Zern

by Stella Sky

  "What the hell are you doing here?” she said as she turned and looked at me.

  "I was hoping that you could tell me that.”

  "How did you get in here? When did you get in here?” she asked as she got out of the bed. I was disappointed to have her soft body moved away from me.

  "To be honest, I don't remember coming here. I was hoping that you could fill me in. I must have got really intoxicated off of lana juice."

  "Oh, that is very charming. I assume lana juice is some sort of alcohol,” she said as she moved over to the table and drink some water.

  "Yes, did you not have some at the feast last night? The tables are always overflowing with it,” I said as I lay on my back and put my hands behind my head. I wasn't going anywhere.

  "No, I did not go to the feast. Food was brought here for me,” she said then pointed to a tray.

  "That is disappointing. I had very strict orders for Sarah and Michelle to take you to the feast and show you around a little," I said.

  "I guess they decided they did not want to do it anymore,” she said with a slight smile.

  "I guess so."

  She gasped as she turned away from the table and finally looked at me. Her eyes were directly on my loincloth. I looked down and noticed what she was looking at. “Oh yes, that happens sometimes. Especially in the morning. I don't suppose you want to help me with it,” I said, looking at my hard cock. I had a very rigid case of morning wood.

  "No!” she said turning away.

  "Well, that is one way for it to go down on its own. You rejecting me. Did you reject me last night as well? Did we fuck?” I smiled.

  "No! How dare you! I did not even realize you were in here until I woke up. I guess you have a key to the door,” she said walking toward it to check if it was still locked.

  I laughed. “I don't need a door. I am sure that I just flew in the window. You will have to get used to it if you are going to be my wife,” I said.

  "I will not get used to it, and I will not be your wife,” she said in a defiant voice.

  "I am starving. What do you say we continue this argument over some food?" I said as I moved toward the window and shifted into dragon form.

  She jumped backward and gasped.

  "There's nothing to be afraid of. Come?” I said as I reached my hand out to her.

  "I don't want to walk on those bridges. It makes me dizzy,” she said. I walked over to her, tired of her defiance, and scooped her up into my arms.” “Oh, we are not walking.” I ran to the window and took flight. Soon we were soaring through the village. Melody had her face against my chest and her eyes closed. She held on tightly. For the first time, she was not shouting in defiance at me. Instead, she was quiet and holding on for dear life; I thought it was adorable.

  "Oh my God. This is beautiful,” Melody said as we landed on the shore of the island. The waves were crashing onto the sand, and it was fairly empty that early in the morning.

  "Yes. Want to go for a swim?” I asked her.

  She looked at me and smiled. To my surprise, she pulled off the sheer dress that she wore and in her loincloth and top wrap, she ran straight into the waves and dove in.

  "A human after my own heart,” I whispered to myself and then I ran after her.

  "It is absolutely perfect. It is not too cold but not hot. It is a perfectly refreshing temperature,” she said as she came up and stood in the water.

  I stood beside her, allowing the waves crash against us. “I think it is perfect as well. It is perfect, just like me,” I teased her.

  "Oh, Jesus get over yourself! Give me a break,” she said as she splashed water on my face. I pushed the water back in her direction, and together we continued to water fight.

  "Not so hard! You are twice the size I am,” she laughed. I was very surprised by all of this new enthusiasm. It was actually puzzling to me. For someone that did not want to come here and begged for me to leave her on Earth, she was having a very good time. Not only that, but she wasn't asking to go back to Earth every single second. It was a very strange demeanor for a human female to have after being abducted. I don't think we had ever seen anything like it. Usually, it took a few months and falling in love with a local Draqua to convince a human female to stay on her own accord. I looked at her wondering what was going through that mind of hers.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MELODY REEVES

  I was surprised by just how much fun I was having. I was not behaving like a person that had been abducted from her home planet and taken to another alien planet. I was not behaving like someone that never knew that aliens existed. I was behaving like I was on vacation. I think it was the freedom that I felt. It had been so long since I’d felt like an anonymous person. I had been in the public eye for over ten years now. Ever since my father decided to enter public office, I was thrown into the public eye. I liked the anonymity that being on another planet gave me.

  “Are you hungry, Melody?” Cylo asked me. He was lying on his back, floating in the refreshing, crisp water. I took this opportunity to allow myself to look at his long and muscular body. He was toned and definitely the most beautiful specimen of a man I had ever seen. I allowed my gaze to move over his six pack abs and then further down, his treasure trail that led into his skimpy loincloth.

  “Yes, I am hungry,” I said quietly as I thought about the sexual hunger that was growing inside of me. I forced myself to pull my eyes from his perfect form.

  “Good. I know just the place to eat breakfast this morning. Come,” he said as he got to his feet. I followed him out of the water. I picked up the sheer muslin dress that I had thrown on the beach and pulled it over my wet body. I felt good. I felt refreshed, and I felt free.

  A few minutes later we were further down the beach. It felt a little more isolated in this area. We were far from the village that would be waking up now. I saw a boat in the distance bobbing on the shore in the small waves. It was made from a giant tree trunk. It had been hollowed out on the inside and cut in half. It was beautiful. The boat carried an older Draqua and three young male Draqua, ranging from eleven to twelve years.

  “Good morning, Pila!” Cylo shouted at them.

  “Good morning! Come!” the Draqua named Pila shouted with a smile. The younglings lit up when they saw us. They laughed and ran straight toward Cylo, who began to play-fight with them in the sand. I was surprised by this behavior.

  “What catch have you this morning?!” Cylo shouted at the older Draqua.

  “Many bounty! Good eating. Come join us!” Pila shouted.

  “Thank you, Pila. This human is Melody. She is very special to me,” Cylo said. I was surprised by his choice of words.

  “Welcome, Melody,” Pila said as he nodded a hello to me and the younglings giggled.

  “Thank you, Pila,” I said, nodding back. I was surprised by Cylo’s affection for the fisherman Draqua. Maybe he wasn’t a prince after all. Perhaps the women had lied to me in order to play a trick on me. I would not put it past them. They were not to be trusted. I would expect that a prince would be having breakfast fed to him in bed and have all the servants do everything for him. I did not think that a prince would be hanging out with the fishermen Draqua, and it seemed like he did this often.

  Cylo whispered to me. “You are about to eat the best breakfast you have ever had in your life.”

  I smiled as the group went to work. The Draqua younglings grabbed dried palm fronds and used them as a broom to clean the sand off a large piece of driftwood that was the size of a couch. I understood that this was to be our table and we would sit in the sand around it.

  “Let’s make a fire,” Cylo said to Pila as he patted the elder on the shoulder. They gathered wood and placed it into a deep hole in the sand. Then I saw something that I still found completely unexplainable. Cylo shifted from man to hybrid dragon in a flash. It was impressive, and my mouth fell open as I watched him shift. His large wings spread out behind him and the scales that looked like imprinted tattoo
s appeared on his skin. I bit my lower lip trying to hold my impressed reaction in restraint. I did not want him thinking that he impressed me. I still thought of him as a complete scoundrel and womanizer. Then his chest began to glow a warm yellow and then white. I knew what was coming because I had seen it before. Soon fire shot out of his mouth and straight onto the pile of wood. The beach fire roared to life. The youngling Draqua cheered. Then everyone went to work cleaning and preparing fish.

  “Here, this is how you do it,” Cylo said as he grabbed my hand and guided me as I learned how to prepare the fish. His hand on my hand made my entire body grow warm. I tried to brush it off.

  Minutes later, we were all seated around the makeshift table and eating. “Here,” Cylo said as he pounded on a sea creature that looked like a crab with his fist. The shell broke open and exposed the steaming white meat inside. I looked over at the younglings that were using rocks to break open the crab. I realized just how strong Cylo was if he was able to do with his hand what others needed rocks to do. He pulled out a piece of meat and held it in front of my mouth. I looked at him. He smirked. I opened my mouth slightly and he sensually placed the delicate piece in my mouth. My palate burst with flavor.

  “Mmm, this is scrumptious,” I said savoring the meat.

  “Scrumptious? I do not know this human word,” he laughed.

  “It means delicious. Excellent. Great,” I said.

  “Scrump-tious,” he teased. “Here, continue to eat the scrumptious,” he said as he pushed the open crab over to me. I was glad that he was going to allow me to feed myself because I did not think I was going to be able to continue to allow him to feed me. It was just too damn sexy. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I turned on by him feeding me? Then I remembered…

  “Wait, are you doing that thing?” I whispered.

  “What thing?” he asked.

  “You know, the thing where you control my thoughts,” I whispered.

  “No. Do you want me to?” he asked as he arched an eyebrow at me.

  “No. I never want you to. I like to control my own mind, thank you very much,” I said.

  “I will take that into consideration, but I am not making promises. It is just too fun. I cannot deny the use of my gifts,” he teased.

  “These gifts. How do you have them?” I asked.

  “I don’t really know. Some of us have gifts, us hybrids, that is, and some of us don’t,” he said.

  “The others have the power to persuade minds too?” I asked.

  “No, it is different for everyone. My close friend Baca, he is able to see premonitions,” he said.

  “You mean he is able to see the future? That is fascinating,” I said.

  “Well, it is not that simple. He can only see premonitions that concern himself. If he is in the premonition around others, then he will know that future of the others as well. But it only comes to him in flashes, and it changes often. It all depends on the choices that are made,” he said.

  “I see. And how does your power work?” I asked filled with questions. “This is all from mixing with human females? It does not make sense.”

  “Yes, we barely understand it. We did not know that mixing with humans would create these powers. But there are those that oppose it. The older generations do not like it. They have a problem with it and…” he was cut off.

  “Here, Prince Cylo, have more. Feast some more!” Pila said as he placed more fish in front of us that he had just removed from the fire.

  “Thank you, Pila! Your bounty is an honor to eat,” Cylo said with a bright smile. It was a smile that made my knees weak and I was glad that I was sitting in the sand.

  “Prince?” I whispered as soon as the attention was off of us.

  “Don’t call me that,” he said suddenly changing into an irritable mood.

  “But you are a prince? Why did you not tell me? That is kind of a big deal,” I said.

  “Because I don’t think of myself as a prince. My father is king. My brother Greia will be king after him. I do not want to be a prince. It’s not my fault I was born into this family. It’s tough not being able to decide who you want to be,” he said melancholy.

  I realized then that we were more alike than I had thought. I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was how I felt being the daughter of the president. I did not have a choice in it.

  “I understand completely. I understand more than you know,” I said looking at him. We locked eyes. His brown eyes had a gentleness to them that I had never noticed before. I had thought of him as this womanizing abductor of women since he took me from Earth. But now I was seeing a different side to him. I was seeing what he had been hiding behind that arrogance.

  When we walked back from breakfast down the beach, we were both quiet. I was full of the delightful food, and he seemed in deep thought. I wondered if he was thinking about the fact that he did not want to be a prince.

  “What’s it like being a water dragon?” I asked hoping to lighten the mood.

  He turned to me, and his eyes lit up. He smiled. “It is the wildest thing. Being able to swim and fly as fast as we do. It’s an ultimate feeling. It feels very good.”

  “I am jealous. I wish I could do all the things you do. It is so mystical and unlike anything on Earth. I did not know that magic like you existed until you found me,” I said.

  “There is much that you haven’t seen yet,” he said sensually as he winked at me.

  “Oh is that so?” I said.

  “Yes, like this,” he said as we moved to a large tree on the outskirt of the village. I looked at the tree confused and looked up toward the huts in the sky.

  “Is that my hut?” I asked.

  “Yes. It is. And you can get there through here,” he said pointing at the tree. I was confused and followed his gesture. I moved around the side of the large tree. There was an opening in the form of an arch in the tree.

  “What is this?” I asked as I walked in. I was astounded by what I saw. Inside the tree, it was hollowed out. There was a spiral staircase carved out of the wood that went all the way up the tree. Slits in decorative geometric patterns carved into the tree allowed natural light to flood the inside of the tree. “Wow, this is beautiful,” I said in awe.

  “Yes. It is quiet the art piece. I am impressed with it as well. We, the Draqua, started to put them in when the human females arrived. Now, you can use them too. You can explore and not be tied up in your hut. When you get to the top, there will be two bridges. You will be able to see which one goes to your hut,” he said.

  “A bridge, but…”

  “You will get used to the height. You must. Don’t look down. Look straight ahead,” he said.

  “But…”

  “Go get some rest and I will come for you in the noon sun. I will show you the village then. I have duties to attend to now,” he said as he walked out of the tree.

  I took a deep breath. I looked up at the massive spiral of stairs. There were railings all the way up, so it was very safe, but it looked daunting. It was like climbing the stairs of a lighthouse. “Well at least I will stay fit,” I said as I took the first steps. I climbed and climbed. I took a break half way up and sat on the stairs inside the tree. Then I climbed the rest of the way.

  “Just a few more steps,” I said trying to coach myself to keep going. I finally got to the last step and stood there breathing heavily. I stepped through another arch and out onto a platform surrounding the tree. It was a very large platform, and I was nowhere near the edge of it. This was a good thing.

  “Alright, you did it, Melody. Now just rest here and catch your breath for a second,” I said leaning against the tree. I looked at the two bridges that were out in front of me. One went off in the direction of the village, and the other went straight to my hut. I was not excited to use this bridge but at least it was a short bridge, and it looked solid. It was not a rope bridge.

  “Okay, Melody. You can do it. Don’t look down. Look straight ahead at your hut
. It’s just like walking on a sidewalk,” I said trying to persuade myself.

  I took a step out onto the bridge and held onto the rail very tightly. I took very slow steps and did not dare look down. I kept my head up and stared at the door of my hut. If I looked down, I would get dizzy, and that would not be good. I was halfway across when I felt a sudden rush of wind.

  Boom. The bridge shook.

  “What the hell!” I said as I grabbed the rail more tightly and squatted down in fright. Was this an earthquake? I thought. But then I heard the ominous heavy breathing behind me. The sound brought a chill down my spine and I was too scared to look behind me. I slowly turned. There standing on the platform at the head of the bridge was an unbelievable and frightening sight. It was a dragon.