“No. She’s used to getting thrown an occasional curve ball by my father. She’ll handle it like a champ.”
Before they could take ten steps, the door to the grand hall opened again and Captain Yeral closed it quietly behind him. Rose smiled at his rather lost expression.
“Do you need help finding your way, Captain? Once you exit the corridor, there are guards to assist you.”
The man strolled boldly to them. “Are any half as beautiful as the two of you?”
Jen laughed and quipped. “I call dibs on this one.”
Rose shook her head. “Be nice for once.”
“What is dibs? Does it mean I am forbidden from speaking to you? Have I misspoken? I sought only to compliment.”
Rose grinned. “You were very complimentary. It’s why my friend called dibs. It’s an old-fashioned way to let everyone know you’ve claimed something.”
“I see your humor. Your friend cannot call dibs on me because the ambassador has already called dibs on the two of you, assuming you are interested and your family approves.”
Rose walked over to the man. “Aren’t you just a fountain of information? Would you like an escort to the docking platform?”
“I have been given leave to survey your beautiful underground city.”
“My friend and I would be honored to escort you. Give me one moment to contact my mother.”
“As you wish.”
Rose spoke softly back and forth into the com device then turned to the well-groomed captain. “Where would you like to go first, Captain?”
“Your father was kind enough to forward us the official annotated history of your people. It was very comprehensive, so I think not to visit items of historical interest for the moment. I am most interested in learning more about human social norms. We have on Krylon establishments that serve beverages and provide recreation for males. The nearest comparison I could find in your historical record is something called a tavern. Naturally, we have no equivalent to a bar maid. I am eager to see one.”
“We have something similar in the modern world. It’s called a hydro-bar. There are no bar maids though.”
“I beg to disagree. Your written record was quite clear that the official capacity of a bar maid evolved over time to be barista, bartender, or mixologist. They are exclusively female.”
“Well, men sure aren’t going to stand behind a counter and mix drinks.”
“It was unclear from reading the material why this is the case. The idea of creating exotic drinks seems fascinating.”
Locking arms with the man, Rose guided him towards the commercial district. “There are simply so many more females than males. They are a little spoiled for choice.”
“Foolish creatures to allow stubborn pride to stand in the way of interesting new experiences.”
Jen laughed. “Ain’t nobody around here that thinks mixing drinks is all that freaking fascinating?”
“I would like to see, nonetheless.” Seeming to think better of his insistence, he added politely. “If it would please you to take me there.”
“I could use a hydro-caf. Come, tell us what it’s like to captain a space vessel.”
The man managed to make polite conversation all the way to the commercial district. He really was a wealth of information. They garnered more than their fair share of attention along the way. Though humans were used to seeing the occasional alien strolling along their walkways, the Krylon were unknown to them. That the pending trade talks were taking place, merely added to their curiosity.
Yeral didn’t seem to notice as he was keen to take in every detail of the underground structure. Rose could tell he was impressed; he kept commenting and one point referred to it as an incredible feat of engineering.
Sliding onto barstools in their favorite hydro-bar, Yeral stared at all the different kinds of drinks displayed along the shelves behind the bar.
“At one time on our world, people went to different establishments to obtain different types of beverages. With drinkable fluids being in such short supply, we’ve consolidated them into one type of drinking establishment. This isn’t the only bar but they are much the same, just spread out geographically to facilitate access.”
Rose had the bartender bring a tiny sampling of drinks. He insisted upon avoiding intoxicating beverages. They talked about the origin of each drink and if there was a similar equivalent on the Krylon home world.
Pointing into the cup, Yeral commented decisively. “This is the one. The smooth texture and taste is like nothing I have ever experienced before. This drink far surpasses all the rest.”
“I believe that one is sim-choc. It’s an ancient Earth favorite. Before humans learned to synthesize proteins, it was made with the secretions of a large animal’s mammary glands.”
Yeral made a trilling wheezing noise that Rose highly suspected was the equivalent of a laugh. “Thank the many gods living and dead for the progress we have all made in such regards.”
Rose motioned to the barista to make three gift bags to go. Before she could turn around, Maiko stood in front of them. Adjusting her reading glasses, she shifted her armload of books from one side to the other.
Rose watched as her longtime friend tried to figure out the Krylon’s identity. Having been at her party, she wondered if the petite Japanese woman thought he was the ambassador.
“Nope, I don’t know you.”
Rose stood and made formal introductions, careful to present the lower-ranking dignitary to the higher-ranking one. “Maiko, may I present Captain Yeral of the Krylon flagship Dredal. Captain Yeral, may I present Princess Maiko of the Japanese Imperial House.”
The captain immediately dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
Jen leaned over to look at him. “No hello or how are you? Just down on one knee.”
Maiko shifted her heavy load again as she wrinkled her nose, trying to push her glasses back. “Umm, you don’t have to do that. Here, I’m just a regular person.”
Rose began to step forward. “Need some help with those?”
Yeral was on his feet at the speed of light. “Allow me, Your Imperial Highness.” As he gently took the huge stack of books from her, he murmured. “You should not be unescorted, Imperial Princess.”
Stretching her arm to shake out the crimp, she replied. “I’m fine…”
Another voice interrupted. “She isn’t unattended. You’ll step back.”
Maiko leaned around the bulky captain, shoved her glasses up again with one finger, and asked. “Who are you and why are giving us orders?”
“I am not giving orders. I am merely following them.”
Rose looked around. Suddenly, there were three males, all Asian, facing off with the captain. Jen quickly grabbed the books from Yeral. The male was all business as he slowly turned to face the interlopers.
“What kind of protector are you to allow her to struggle so?”
“Wrong question. You should be asking how far we will go to ensure your hands don’t touch her.”
“I am aware of how to treat a member of the imperial family and have no intention of triggering a diplomatic incident. However, I will speak out on her behalf. Her Imperial Majesty is clearly not being treated with the respect due her imperial station.”
Maiko leaned sideways and peered around the captain. Pointing at the large male, she made the going away gesture with her fingers. “You. Whoever you are, I demand that you leave.”
Rose stepped forward. “The imperial princess has spoken. You may monitor from a distance if you’re concerned for her safety. I’m responsible for the captain and will ensure no impropriety takes place.”
Rose rolled her eyes when the Japanese imperial guard made the I’m watching you gesture directed to the now glaring captain. The alien would seriously not know what to make of such a gesture. She turned to her friend.
“I’m sorry, Maiko. That was really awkward.”
“I guess the entire time I’ve been here has been one giganti
c farce. All this time, I thought I was out from under my family’s control and all along, the imperial guard has been shadowing me.”
Captain Yeral commented bluntly. “Your Highness is a member of the imperial family. It is not reasonable to think the imperial father would leave any member of the family unattended.”
“This is exactly how I felt when I discovered there was no Santa Claus.”
Jen dumped the armload of book on the top of the bar and the barista immediately stacked three gift bags neatly on top. She stood with her hands on her hips, staring at Maiko.
Rose was relieved when Maiko began to laugh. “You’re right. I should’ve known better. Just call me princess gullible.”
Rose smiled and gave her friend a gentle hug. “You can’t keep running from your heritage forever, you know that, right?”
Brushing them aside the petite woman laughed and made a grab for her books. “I can certainly try.”
Jen took half the load of books from her friend and shrugged. “I’ll walk with you. I’m going in your direction anyway.”
CHAPTER 5
Dinner turned out to be a delightful exercise in patience for Jennifer. The two ambassadors had apparently spent the entire day clarifying expectations and the evening focusing on trudging through the minutia. With no small amount of amusement, she noticed both Rose and her mother hanging on their every word. Making a halfhearted attempt to pay attention, she realized several marginally interesting facts.
There were apparently many prominent families interested in participating in what was being termed intergalactic mating. Some were interested in relocating to the Krylon home world while others were drawn to the opportunity to have more than one child. Krylon encouraged couples to have as many children as they liked. Jen had dreamed of having three or four children she could nurture and love. Even now, she became misty eyed at the thought of dressing them all for special occasions in coordinating clothing. No one on Earth had enjoyed that small luxury for generations. Her eyes drifted to Chal as she considered the real possibility of being mated to him.
Earth Gov was interested in initiating similar trade negotiations with other member worlds, particularly the ones closer to Earth. Long story short, competition would be brutal for her friend. Thank goodness Earth Gov insisted on the women going in companionable pairs and she was viewed as the spare. No one paid much attention to the secondary brides.
Jennifer’s focus kept gravitating towards the ambassador’s reserved assistant. He was handsome, there was no doubt about that. His dusky pewter-colored skin was several shades darker than the famous ambassador he served under. His hair was a stark white instead of dark. Though he was the smaller of the two, Jennifer thought he was the better looking. His features were not so sharp and angular and the tattoo across the right side of his face seemed almost tribal in nature, whereas the captain’s was a star map and Teric’s seemed to depict ancient scrolls.
The mild-mannered assistant wasn’t fond of the limelight. If he could be accused of having a super skill, it would’ve been fading into the background. It annoyed her that the high-powered ambassadors and their fan girls seemed content to let him be ignored. She realized that, much like herself, he was of little importance in the grand scheme of things. It didn’t help that each time he was addressed, the man’s default programing seemed to automatically defer the question to Teric. It made it difficult to get a feel for him as a person.
The one thing he couldn’t keep under wraps was the tone of his voice. The deep baritone held her enthralled and if truth be told, her panties damp. Jen glanced at him over her wine glass, realizing she was more than eager to spend some one-on-one time getting to know him. Hopefully, he wasn’t as reticent in private as he was in public. If he was, she’d very much enjoy teaching him the finer points of cutting lose a little.
Just then, his eyes flashed up to hers. He startled a little to realize she was looking at him, but pulled himself together in the space of a hot minute. A polite nod acknowledged her interest and he returned his attention to the boring discussion at hand. A thousand thoughts whirled around in her head about the attractive man. She found herself wondering if he even wanted a wife.
Once she dropped in on the conversation flowing around her, she realized something interesting. Teric and Rose seemed to be on the same page about good many things, not the least of which was her possibly being the first intergalactic bride for Krylon. It was super strange to watch them interact; they talked over each other in their excitement and even finished each other’s sentences. At one point, her parents were kind of sitting back just watching the pair connect. It was sickeningly sweet.
As the evening wore on, Rose invited the visitors down to her space. Since it was perfectly appropriate given the circumstances, the males followed them down.
“Forgive the limited space; since we moved our cities underground, we don’t enjoy the urban sprawl we once did.”
Jennifer tried not to smile. Her friend believed her space was small, though it was at least fifty times the size of Jen’s tiny allotment. She doubted her privileged friend gave much thought to how others lived. She probably assumed other homes were smaller, but had no real understanding of the extent of the situation people endured in the huge underbelly that had been dubbed sub-sector.
Teric remarked thoughtfully. “We do not have large homes on Krylon either; we are dedicated to sustainable living. Each person takes only what they need. We do not have the type of problems that conspicuous consumption generated for humans.”
“I’m not sure if I should be insulted or impressed.”
Teric quickly interjected. “I was hoping for impressed, if that helps you decide.”
“You’ve got a ready response for every situation, don’t you?”
“I am afraid that trait is looked down upon everywhere except in diplomatic circles.”
Smiling slightly, Rose gazed at him. “It looks good on you. Of course, anything would.”
“Ahh, flirting. I recognize this game. Come, Miss Rose, tell me more about me. It is my very favorite subject.”
Jen heard her friend giggle at his suave reply as she motioned Chal over to the small bar in the corner. He seemed just as eager to escape the couple’s verbal exchange as she was. Motioning him towards a stool, she stepped behind the bar.
“Since the diplomacy is over for the evening, can I get you something alcoholic?”
“The diplomacy will not be over until we return to our home world, but you may make for me whatever you like.”
She began making him a starburst as she jerked her chin over to the other side of the room. His eyes followed to a small settee where Rose was currently running a finger over Teric’s strangely shaped facial tattoo. “So, is that diplomacy?”
“It is a rather stark prelude to mating, but also diplomacy.”
“You think they are rushing things?”
“I think it is not my place to judge.”
“Do you know if Rose ends up being the ambassador’s bride, I’ll be offered to you?”
Setting his drink in front of him, she looked him in the eyes as she spoke. That’s when she saw his facial expression change for an instant. She furrowed her brow as she tried to figure out what his fleeting expression had been.
“If it pleases Earth Gov to send you in pairs, I will do my best to be a suitable mate.”
“You don’t have to act so excited, Chal.”
“I do not know what words you wish to hear.”
Shocked, she asked quietly. “Do you even want a wife?”
The faint expression was back. “Every male wishes for a mate. I am no different.” Her heart sunk as she realized the emotion playing across his face was regret.
“You want a mate, just not me, right?”
“I did not say that.” He carefully smoothed out his expression until it was blank.
Since it was clear what he meant and he seemed unwilling or unable to give her any reassurances, she decided to put
him out of his misery. “You can solicit Rose to choose another friend. Trust me, she has many and most are more attractive than I am.”
Before being forced to listen to any backpedaling, she moved from behind the bar and approached her friend.
“Sorry, I have to leave. I got called for a project.”
Rose’s eyes widened but thankfully, she didn’t question her words. Jen knew her friend could tell she was hurt even if the ambassador looked kind of perplexed. Rose stepped forward, kissed her on the cheek, and whispered in her ear. “I’ll message you when I’m finished here.”
Nodding, she headed for the steps, trying hard not to seem like she was running away, though she clearly was.
Rose watched her friend’s back disappear up the steps as she quietly took leave of the best opportunity either of them had to get off this dying world. She and Teric watched Chal approach. Though his expression was blank, there was something about his manner that communicated profound sadness.
Teric asked diplomatically. “Do you have need me to intervene on your behalf with the female, Chal?”
“Apparently, I do, for I believe she has rejected me.”
Rose couldn’t keep quiet. “What happened? She thought you were hot stuff. How’d you mess that up in under three minutes?”
Chal looked surprised to be addressed so directly by her. He replied cautiously. “I have mistakenly given her the impression I did not wish to mate her in particular.”
Rose let out a sigh of relief. “It’s just a miscommunication. I thought the two of you got into a disagreement.”
Teric turned to her. “Are miscommunications common with humans?”
“Yep, happens all the time on Earth. It’s probably because we talk so much. When you gab a lot, chances are you’re going to have a misunderstanding or two here and there.”
“How do we make this situation right again?”
“Easy peasy. Chal just needs to step up.” Both men blinked at her. “He goes to her, gives her big puppy-dog eyes, and apologizes. Trust me, if he’s sincere, she’ll cave.”
CHAPTER 6
Celestial Mates Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) (Alien SciFi Romance) Page 4
