Sold To The Athim Prince

by Hollie Hutchins

  “I have a surprise for you in the bedroom,” he said, as we walked towards our room. I felt nervous. What had he planned?

  My worries were squashed when we entered the room. A stack of black yoga pants and cozy t-shirts were on the bed. I wasn’t sure how he obtained them, but I didn’t question the results.

  “Thank you.” I smiled at him. He smiled back.

  “Remember,” he said. “Tell me anything you need, Freya, and it shall be yours.”

  His English was less choppy than before, I noted. Had he learned that fast?

  “Did you work on your English today?” I asked. He nodded proudly.

  “Is very easy compared to Athim language,” he laughed. “I feel bad that you have to learn our language.”

  “Well, it’s not like there is anything else to do on this ship,” I said. “I might as well learn it, so I can understand what you and your sister are talking about.”

  He chuckled as I grabbed my new clothes and put them all of them away in the closet, except for the two pieces that I was going to wear to bed. I quickly dressed and came back out of the closet. Modric lay in the bed.

  “You look comfortable,” he said. I pulled the covers down and got in next to him.

  “I am,” I said. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and turned the lights off. Again, he still didn’t try to initiate sexual contact, which baffled me. I knew that I made it very clear that we wouldn’t be having sex, but I hadn’t actually expected him to listen to me. Honestly, I thought that the prince would do whatever, and I’d be powerless to stop him. I fell asleep wondering if and when he would ever try to make a move on me.

  “I hate this language,” I said the next morning during class. Natira shot a nasty look my way from across the room.

  “You need to learn it,” she said. “The Athim people need to be able to communicate with their princess.”

  “It’s so clunky!” I protested. “Modric basically learned the entire English language yesterday and I’m stuck on basic Athim words!”

  The Athim language was confusing. It was clumsy and there were far too many exceptions to the rules. I found myself growing increasingly annoyed with the teachings of Natira. Like Modric, she was rather emotionless. She was very strict and wanted us to stay on plan each day. She also hated chit-chat.

  I did, however, enjoy my time with the other girls. When Natira left the room, we traded stories about our experiences.

  “Can Freya come to our room tonight?” Rachelle asked Natira after class that day.

  “For what?” Natira asked.

  “We just want to show the room to her,” Brenda said. “She hasn’t seen it before.”

  Natira shrugged.

  “I don’t care; just make sure you aren’t late to dinner with Modric,” she said to me.

  We left Natira in the room and traveled to the other side of the ship to the girls’ shared bedroom. Inside, there were four twin-sized beds. They were very soft and comfortable, but nothing compared to my gigantic marital bed. They also had one shared closet that was a third of the size of mine. I dared not tell them about my room. It seemed as if I were the only one that received royal treatment.

  “Do you like it?” Kelly asked. She was obviously proud of their living arrangements, giving me a sense she was used to very little.

  “It’s probably nothing compared to her house in the White House,” Nellie sneered. I turned to look at her.

  “What’s your deal with me?” I asked. I already I knew what her deal was. She was jealous of me but would never admit to it. She didn’t respond. Instead, she walked over and threw herself on her bed.

  “I’m tired,” she announced to no one in particular.

  The next couple of days were very uneventful. It was the same tired routine, day in and day out. I would wake up, have breakfast with Modric, and then not see him for the rest of the day. He attended to his business on the ship, and I went to my Athim language lessons.

  “You’ve been here for a week now,” Nellie commented one day. I looked up from my book.

  “I guess I have been,” I said. I didn’t particularly like conversing with her after our conversations earlier in the week.

  “How are you adjusting, Freya?” Rachelle asked.

  “I hate it,” I admitted, closing my book. “You know that we’re only here because of our hair color. I’m half-tempted to shave all mine off. Maybe Modric will divorce me and send me back to Earth.”

  “I’m not sure that I feel the same way,” Brenda said. “So far, I’m treated here much better than I ever was on Earth. I had such an awful experience on Earth.” Something trembled in her face, making me wonder just what kind of experience. “This is actually a blessing in disguise. For once, I have something to thank my red hair for!”

  “You don’t even know what’s ahead,” I said. “What if the other aliens treat you like shit?”

  “I don’t think they will,” Rachelle said. “From what I’ve heard, they’re pretty much just like the Athims.”

  “You’ve heard wrong,” I said, leaning across the table. “The Hallon race is the worst of all the aliens in the entire universe. They invaded Washington, D.C. last year. Because of them, I was forced to live in a small bunker underneath the White House for nearly two weeks. During that time, my mother grew very sick and we couldn’t get help for her. After we came out, we found out that she developed brain cancer. Those two weeks in that bunker were some of the worst in my life.”

  Kelly looked at me from across the table.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. I shrugged.

  “It is what it is,” I told her. It occurred to me that the Hallons didn’t invade any other country on earth. So why would they know about the perils of it personally? “I just don’t want you girls thinking that it’s going to be amazing on Hallon. Chances are, it’s not.”

  Nellie examined me for a moment. “I just hope that when I get traded to the other aliens that I end up with one as considerate as Modric. He really hasn’t tried anything on you?” I saw her attempt to change the subject, and appreciated it.

  I shook my head.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but he hasn’t tried a thing,” I admitted. “We’re very routine – Wake up, go our separate ways, meet for dinner, go to bed, and do it all again the next day. He’s actually very polite.”

  I wasn’t lying. He was very polite. He was always opening doors and pulling out my chair. He never showed one ounce of anger towards me since the first night. It was as if he’d researched up all the human forms of courtesy and then tried them all out on me. I didn’t know what to think about it, but I wasn’t exactly… opposed to it.

  With his English improving and my learning of the Athim language, our dinner conversations grew. I learned glimmers of his life and got the impression that despite the fact he was a prince, and he had such a bold, loyal sister, his life sounded lonely. Always going on state meetings, having little to no friends, and put on a pedestal.

  I could relate somewhat to the pedestal part, and the loneliness.

  Later that night, Modric began to tell me about the current mission that we were on. We were presently headed to a jump point that Modric had received intel on. After we reached the jump point, we would head to the planet of Hallon, where the Hallon leader, King Ryu, would greet us.

  I quickly learned that jump points were very important in space. Whoever controlled a jump point also controlled all trade within that jump point. The jump point that we were traveling to was one of the most crucial ones in the entire universe. It had direct access to Hallon and the two main Athim worlds. If the Athims’ enemy, the Hallons, gained full access, it could mean an invasion.

  We were traveling to the jump point for another reason, as well. Modric would be trading some of the girls to King Ryu as a peace offering. Humans were unheard of in this region of space. The four girls were extremely valuable – worth billions in local currencies. As much as I had despised being trade
d, I began to understand and accept why humans were traded. I didn’t agree with it, but I understood.

  The next day at class, we talked about the mission.

  “The Hallons are infatuated with red hair,” Natira said. As time went on, she became less cold to us and more inviting.

  “The Hallon women often color their hair and fins red,” she continued to speak. “They love the look, but the Hallon men want to naturally pass the trait onto their offspring.”

  I watched as looks of panic began to fill the girls’ faces. Whether we agreed with it or not, we understood what Natira was implying. The girls would be having sex with the Hallon aliens.

  “I’ve had sex with humans,” Nellie said, though she looked alarmed. “Is sex with aliens much different?” She looked specifically at Natira and me.

  “I like girls,” Natira admitted. “I’ve never experienced sex with a male of any species. Yet.”

  I wasn’t surprised, based on the comments she had made to me earlier. The girls turned their attention to me.

  “What about you, Freya?” Nellie asked. “What is sex with him like?”

  “I’m not sure,” I told them. “We haven’t had it yet.”

  They all looked shocked, especially Natira.

  “What?” she asked. “You haven’t had sex yet?”

  I shook my head.

  “We haven’t even kissed yet,” I confessed. “He hasn’t tried anything.”

  No one knew what to say. To be honest, I didn’t know what to say, either. I was beginning to think something was wrong with me. Everyone had told me how Modric was obsessed with me, but he was acting anything but.

  “That doesn’t sound like, Modric,” Natira commented.

  “Well, you do hook up with Modric, you will let us know?” Rachelle asked eagerly.

  “Of course,” I said, but truthfully, I was starting to believe that Modric and I would never consummate our marriage.

  Chapter 6

  After class that day, I headed towards the dining room to meet Modric for dinner. I was starving and couldn’t wait to see what was served that night. I had secretly hoped that Modric could read my mind and would be serving pizza. I hadn’t eaten a good slice in a while. A delicious pizza dinner could change my mind about things, including Modric.

  I had been granted access to roam the ship freely, something the other girls didn’t have. Natira had to accompany them everywhere. I was grateful that I had a small amount of freedom.

  As I was walking, I heard a commotion in the main section of the ship where the command room was. The main section was surrounded by windows and I had a clear view of what was happening inside.

  Modric was yelling at another Athim and shaking his finger in his face. The soldier wasn’t backing down, although Modric was his superior. They continued to yell at one another as Modric pointed at one of the main screens. The soldier shook his finger in Modric’s face. A chill ran through me. This looked ominously closed to the disrespecting that caused Modric to kill someone before.

  Both men began to morph into dragons. As I saw in the video, Modric’s clothes ripped right off him as he turned into a massive, blue scaled dragon. The command room was barely big enough to contain both of them in dragon form.

  The two dragons hissed at each other before Modric struck first. I looked around for help, but was frozen in place. Although I knew Modric had capabilities of transforming into a dragon, it was much scarier to see it happen right before my eyes.

  The fight continued with each dragon taking a turn striking the other. Claws and teeth slashed off their blue, scaly hides. The dragon opposing Modric clearly appeared to have the worst of it. Cuts materialized on his snout, and he let out a long, whimpering groan, now cowering, wings tucked, hunched in like a frightened dog. It seemed to be the cue. They began to morph back into alien form. Once fully turned back into aliens, Modric grabbed his clothes from the floor and pointed at the dejected soldier. Modric had obviously won the fight. He headed towards the door. I was desperate for neither of them to see me.

  I sprinted down the hallway, not stopping until I reached the dining room. Despite being in good health, I was out of breath. I had never run so fast in my life.

  After unlocking the door with my fingerprints, I thrust open the dining room door and sat down in my seat. It took Modric a few minutes to show up, but I wasn’t surprised. The clothes he was wearing prior to the fight were ruined. He needed a whole new outfit for dinner.

  He looked good when he finally did arrive. He wore a black suit and carried a bouquet of yellow Gerber daisies.

  “For you.” He handed me the flowers before sitting down. I was nervous to make eye contact with him. Just minutes ago, he was a violent dragon, and now he was back to normal. He seemed unbothered by the whole thing, which made me question how often this happened. Perhaps it was an Athim thing. Turning into dragons and fighting. As casual to them as breathing air.

  “What’s wrong?” He picked up on my obviously distraught facial expression. I shook my head, not wanting to admit that I had saw his fight.

  “Nothing,” I lied. “Let’s eat.”

  “I can tell by your facial expression that you’re upset,” he said. “Tell me what is wrong.”

  I debated telling him what I had seen but was afraid that he would yell at me. A part of me also felt surprised how easily he picked up on my upset attitude, given that Athim don’t experience as much of an emotional range as humans.

  “It was just a long day of lessons,” I lied. He nodded as if he understood. I wondered if he believed me.

  Our meal was silent, but not without Modric trying. He was asking me many questions about my former life on Earth, even mentioning that maybe Tiffany could come visit soon. I grew angry that he acted so nonchalant.

  “What’s wrong with you, Freya?” he asked. “I thought inviting Tiffany to Athim would appease you.”

  “I saw you fighting with that soldier,” I burst out. “You turned into a dragon again! Do you do that often?”

  “I told you earlier, Freya. I only do that when I’m angry. It’s not on purpose. To be honest, I don’t have much control over it. If I reach a certain point, I morph. It’s something I have done since I was a little one.”

  His words brought me zero comfort. I feared that I would send him over the edge and he would morph into a dragon.

  “He was defying my orders,” Modric continued to speak. “There is some space debris on our radar. He seems to think it’s not an issue, but I know better. If space debris contacts our ship, it can be very bad.”

  I nodded. Although I understood why Modric was mad, it didn’t make it any easier to accept that I had watched him turn into a dragon twice – Once on video, and once in front of me.

  “What are you doing anyway, to see me transform?” he asked. I could tell he was growing upset. “Were you spying on me?”

  Now, it was my turn to be angry.

  “No, I wasn’t spying on you,” I said. “I walked by the command room on my way here and saw it happen right in front of my eyes. Am I just supposed to pretend it’s OK that you morph into a dragon and attack a shipmate?”

  “Yes!” he said. “You’re my wife. You must accept the fact that I’m a dragon shifter.”

  “How is any of this okay with you?” I questioned, aware I might be pushing him to the point of no return. “Don’t you see anything wrong with this picture? You traded for me. I didn’t fall in love with you and voluntarily join you on this mission. I’m only here because my father betrayed me and for some reason, you wanted me. And if you wanted me so badly, why haven’t we…”

  I stopped myself before I could go any further. I wanted to ask why we hadn’t had sex yet, but I didn’t want him to think that it had bothered me. Given that I was the one who put the demand to not do it. I think a part of me never expected him to actually obey. While he didn’t show any emotion on his face, I could tell that he was hurt by my words.

  “You’re angry,”
he said, lowering his voice.

  “Of course, I’m angry,” I yelled. “I had a good life on Earth before you came along! I was going to college to be a teacher. I had friends and I had a guy that was special to me. I was going to be someone in life, and now I’m just a trophy wife to some alien that sometimes turns into a dragon!”

  He carefully analyzed my facial expressions.

  “I don’t understand why you’re so upset, Freya,” he said. “I thought you liked your life on the ship. I give you everything you want. You have the best bedroom on the ship. I give you great meals with wine and give you flowers. You have freedom. You’re a princess.”

  He was genuinely confused, and I felt bad for exploding. He honestly believed that he was giving me a good life. He was, in one way, but the fact remained that I wasn’t here voluntarily. He ripped me from my life on Earth and had expected me to accept my new life immediately. Life didn’t work that way.

  “I’ve just had a rough day,” I sighed. “On top of seeing you morph into a dragon, I struggled with our lesson today. Learning your language from Natira is exhausting. She’s not a very patient teacher.”

  He let out a loud laugh. I liked when he laughed.

  “She isn’t, but she means well. She likes you, too. I don’t think she cares much for the other girls.”

  I wanted to tell her that she had thrown more sexual innuendos my way than he had, but again, I stopped myself. This was obviously not the time. Plus, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be intimate with Modric. I had thought about it more often lately, but his size also frightened me. That is, not just with his body, but with down under as well. I’d only caught glimpses. But that was enough for me to think it might be either pleasurable or painful.

  Or both.

  “I just get frustrated with the situation sometimes,” I confessed. “This is all so new for me. I really do appreciate everything that you have done for me, but it’s still hard adjusting to this new life. I’m sorry I sometimes get angry at you.”

  He nodded, understanding the words coming out of my mouth.