by Sue Mercury
“I’m sorry about your parents too, Elizabeth. That must have been difficult.” He tightened his hold on her and led her down another beautiful, tree-lined street.
A group of giggling children ran past them and disappeared into a red house. The homes were painted a variety of colors, from gold to blue to green to red, and she found the village charming and lively looking. It was clean compared to Earth too. Not a bit of pollution tainted the air, nor the tiniest piece of trash blew through the streets.
“Do you know any of the human girls who came on the Starship Matchmaker with you?”
“Uh, not really. We never got a chance to talk much.” Oh, she felt guilty for telling another lie, but what could she say? But now that she was here, she could no longer hide. If one of the other four girls recognized her, would she deny her identity?
Yes, she decided. She would keep lying. She would laugh it off and keep walking should such a situation arise. There were plenty of pale, blue-eyed and freckled girls with blond hair around the world who happened to be named Elizabeth. And without her fashionable dresses, maybe they wouldn’t recognize her at all. Her hair was long but still shorter than it was the last time she’d been shown in the media, and she was a few years older now too.
“Come, I will show you the Trinfella Lake. It’s just beyond the fields outside of the village. It’s beautiful this time of year.”
Grateful for the change of subject, she allowed him to lead her outside of the village and onto a wide dirt road that twisted through the farming fields.
*
Zarr’s heart felt heavy. Elizabeth had lied to him several times today, and he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t tell the truth about her life on Earth. And why had she grown nervous when he inquired about the other females who’d arrived with her?
They’d spent an enjoyable day together, and he sensed she was warming to him more and more. So why the lies?
He decided to keep an even closer eye on her. He wouldn’t return to working in the fields just yet. The other villagers would understand and assume he simply wanted more alone time with his new wife before resuming his normal work schedule.
Had she quarreled with the other human females aboard the Starship Matchmaker? Did something even more horrible than she’d described happen to her on Earth? He’d bet his left foot her father hadn’t been a banker, nor her mother a teacher. The part about them being murdered though was true. He’d sensed it.
After dinner, which she joyfully helped prepare, Zarr urged her to take a bath while he cleaned up. Surprised, she nodded and hurried up the stairs, the skirt of her dress swaying with her quick movements. He ran a hand through his hair and considered her lies, wondering why she couldn’t yet trust him with the truth about her past.
Perhaps she was a criminal. Perhaps her parents had been criminals too and that’s why they’d been killed. The most plausible explanation, yet he still wasn’t keen to believe the woman he’d spent the last two days getting to know could be a thief or a murderer. She possessed a sweet countenance, and there was an innocence about her he found endearing.
He started to clear the table when a scream rang out upstairs.
Dropping the plates, he rushed up the steps and into the bedroom, where he found Elizabeth cowering atop a tall dresser. With wide eyes, she stared at the floor below, her face pale and her whole body shaking.
He followed her gaze and gasped.
A long, thick serpent glided across the floor, stopping intermittently to lift its massive head and hiss.
It was a deadly hunnma snake. One bite left a person paralyzed, and the snake would then proceed to eat its prey. The serpent’s movements were strange though. It slithered at an extremely slow pace, and when it tried to curl up and hiss at Zarr again, it wobbled and its head ended up plopping down to the floor.
Perhaps the reptile was sick. Either way, Zarr needed to kill it and remove it from his home, and he needed to keep it far away from Elizabeth.
“Don’t move, wife. Stay very still and remain on top the dresser.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to kill it, of course.”
A whimper sounded in her throat. “Please be careful, Zarr.”
“Do not fret. I’ve killed a few hunnma snakes in my day, and this one isn’t moving very fast. I doubt he’ll prove much of a challenge.” How the reptile had gotten into their bedroom remained a mystery. Hunnma snakes preferred the rocky terrain of the mountains and rarely ever ventured down into the forest. As far as he knew, none had ever come into the village, let alone slithered their way inside a house.
Frowning at this thought, he reached for the blaster he kept hidden underneath the bed. One shot to the head made the creature seize up, before it collapsed in an unmoving pile on the floor. He nudged it with his foot to be sure it was dead. When it didn’t budge, he breathed a sigh of relief and replaced the blaster under the bed.
He approached Elizabeth and lifted her off the dresser, then carried her downstairs and outside. He left her in the care of his trusted neighbor, Allus, so he could dispose of the creature before it began emitting the toxic fumes it released soon after death.
As he dragged the snake toward the forest, a crowd gathered and hushed whispers floated through the village. The appearance of a hunnma snake would be considered a bad omen among the more superstitious members of the community, particularly the Traditionalists.
On his return trip from the forest, three village council members rushed to his side.
“We must call a meeting,” said Geestrin.
“Agreed,” Zarr replied. “Later tonight. First, I must talk with my wife.”
Zarr wasn’t superstitious. He prayed to the Goddess Tika and believed all good fortune came from her blessings, but he didn’t prescribe to bad omens or luck charms or magic spells. He worried the appearance of the snake would rile up the Traditionalists in the village though and cause a stir amongst his people.
He headed for Allus’ home, eager to wrap his arms around Elizabeth. She’d been shaking hard and he hadn’t had time to comfort her yet.
His stomach turned, his anxiety increasing the closer he drew to Allus’ place. He was certain his young wife was hiding something about her past, and he was also certain the hunnma snake had been placed in their bedroom by someone who wished harm to come to one of them, or both of them. He had no enemies that he knew of and hoped Elizabeth confessed the truth.
Protecting her would prove difficult if she continued lying.
Chapter Six
Elizabeth peered around the bedroom, relieved the snake was now gone. She had always been terribly frightened of snakes, and this one had been particularly large. Almost as big as an anaconda she’d seen in a zoo once. She hoped it wasn’t a common occurrence for snakes to venture into houses in the village. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling out of place on this strange world.
“We need to talk, Elizabeth,” Zarr said, shutting the door behind him. His voice sounded grave and a scowl hardened his visage. “Sit down on the bed.”
Knots twisted in her stomach and nausea rose in her throat. His tone and demeanor frightened her, and she feared he was about to deliver some bad news. Snakes come into houses all the time here, and you’ll just have to get used to it. She sat down on the bed, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around her center.
He paced in front of her, his features tense. Agitation rolled off him in waves. She was glad he had no reason to be angry at her. She didn’t want to ever end up on his bad side. She supposed he shared her dislike for snakes.
Finally, he came to stand in front of her and spoke.
“You’ve been keeping something from me, Elizabeth. I want to hear the truth about your life on Earth and why you fled your planet. I also want to know how it is that you don’t know the other four girls who arrived with you. You were on the Starship Matchmaker for many moon cycles and I find it hard to believe you didn’t become acquainted with these human
females.” He crossed his arms and glared at her.
Her palms broke out in a sweat and her throat went dry. She looked up at him, utterly stunned and at a loss for words.
How had he known she was lying? How would he react when she confessed the truth? She had wanted to pretend she was a normal girl from Earth, and part of her still feared what would happen if one person, even her husband, knew the whole truth. The aliens aboard the Starship Matchmaker had known she was a princess, but Fiona had bribed them to not tell her intended or anyone else about her real identity.
“What makes you think I was lying?” she said, trying to sound surprised and also innocent. What did Sepkarian husbands do to wives who lied? She still didn’t know him very well and worried he might punish her in some way. He was two heads taller than her, and so muscular he probably outweighed her by two hundred pounds. If he decided to hurt her, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Maybe leaving Earth had been a mistake.
“It’s not difficult to tell when someone is lying, Elizabeth. Now start talking. Someone just tried to kill us, or one of us, by leaving a deadly snake in our house. I want to know who you are and if there’s anyone out there, even on Earth, who might wish for harm to come to you. I have no enemies that I know of, so I can only assume you were the target.”
She knew her eyes had grown so wide at his statement that there would be no more denying the truth. Her face gave her away, just as it probably had when she lied to him in the first place. She moved her trembling hands to her lap and twisted her fingers together, her gaze on the floor. Fear kept her from meeting Zarr’s eyes.
At the same time, her mind raced with the horrid possibility that someone on Sepkar knew her identity and had tried to have her killed. But who? One of the women who’d arrived in the village with her? And if so, how in the hell had one of them managed to place a huge snake in their house?
“The truth!” Zarr said, almost a shout.
She flinched at his volume and lifted her gaze to his. “What will you do to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I confess that I’ve lied to you, what will you do to me?” This was their first disagreement. Though she wanted to believe he would be rational, she had still never seen him angry. Until now. Her heart raced faster and she glanced at the door, wondering if she could escape in time should he become physical.
He blew out a breath and knelt in front of her, then clasped her shaking hands in his. His touch was warm and so gentle a mist of tears formed in her eyes. Please let him continue to be kind to me, even when I’ve erred. If she’d told the truth about her identity right away, perhaps he would’ve already discovered who’d tried to kill her.
“Elizabeth, I am displeased that you lied to me, but I am not going to hurt you. Please, don’t fear me.” He reached one hand up to cup the side of her face, then stroked soft circles on her cheek with his thumb.
She shuddered and leaned into his touch, her apprehension lessening. “I’m sorry I lied to you, but I was scared, and I thought if I pretended to be a nobody from Earth, I could finally go on with my life. I doubted anyone would hurt me even if they knew my true identity, but I also decided not to take that risk.”
“Is your name even Elizabeth?”
“Yes, that’s my name. My cousin who helped me escape Earth wanted me to go by another name, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being called a strange name for the rest of my life, so I decided to keep it and hope for the best. Anyway, some of what I told you was true.”
He rose up and sat next to her on the bed. His eyes shone with understanding, and possibly even forgiveness, as he stared at her for a lingering moment. Then he lifted her and arranged her on his lap. She felt tiny in his embrace, but safe. He’d calmed down and promised not to hurt her.
She felt silly for imagining he might punish her in some way. Thank God he was a kind, reasonable man. She hoped they survived whatever danger had befallen them and had many more years together. As she stared into his dark bottomless depths, she envisioned them building a strong and happy marriage, and she promised herself she wouldn’t lie to him again, lest she once again jeopardize the trust between them.
“It’s considered a sacred duty for a Sepkarian male to keep his mate safe. Please do not lie to me again, Elizabeth. It’s difficult for me to keep you safe if you’re telling me lies.” He spoke gently but firmly as he scolded. “Please know that I would never hurt you, no matter how badly we are arguing or how angry we become with one another. Husbands and wives have disagreements sometimes, that is natural and comes with marriage, but I am certain we will learn to get along well together,” he said, his lips turning upwards in a brief smile.
“I’m sorry I lied and sorry I assumed you might hurt me. We’ve never fought before and you looked awfully livid, and you’re so big…I just got scared.”
“All is forgiven, sweet human. We are still getting to know one another.” He gave her a squeeze and placed another kiss on her forehead. “Now start from the beginning. Who are you?”
*
A princess. Zarr had unknowingly procured a princess from Earth and made her his wife.
His heart ached for her as she told her story, talking of the war and the day she received word that her parents had been hanged, and of the time someone had recognized her in a land called Scotland where she’d been hiding, forcing her to flee in the middle of a cold, snowy night. The poor thing had lived in terror, moving from place to place, until a dear cousin of hers had convinced her to leave Earth and become a mail order bride. She also spoke of the private quarters on the Starship Matchmaker and her reasons for distancing herself from the other passengers.
“One of the four human females who arrived with you must be the culprit and want you dead.”
She shook her head, eyes wide. “That snake was huge! How could one of them have brought it into our house? Are you sure the snake didn’t just slither inside on it’s own?”
“Hunnma snakes live in the mountains. It was intentionally placed in our home, Elizabeth, of that I am certain.” He rubbed her arms in an effort to quell the last of her trembling. He hated to see her afraid and raged inside at the person, or persons, who had tried to murder his sweet wife. “We will discover who is behind this attempt on your life, Elizabeth. Do not worry, I will keep you safe. We’ll seal the house down tonight and no one will enter without setting alarms off.”
She relaxed at this and meet his gaze. “What will happen to the person who did this?”
“As the chief of this village, it’s also my duty to pass judgments, though fortunately I’ve rarely had to do so. As I’ve told you before, my people are trying to rebuild our planet and our population and live in peace. We only fight when we must protect ourselves.”
“If it’s indeed one of the women who arrived with me on the Starship Matchmaker, I’d like to know her reasons for attacking me. I mean, it doesn’t make sense that one of them would leave Earth and carry such a harsh grudge against me. My parents are dead. Most members of Parliament were hunted down and hanged as well. The prime minister too.”
“You were twelve when the war started and still you had to go into hiding. Still, the angry mobs searched for you and wished you dead, even though you were an innocent child. People behave irrationally during wartime.”
“You have a point. Just please, promise me I can speak with this woman? Perhaps we can make peace with one another.”
“You are more forgiving than I am in this matter, Elizabeth. I would normally have anyone who made an attempt on another’s life put to death, or at the very least banished to our cold sister planet, Fusinga.”
“Please, no matter what, you mustn’t order the woman to death.” Her face grew somber. “Too many people have died. War is ugly and I want it to stop now. If you decide this woman is still a threat after we speak with her, after I speak with her, then I understand if you must banish her, but please no sentence of death.” Tears glimmered in her eyes, and Zarr felt blessed t
o have Elizabeth as his wife. She was sweet and understanding, but she was also strong. She’d had to be strong to endure years in hiding and not emerge bitter and angry, or too traumatized to function.
A fine mate, she would make an excellent mother one day. Their children would grow up in a happy household with two loving parents, and he longed to see such events come to pass. He’d lost his parents at a young age and it had always been a dream of his to raise a family with a loving wife by his side. The kind of family he would have grown up in had it not been for the Emmians.
“Very well, Elizabeth. I give you my word that no one will be put to death.” He didn’t think he would’ve been able to order a woman to death anyway, even an attempted murderer who still posed a danger to Elizabeth and possibly the rest of the village, and he was glad Elizabeth shared his views of mercy. If he exiled the woman to the cold planet, her mate would likely go with her. Life on Fusinga was difficult, but a Sepkarian could survive the harsh conditions, and a human woman would fair well enough there under a male’s protection.
“The council has requested a meeting,” he said, remembering that he must meet with Geestrin and the others. “Everyone will know about the hunnma snake by now, and I’m sure the whole village is still awake and in the streets, waiting for word about this event.”
“I’m to come with you?”
“Yes, Elizabeth. You belong at my side, sweet one.”
Chapter Seven
The large stone building near the village market was packed with Sepkarians and a few female humans. Elizabeth hoped to befriend her fellow humans in the near future, but for now she had other things to worry about. Like which one of them had tried to kill her.
Three of the girls who had arrived on Sepkar with her yesterday stood in front of the council table, their husbands by their sides. Excited murmurs floated through the crowd as they awaited the appearance of the last couple. Zarr planned to question the newly arrived women before considering one of the women who’d come during a previous stop the Starship Matchmaker had made on Sepkar.
