Lily, slightly confused, followed the alien as it led her past the group dorms where the other guests were staying, to a hall of private rooms. It entered a complicated code into a pad by one of the doors, which opened on a room like something out of a story. Lily stepped inside, mesmerized, and was at once overwhelmed by the scent and color of flowers. The room was full of them.
Fresh cut and blooming, they stood on every surface of the beautiful, richly appointed room. The room was a decent size for being on a commercial ship, with a full bed and a sitting area, and she could see a door to what she assumed would be a sizable bathroom.
The decor, in shades of shell blue, rose, and gold, was the kind of elaborate, heavily patterned and flourished affair she'd seen photos of in books about eighteenth century France. This room, but for a few modern details like the console set into the vanity and the post-electric light fixtures, could have been plucked from the halls of Versailles.
"In order to ensure you are not damaged while in our care, you will be confined to this room for the duration," the alien informed her, "For insurance purposes, you understand."
Lily nodded, though she disliked the idea. She'd anticipated something like this. It made sense for the courier to avoid possible liability. With a room like this, hopefully she wouldn't get too bored.
"The client has asked us to inform you that he wishes to begin the bonding ceremony as soon as you arrive," the alien continued, reading off a datapad, "And as such, you will need to begin the preparations immediately. He has prepared a list for you."
The alien held the pad out and Lily quickly pulled out her own again. With a tap, the alien transferred the information to Lily, and then backed towards the door.
"If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact guest services with this button," the alien gestured towards a gold embellished fist sized pearl set into the wall near the door,
"In case of medical emergency or other danger, the room is programmed to monitor your vitals and listen for signs of distress. The information gathered will remain private will be deleted upon your departure except for cases in which the computer determines you to be in danger, in which case it will call for help, or if legal action is levied against you in which the recordings may be considered evidence. Thank you for choosing our courier service. Please enjoy your flight."
The alien backed through the door, which closed behind them with a rush of finality and locked into place. Lily was alone, as she would be for the next week until they reached Sahria. With a sigh, she sat down on the edge of her bed and began to read over the list her husband to be had sent her.
Most of it seemed to be a beauty regimen. Daily baths in certain oils that would soften and scent her skin, treatments for her hair and nails, instructions on what clothes to wear. In addition, there was a large packet of information she had to study and memorize on Sahrian etiquette.
Finally, there were medical notes about her fertility treatments. She shivered a little, thinking about that. She'd signed up for this expecting it, knowing why aliens wanted human brides. But the thought still left her cold. She'd hoped, when she didn't see mention of it in the proposal, that this client was different. She supposed that had been foolish to assume.
Luckily, the treatments wouldn't be too invasive. She had pills to take twice a day, half of which were hormonal adjusters. The rest were microscopic nano machines, which would subtly alter her reproductive system.
It was all explained in detail and Lily, despite feeling fairly nauseated by the concept, was confident that it was all medically sound and wouldn't harm her beyond some uncomfortable side effects during the transition. And in the meantime.
She fell back onto the bed and sighed, luxuriating in how soft it was. The bunks back home couldn't compare. And all these flowers! She'd never seen so many in person. She'd seen few flowers at all, even in her botany studies. The seeds were too rare, the process of growing them too arduous and resource heavy on the barren earth. She'd learned most everything from books, only having a chance to experiment on real plants on very rare occasions.
Deciding to indulge, she grabbed an armful of the flowers and dragged them into bed with her, smiling with delight, as she lay surrounded by their sweet scent and soft color. She could have lain like this forever. But she still had the bathroom to explore.
She stripped out of her cold suit and down to her underwear, tiptoeing into the bathroom to prolong the suspense. It was as large as she'd thought, with a deep, wide bathtub surrounded by auto candles.
The bathroom was even more full of flowers than the main room. She'd never in her life had a bathroom she didn't have to share with anyone else. Excited, she started the tub at once, letting it fill with warm water as she explored the cabinets, finding the oils and treatments Turlabon wanted her to use.
She added them to the water generously. The liquid turned rose pink, a shimmer glittering on the surface of the water as rehydrated rose petals floated to the surface. The scent that drifted up from the bubbles was heavenly, rich and floral.
Lily wriggled out of her underwear and slipped into the water all too eagerly, sighing with relief as the warm water soaked into her muscles, the oils tingling as they sunk into her skin. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, relishing the luxury of this.
She was still nervous about everything. Moving to a new planet, marrying a man she'd never met, possibly bearing his child, it was all terrifying. But maybe if it could be like this, she could not just endure it, but even enjoy it.
She turned in the bath, splashing rose-colored water onto the floor as she dragged her discarded clothing closer and fetched her datapad. She settled back into the water as she unfolded it and summoned again the photo of her intended.
She looked at those soft green eyes and wondered if they were kind. Had he arranged for the flowers in her room? Did he want them to make her happy? What if she wasn't good enough for him? Was the contract doomed like Chalcedony said?
She wanted this to work, if only because her village needed the money. She'd find a way to make it work. She ran a damp finger over the photo, hoping he was as kind as she needed him to be. With a beautiful husband and luxurious baths, she could find a way to make it work.
Chapter Three
The flight was long and, even in this glamorous room, tedious. Having spent most of her life below ground, it took longer than it would for most people for the cabin fever to set in. But set in it did.
There were movies to watch and books to read on the room's console of course and they entertained her for a while. But Lily had never been the type to just sit back and watch movies for days at a time. She needed to feel like she was doing something, being productive. She threw herself into her beauty routine and studying the guides on culture and etiquette that had been left for her.
The Sahrian people seemed unexpectedly violent, for floraforms. She would have expected plant people to be more placid. They were a diverse people. Sahria was home to many distinct intelligent species and a rigid class system that Lily was having difficulty parsing, especially because no history on the planet had been included in her information.
When she attempted to look up Sahrian history on her console, she could find no information that went back further than the crowning of the current king.
She knew Sahria had been part of the greater connected universe for longer than King Turlabon's reign, but even resources belonging to other species connected to Sahria had no history on the planet earlier than a hundred years ago when a then young Turlabon had 'overthrown his enemies' and taken the crown. That was all the detail given to his rise to power. Lily found it unsettling.
It seemed like fungaloids were considered the superior form of life, which seemed curious to Lily, considering molds, mosses, and lichens seemed to be despised. The divisions of which flowering species were respectable and which were 'weeds' seemed entirely arbitrary and indecipherable to Lily.
The majority of the population seemed to be
grasses, but despite their clear majority, the 'respectable' flowers seemed to be considered preferable, with grasses being mentioned as common and dull, when they were mentioned at all.
The 'weeds' were mentioned more often, in hateful derision, as ugly mutants of higher species, widely assumed to be the product of incautious cross species pollination. Lily, baffled and a little disgusted, rubbed her temples. The more things change, the more they stay the same, she thought.
The documents she was given were clearly subjective opinion, with little but anecdotal evidence to back up its claims about the species it praised or derided. She supposed she shouldn't judge.
Trying to force an alien society into the context of human racism was likely very ill advised. She didn't have any real idea yet how their society worked or what their people were like. It could be that what the book described was completely accurate. Or that she was misinterpreting the ideas it was describing because of her own human biases. It wasn't her culture or her place to say what was right or wrong for them.
By the end of the week, she felt transformed. She'd never had cause or the resources to spend much time on her appearance before. To spend a solid week doing little else was strange to say the least, but she couldn't say she didn't feel wonderful. Her hair had never been so healthy, shiny as a raven's wing and soft as her flawless skin.
She'd been practicing using makeup, the rich perfumes and beautiful, exotic clothing that had been sent for her, and had made quick progress with little else to focus on. And she'd practically memorized the information Turlabon had sent her, even if she still wasn't confident that she understood everything.
Comprehending alien cultures was a difficult task usually reserved for highly trained diplomats. Everyone else just muddled through, as she intended too. Still, though it had been nice to spend some time focusing almost entirely on herself, by the time the ship put in on Sahria she was dying to get out and do something, anything, other than bathe or study. But leaving this ship, she realized with a shiver, meant going to her bonding ceremony.
Turlabon's instructions said he wanted to have it as quickly as possible. She would arrive with the event already in progress and be led directly into the ceremony. Her nerves jangled nosily in her ears at the thought. There was no turning back now.
She dressed in the elaborate gown he had instructed for her to wear (Turlabon's instructions, she had found, were near endless and tediously specific) and prepared herself as she waited to be let out of her room. The gown was a rich scarlet, with the kind of fluffed out, bell shaped skirt that was popular in Sahrian fashion, composed of a dense mass of silken petals that made her feel like she was wearing a bouquet of roses. She did her hair up, studding it with scarlet blossoms from among the unwilting, ageless flowers that filled her room.
She wore lipstick as red as her gown and the perfume Turlabon claimed to like best. Her pulse fluttered in her throat as she waited, trying to keep her composure.
She didn't want to wrinkle her skirts gripping them in her sweaty palms. She had to be perfect. She'd put a solid week and her entire future on the line, counting on this to go well. If she messed it up because she hadn't worked hard enough...
There was a knock at her door and she stood up from her vanity at once, collecting herself.
"I'm here," she called, taking a deep breath, "Come in!"
The door slid open, revealing one of the black suited aliens, and behind them stood the beautiful alien from her photograph. He was even more stunning in real life and she couldn’t help but stare, awed by the softness of those most colored eyes, and the way the light shone translucent through his petals.
He was wearing the kind of dark suit popular as Sahrian formal wear, with sleek lines and gold accents and artful cut outs for his fronds. She hadn't expected him to come for her himself.
She bowed immediately, reciting the respectful greeting she'd been taught. To her surprise, he bowed and repeated it. To share such a thing so respectfully caught her off guard. She smiled at him, flushed with unexpected delight.
"She looks to be in very good condition." Turlabon said, inclining his head towards the crewman who'd opened the door, "Thank you for your hard work."
"We appreciate your patronage." The alien replied, and as Lily took Turlabon's outstretched hand and stepped out of her room, he closed the door behind her and left them alone.
"Please follow me." Turlabon said with no further pleasantries and, releasing her hand, led her down the hall and out of the ship. She followed in respectful silence, all but vibrating with excitement as she wondered what the planet would look like. She couldn't wait to get out of this stuffy ship and see the sky. A brand new, alien sky! She could hardly imagine!
She wasn't sure how busy Turlabon would keep her, but she was really hoping he would allow her to continue her botanical studies. She would love to learn about all the unique, non-sentient plants on this planet. Heck, interviewing floraform life might give her insights that's she'd never even considered before. She'd always wished she could just ask her plants what was wrong with them.
As they reached the doors of the ship Lily couldn't hide her smile, nervous as she was excited. What would it look like? A planet of floraforms was bound to be lush and vibrant and over flowing with life. Turlabon opened the door, stepping out first before moving out of the way for her.
Lily was dismayed first by the blast of hot, dry air, which stank of exhaust and chemicals. Her dismay grew further as she stepped outside and into the clamorous, offensive noise of a dense city.
Skyscrapers towered in every direction, bridges between them crowding overhead, blocking out the sky while delivery drones and other unmanned craft zipped by overhead. The stink and heat of concrete and machinery was everywhere. The only greenery was on the people, and even they seemed wilted. Lily could only stare in confusion.
"Are you all right?" Turlabon took her arm with surprising gentleness, "You seem overwhelmed."
"I've never been to a city before," she explained, still staring at the chaos of urbanity in worried awe, "In my village we don't even build above ground if we can help it. All these buildings... I expected something more like a forest."
"I apologize," he bowed his head, though his expression didn't change, "I should have anticipated this. I would have prepared a more pleasant transition for you."
"No, no, it isn't your fault!" Lily said quickly, touching his shoulder, "I was the one with unrealistic expectations. You've already done so much to make me comfortable."
He glanced at her hand and she withdrew it quickly, embarrassed. Casual touch was something of a taboo for Sahrians, or so she'd read. Parents might touch their young (depending on the species and their reproductive methods) but once old enough to begin being independent, they weren't expected to touch anyone until bonded to a life partner, and that only in private.
The taboo had been loosened somewhat in recent years, with Sahrians engaging in premarital pleasure seeking together more openly. But casual touch in the public of polite society was still considered indecent. He stared at her inscrutably as she blushed.
"This way, please," he said with unexpected gentleness a moment later, gesturing down the ramp from the ship, "An auto carriage is waiting for us."
Lily assumed that was a strange translation for car (they still had a few electric vehicles on Earth for transport) but the thing really was more like a carriage. A huge and elaborately decorated thing like an ornate music box, covered in flourishes and beautiful details.
It looked like something a princess would ride in and, wearing this gown, Lily couldn't help but feel that was what she was. She glanced at Turlabon with a secretive smile. She was marrying a handsome king after all.
The carriage had spindly automaton legs rather than wheels that picked their way carefully and smoothly over the uneven terrain of the city's streets. Lily could only assume such a mode of transportation had been developed to avoid crushing non-sentient plants in the street, but there were no p
lants in this city to crush. Not so much as a week growing in the sidewalk. Their absence confused her.
"Why aren't there any plants here?" she asked, Turlabon, who sat beside her in the auto carriage's comfortable velvet lined interior, "I mean wild ones. Not even in planters?"
"It is complicated," the man replied, "People do not like to be reminded of their roots these days. Instead of stewarding the nature that seeded us, we drive it out, and make ourselves the center of our own nature. Expensive cultivated flowers are still sold, but they have barely any scent and cannot sing. They let us control what we were and that makes us proud, I think."
Lily frowned, more confused by his answer than she had been to start with. He seemed unhappy with the situation.
"I liked the flowers you put in my room," Lily tried, "They were beautiful. I've never seen flowers except the samples in my lab and in pictures. To be surrounded by so many was incredible."
Turlabon stared at her, frowning slightly, his moss colored eyes narrowed.
"Why did you accept the proposal?" he asked, "You are lovely. And according to your paperwork, intelligent and well educated. Why are you choosing this?"
Lily looked away; suddenly worried she'd done something wrong. He didn't seem happy with her and she didn't understand why.
"My village needed the money." she explained, "A lot of the other girls tried things like this too, but none got offers as big as yours. That money is going to allow us to survive and keep working for a very long time. I wasn't sure; to be honest, even after I saw the offer I might have turned it down. But when I saw the photo..."
She looked down at her lap, embarrassed by her own flustered excitement.
"I thought maybe there was a chance I could make this work."
She looked up at him with a shy smile and his frown deepened.
"I cannot imagine doing such a thing for money," he said, and turned away from her. Lily felt her heart sink.
Alien Romance: ESCAPE: Bride Of The Beast: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Mates Book 5) Page 2
