by Maia Starr
I guess it was starting to show on my face for Ineq to ask me about it. He was sweet and supportive, but there was still some of that unemotional alien left inside of him. He would be monotone and look at me strangely when I had emotion on my face, as though to say, “Why so emotional, human?” This was one of those moments.
“Camilla. She still will not speak to me. It really bothers me. I wish we could just have a conversation about it at least, but she just won't see me.”
“I understand. That must be very hard for you to get your best friend back only to feel like she is not here at all,” he said as he put his hand on my chest. His hand was so big, the tips of his fingers were at my neck while the bottom of his palm was on my belly. He was massive.
“Yes, that is exactly how I feel. But also how can I fix it? Will I ever be able to fix it?”
“I do not know the answer to that. She will not give the commander a chance to speak either,” he said.
“The commander? You have talked to him? You two are talking?”
“Yes, we have bridged the gap. It took a lot of restraint for me to not want to kill him, of course, but I understand that I was as much at fault about all of this too. If I had not neglected you, it would not have happened,” he said.
“You are too good to me. I'm very happy with you. I'm happy to lie here with you in your hut.”
“Our hut. If you’d like?”
“Are you asking me to move in?”
“I am ordering you to,” he said playfully.
“Then I guess I must obey that order, Captain,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
“You might as well. There is no point in waiting until after we are married. I petitioned the king for a ceremony and who knows how long it will take him to grant it. It might take a long time, and there are no rules against us living together, especially since you carry my offspring anyway.”
“Yes, this place could use a woman's touch anyway,” I said.
“You don't like the way I have decorated?”
“It could use more flowers,” I joked.
“Then I shall bring you flowers every day,” he said, kissing me. But as soon as he kissed me ,a frown came upon my face again.
“There it is again. There is that frown. We are going to have to fix this. I can't have you moping around all the time,” he said.
“I know. I know, I am sorry. I will try.”
“Give Camilla some time. She has been through a lot. It has only been a few days since she has arrived here. Give it more time and then maybe try again. In time, wounds heal. I know that for a fact.”
“You are right. I will wait,” I said.
And so I did. I waited another full week. Then I came across Camilla. She was walking along the beach by herself. I saw her at a distance and made my way toward her. Her back was turned to me, and that was good. It meant she could not run away. I finally caught up with her.
“Camilla,” I said.
“Alexandra, I told you I don't want to talk to you. Leave me alone. Why did you follow me out here?”
“Please, Camilla. It has been long enough. Will you talk to me, please? At least hear me out. Or if you won't, at least listen to Commander Roan. He loves you so much. He risked his life to go get you. No one else would do that for you unless they loved you.”
“I don't want to hear this nonsense. You are not a good friend. You are a horrible friend. I can never trust you. I want to go home. I want to go back to Earth. I have put in a petition to the king. It is said that he might consider it simply because of what I have been through with Aeriwanas. So you can keep whatever lies you are about to tell me. I won't be here much longer anyway.”
“Earth? But you love V, don't you? Don't you want to stay here and be with him?”
“I thought I did. I thought I felt love at first sight. But it was just a stupid schoolgirl crush. Now that I know he is a betrayer, I don't love him.”
“I don't believe that. I think you are just hurt and angry. What happens if you return to Earth and realize how much you love him? You won't be able to find your way back here. You would have given it all up out of spite. What then?”
She was quiet. I knew what that meant. Anytime Camilla was quiet after listening to me, it was because she knew I was right and she didn't have anything to say about it. She was quiet because she was thinking of a response. So I kept on digging.
“What did you feel when you first saw him again? When he to rescue you from the Aeriwanas, what did you feel? Did you feel extreme relief and love for him? Because those are your true feelings for him, no matter what.”
“I did. But I was relieved that I was being rescued. That wasn't love,” she said, kicking the sand with her bare feet.
“Fine, if that is what you want to believe. But don't let your own happiness get away simply because of what I did. The mistake I made. If you want to stay here and be with the commander, then you will never have to speak to me if you don't want to. I will leave you alone, and you too can live happily together. The island is big, and there are many living here. You can just ignore me. But don't leave to Earth because of me. You deserve to know if it would work out with the commander; he really is a good warrior. He was in complete despair the entire time you were gone.”
“Oh yeah, it sounds like despair. Despair straight into your panties,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me.
“It wasn't like that. We were drunk and sad and vulnerable and missing you and… I am not going to explain anymore. I am sure that he has as well. It was a mistake. One that I feel guilty and ashamed of. I have no feelings for the commander at all. It happened in a moment I thought the captain had decided he didn't want me anymore. I felt alone on an alien planet.”
“Yes, I know that feeling.”
“Then ask yourself, if the captain were with you when you were in a cage held by the Aeriwanas and you two became drunk and in despair, wouldn't something happen between the two of you?”
She was quiet again. She knew that I was right. She knew that she would indulge if she had the opportunity in a scenario like that simply because they despair would be too great, and she would not know if she was going to live through being captured or not. I could tell it was all going through her head. I had known her for a long time.
“You don't know me, Alexandra. Now leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you anymore,” she stomped off in the direction toward the village. I did not follow her. I’d said what I needed to say. All that I could hope for was that she would think it through.
I slowly made my way back to the village. As I walked through, I saw something very pleasing. Camilla had taken it upon herself to help in the communal kitchens. She had a smile on her face, and she looked like she was having fun. Good. This was a good thing. I did not want her to go back to Earth because I did not think she really wanted to. She was the one that was very excited about having this adventure and the opportunity to see these amazing things that no one else could see. So I did not want her to give it up because of me. Taking part in the community would be good for her, and perhaps it would persuade her to stay.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CAPTAIN INEQ SHUN
Finally, I could breathe again. Everything seemed to be perfect. We had defeated the head of the opposition, but we still did not know what plans he had put in to play before we defeated him. It seemed that the Aeriwanas really were eradicated, but only time would tell. But for now, there was peace between the opposition Draqua and the Draqua of Kelon. It was perfect timing because all I wanted to do was be with my human and take care of her and nurture the offspring inside of her.
It was all perfect for me, but there was still trouble, and Alexandra was very upset about it. The problem with Camilla was really weighing on her. I felt a need to fix it because I wanted her to be happy. Her happiness was my happiness, and so I would have to devise a plan to breach the gap between the two human friends.
“Any luck with Camilla?” I asked Commander Roan as
we worked on the outside mechanics of my ship.
“Not if you call her not speaking to me at all lucky,” he said playfully.
“Anytime I don't have to hear your annoying voice, I feel that I am lucky,” I joked.
“Very funny, Ineq. Maybe it is my voice driving her away. I cannot get two words in with her. It is very frustrating.”
“I understand. Alexandra is feeling the same way. They have known each other a long time. They are almost like sisters,” I said.
“Yes, almost like us,” he said.
“Oh come on. Don’t get all sentimental on me now.”
“You’re right. I’ll reel it in,” he laughed.
“But maybe I should talk to her. She does not hate me. Maybe I could at least get her to listen to some words I have to say about the whole thing.”
“Yeah? That might work. What choice do we have anyway?”
“I will do it for Alexandra. If Camilla ends up giving you a second chance, then that will just be a bonus.” I teased.
“Great, can you go now?”
“I'm working here.”
“I will finish the work for you. I am anxious.”
“Fine, I will go try to find her now. Don't stop until the ship is spotless.”
“You got it, Captain. You'll be able to see your ugly face in the reflection when you return.”
“My reflection is extremely handsome, and don't you forget it.” I left him to work, and I went in search of Camilla.
I found her with a group of human females. They were teaching her how to fish with a large casting net. She was smiling and having a good time; that was a good sign at least.
“Camilla, may I have a word with you?”
“Captain, it is good to see you again. Of course. You did rescue me after all.”
We walked away from the group of women.
“It wasn't just me that rescued you. The commander petitioned the king every day to try to get a mission to go get you. He wanted to go on his own. He almost died you know.”
“What? When?”
That day in the market when they took you. He tried so hard to defend you and get you back, and the Aeriwanas beat him almost to death. When I found him, there were four of them on him, beating the shit out of him. It was bad. It was really bad. When we got to the ship, the Aeriwanas were coming after us. We were outnumbered. I made the decision to leave. I knew that if we did not leave, we would be killed and Alexandra would be captured too. I made the decision to leave and come back to Kelon for reinforcements. But when we got here, the commander was very badly wounded. It took a long time for him to heal. When he first woke up on the ship, he could barely move, but he was insisting on going back for you no matter what. I ordered him to stay put, and he eventually passed out from the pain.
She gasped. “I had no idea it was that bad. Oh my God.”
“Yes, and once he was healed, he tried to get the king to let him go on a mission to go get you, but the king would not grant it because of the risk. The day that the siren went off, the commander came to me saying the king allowed him to go get you only because we were all going on the mission anyway. He was very focused and determined to find you. I have never seen him go after something so passionately before.”
“That might be, but that does not excuse what he did. I assume that you know? That you know about him and Alexandra?”
“Yes, I do. When I found out, I was so angry, I went after the commander. We got into a very bad fight, and I had to be pulled off of him. I did not speak to him or her for a long time.”
“So I am right in being angry,” she said.
“Of course you are. But eventually, I let it go. Eventually, I changed my mind about it all.”
“Why? What changed?”
“I found out that Alexandra is pregnant. She carries my child. We have had the test done to prove it; it is mine.”
“Oh my God! Alexandra's pregnant?”
“Yes, she is. She is very happy about it but also very scared. She could use a friend right now,” I said. “And her sadness about you is not good for the baby.”
“Oh my god! She must be very scared. Oh my god, Alexandra,” she said.
“But there is something else. You cannot blame her. When this happened, it was after I brought her here. I was very busy with my work and trying to figure out how to get to you. Because of that, I did not speak to her for almost two weeks. I visited her at night to watch her sleep, but she did not know that I was there. She thought I had abandoned her. That was what drove her into the commander's arms. So it is my fault too. The commander was also in a very bad way. He was recovering from having been beaten almost to death and then in despair with the king not allowing him to go get you. It was just all the right things at the right time for it to happen. But there is nothing between them. It is obvious.”
She was quiet for a long time. She was thinking things over.
“Thank you, Captain. I want to get back to learning how to fish. Go to Alexandra; she needs you.” Then she ran off to join the women again. My work was done, I had done all that I could. I only hoped that my words got through to her.
On my way home, I remembered my promise to Alexandra. I flew out over the meadows and picked several large flowers. Then I flew back to the hut she now shared with me.
“Delivery for you, Alexandra,” I said walking in.
“Oh, they are lovely! Thank you, Ineq,” she said and gave me a kiss. She took the flowers from me.
“I talked to your friend today,” I sat at the table.
“What? You spoke to Camilla?” she said excitedly.
“Yes,” I said.
“And what happened? What did she say?”
She came to me and sat on my lap.
“She didn’t say too much, but she did listen. I think she will come around soon.”
“Oh, thank you!” she covered my face in kisses. I laughed.
“You’re welcome.”
“Now, will you come to dinner with me in the communal kitchens? You have been avoiding it long enough.”
“You noticed huh?”
“Yes, I did.”
“It is just I wanted Camilla to be able to go there and not have reason to leave. She shouldn’t be up in her hut alone. So I made myself scarce,” she said.
I sighed. “Well, I think you have given her plenty of time to make friends and enjoy it. Now it is your turn too. Lisa has been asking about you, and I am running out of excuses.”
She laughed. “Fine, all right. We can go eat dinner in the communal kitchens. But I’m warning you: with that much food, I won’t know when to stop. I am so hungry all the time.”
“It is fine. I will keep bringing you food until you tell me to stop. That dragon inside of you is famished. Let’s go.”
She smiled, and we walked out together from my hut. We took the massive spiral stairs inside the tree and into the village.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ALEXANDRA
I was so grateful to Ineq for talking with Camilla for me. It was more than I could have asked for. I did not expect him to do such a thing and yet he did without me even asking. Every day I felt more and more like I did not deserve him, but I had to get past feeling that way. He had forgiven me for my mistake and was willing to take me as I was. I felt more in love with him than ever and our constant nights of making love only brought us closer together, that as well as the fact that we were now a team to bring this offspring into the world. I felt so much support from him.
He had drastically changed since our first meeting. He wasn’t the cold brute alien he was when I first met him. He had opened his heart, and with that came a fun and loving alien dragon shifter. I was glad that he had abducted me from Earth, something I thought was the worst thing at the time. Now I could not imagine a life without him. I had the love of my life, a child on the way, and I was in the process of putting my marine biology studies to good use.
“What is this?” I said as I picked up a pin
k and purple shell from the sand and showed it to my marine biology tutor, Ineq.
“That is called a Yutoawa. It is a home for a creature at times,” he said, flipping it over and showing me the inside. Two small claws stuck out.
“Oh, I see. It is like a hermit crab,” I said delightedly as I looked it over. “This one is going in the book,” I said sitting in the sand and opening my notebook. I drew the shell and what I could see of the creature with the Yutoawa name. “Do you know how lucky I am to be able to study alien marine life? This is just extraordinary. Scientists on Earth would kill to be able to study just this one specimen, and I have an entire planet of creatures to study. It’s going to take me a lifetime!” I was so excited.
