to start working on the first pieces.
Chapter Five
Making the patterns and introducing them to the cutter took her the whole morning. She was still focused on that when the door behind her opened up startling her.
“Hello… how are you?” Colborn asked, closing the distance between them.
“Colborn… hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” She said, putting a hold to her emotions and hiding her feelings from him.
“Yes, well… I was in the neighborhood, and I thought it would be a good idea if we had lunch together.” He said with a broad smile. He could tell she wasn’t very happy with his visit. What he didn’t know was why.
“I really… I mean… I’m a bit busy here, and I already asked the kitchen to bring me something to eat here.” She said, mumbling.
“Perfect. I’ll call them and ask them to add some for me, if you don’t mind, of course.” He said with a wide smile.
“No… no, I don’t mind.” She said.
Smiling, he walked to the communicator on the wall and ordered some food for himself.
“Can you show me what you’ve been doing?” he asked, sounding interested but she was sure he was only being polite.
