by Poppy Rhys
Oh god, how old am I?
Zun scoffed again, his trademark, just like Gi’Ren was king of the grunt.
Neither answered the other, so they stood there, glowering for a length of time. Finally, he sighed and scrubbed his forehead.
“You are very annoying.”
“Right back at you.” Lucia took a step back, and Zun took a step forward.
They both paused and regarded each other skeptically.
Another step back, another step forward.
“What are you doing?” he asked, irritation lacing his tone.
“I’m walking backward, are you blind?”
This is silly.
“I can see you very clearly,” he bristled.
“Why are you following me?”
“To prevent you from being trampled.” He swept a hand in an arc, and said this like it was obvious. “Come, I will feed you.”
Feed me to what?
She narrowed her eyes, taken back by the sudden change of topic. Without another word, he turned her and gently laid two hands upon her back as he guided her closer to the food.
When his tail rubbed up against her hip, she swatted it away and glared up at Zun, who was back to scowling down at her. She let out a hackled sigh and shook her head.
“Prince Val’Zun!”
A white haired female stepped into their path, stopping them. It was the only part of her that really looked aged.
“It is good you have brought your brother back to us, and you are both safely home once more.” She dipped her chin in belated greeting. When her eyes skimmed over Lucia, a slight curl to her lip appeared before slipping back to normal.
“Thank you, Peka,” Val’Zun replied, one of his hands along her spine subtly rubbing up and down. “It is good to be home. Let me introduce you to Val’Ja’s mate, Loo-Sha of Dor Nye.” He looked down at her then, eyes gently encouraging her. It was unsettling how quickly he could revert into a cordial attitude with her.
“Nice to meet you,” Lucia swept her gaze back to the woman, who in turn sneered before looking back to Zun. A heat swept her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Her heart fell to her stomach, even though she tried coaching herself to not feel slighted.
You expected this, remember?
That doesn’t make it any easier.
“The Prince has mated a human?”
Peka’s disgust was hurtful, no matter how Lu tried to be positive about it all. When a stranger just automatically hated you for your race, it didn’t feel good in the least.
She found herself inching slightly closer to Zun, almost wanting to hide which only made it worse on her mind.
What is wrong with me?
Zun’s brow pulled low and then both of his hands were rubbing up and down her back in a gesture of comfort. “Yes, he has. She is the mother of his progeny, a princess to the people.” He looked at her expectantly and Lu could tell Peka was completely appalled as she once again locked gazes with her. Peka dipped her chin in begrudged respect.
“Princess,” she ground out between her sharp teeth. She bid Val’Zun farewell and then disappeared just as quickly. His tail stroked at her arm and then he was moving her along again.
“They will respect you eventually, Loo-Sha,” he encouraged. “This will take time.”
She took a few deep breaths, working out the nervous lump in her throat while Zun began filling a plate with various samples of different fruits, cooked vegetables, and a couple types of roasted meat. When he went to add poshka tentacles to the plate, she squeaked and stopped him.
Her eyes glued to the wriggling bowl of slimy things and her fingers covered her lips. “I have no desire at all to eat those.” It was strange; she no longer thought they looked appetizing in the least. It truly had been Re’Len.
He moved along and soon she was sitting on an enormous cushion where they’d been positioned in the middle of the room. Other Melier were strung about, eating, chatting, and lounging while the party milled around them.
Zun took a cushion beside her and set the plate down. When he grew a claw and speared one of the fruits, she narrowed her eyes, but accepted the green chunk. It was almost too sweet, and the tiny red seeds crunched every time she bit down. It was initially disconcerting, fighting the urge to spit the seeds out, like one usually did with most seeded fruits.
“I can feed myself,” she said upon swallowing when he lifted another chunk to her lips. She hesitated for a moment and he rubbed the fruit against her bottom lip, as if coaxing her. Lu opened her mouth to reiterate, but he gently stuffed the food in, shutting her up. Her hand flew to her lips to keep the juice from dribbling onto her clothes and her eyes widened. “You did that on purpose!”
One corner of his mouth twitched as he turned his attention back to the crowd around them. She continued to glower, but then she noticed a familiar beasty stalking their way.
Gi’Ren was dressed as his brothers and it was the best dressed she had ever seen him. His scar was painfully obvious in what he was wearing, and there were small tracks of more scars along his shoulder that she had never noticed before. She wondered if there were more underneath his robe, and how he ended up with them.
And then he was collapsing onto a pile of cushions on her other side.
“I hate these gatherings,” he groused. Zun sounded his agreement. “How is Re’Len?”
Lucia crunched on a peppery yellow vegetable and looked into the green eyes that regarded her. It kind of squeezed her heart that Gi’Ren worried over the babe.
“I hope she is well,” she admitted, wondering if the new nanny was taking good care of her. “Thank you for sending Sola.”
He grunted, and that time she could tell it meant ‘you’re welcome’, which made her smile like an idiot that she’d finally deciphered a grunt!
“You are strange,” Gi’Ren grimaced, turning his attention back to the crowd. She shrugged and went back to picking at the plate. Her eyes continued to watch Melier move along around them, catching tidbits of conversation here and there, as well as plenty of curious and unfriendly stares.
“Does this remind you two of old times?” she swung her eyes between the both of them and finished chewing the succulent pink flesh she tried. She wasn’t sure how she survived those weeks without meat during her recovery.
Both stared at her expectantly.
“‘Why must we babysit the human?’” she said in a deeper voice, trying to mimic Gi’Ren.
They both groaned while she bubbled with laughter.
When she was finished sucking up her amusement at their expense, she continued her tasting of the items Zun had piled onto the plate. She pinched pieces between her fingers, lifted them to sniff and then nibble to make sure she wasn’t going to spit it back out and really embarrass herself. It was a gamble however she looked at it, since she had no idea if she was allergic to any of the items. The possibility of having fat, swollen lips –or worse- for the remainder of the night made her very cautious.
“I have a question…”
“When do you not?”
She tossed a glare at Zun, but asked anyway, directing her question at both of the grumps. “What did your mother mean when she asked how Re’Len would control her mate without any claws?”
Zun and Ren shared a look over her head.
Lucia licked the tips of her fingers and then brushed them on the cloth beside the plate when she finished eating. Why did they always do that?
“Royal females have always chosen their mates,” Ren explained. “Sometimes it is not always an agreeable pairing.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The male the female chooses as mate, he may not want to pair with her.”
“He’s forced?” Lucia’s eyes widened when Gi’Ren nodded once. “What do claws have to do with it?”
Gi’Ren grumbled to himself before he went on to explain. “They are meant to control the male during the mating, in the event he does not want to couple with her.”
“She rapes him?�
�� Her voice raised a notch and she flustered, Ren and Zun telling her to hush.
“It is not considered rape among our people,” Ren continued in a quieter tone as her shrilling garnered more attention than they had previously. “It is simply a difficult pairing.”
“It’s rape,” she whisper-yelled. “No matter how your people try to slice it. Is that how your pairing will go? Or yours, Val’Zun?”
They both chaffed and shook their heads.
“We are royal males, royal females will not choose us,” Zun curled his lip. “That would be incestuous.”
Lucia buried her face into her hands as she thought about how disturbing their culture was to her. Multiple mates, concubines, lovers, forced pairings.
“How does the male even, you know…if he doesn’t want to?”
“There are certain… chemicals that will trick the body.” Ren sounded as disturbed as she felt about the entire thing.
“Is that what your mother did to your father?”
“Yes,” Val’Zun answered. For some reason, that didn’t surprise Lucia. “Our mother is a great force; she often gets her way.” He said this with a mix of distaste, seemingly conflicted to love his mother, and dislike her methods at once.
“Is that why your father is yellow and not blue, he is not royal born?”
They both nodded.
“Are kings ever royal born?”
“They are not. They come from noble bloodlines, but they are never born royal. Again, that would be incestuous,” Zun supplied.
“But their younglings are always blue?”
“Yes, the original bloodline dominates any pairing.”
“None of the princes will ever be king?”
“No,” they said in unison.
Lucia rubbed at her throat while she absorbed the information.
“In the event something did happen to the king,” Ren went on, “the first son would take care of his responsibilities until the queen paired with a new male, or the next queen ascended with her chosen male.”
“That’s Val’Koy, right?”
“Yes. He is the diplomatic one, stuck with the bulk responsibility of dealing with our allies, and initiating negotiations of various kinds between our world and others.” They both grunted then, as if they were glad it wasn’t their job.
“We simply aid in the process,” Zun added. “Thus, why we were near Dor Nye when Val’Ja made contact.”
They were all silent for a brief time, as Lucia realized that was when she had been aboard the Trepnil ship.
“Do your parents at least… love each other now?” She finally spoke, still stuck on the pairing. She knew Earth’s history and how there were plenty of cultures that had arranged and loveless pairings from the peasants to the ruling class. But it just seemed awful.
“I think they have a deep admiration for each other,” Ren mused, his eyes landing on the king and queen as they mingled far across the room. “Sometimes that is enough for two people.”
Lucia’s throat grew tight as she watched the king and queen as well. Why did she feel sorry for them? She thought about how happy the pairings were in her own family; her parents, grandparents, and even her sister. They were all happy, and loved their partners.
“If I were to mark Soren, as you say is your custom…,” she gulped, still highly conflicted. “Would others think I forced him to pair with me? Do all females do this to their males or just in forced pairings?”
“All females mark their mates,” Val’Zun said this in a tone that was a little more understanding, and then he nodded toward a few different mated males around the gathering. Many had marks a paler shade than their own skin upon their biceps that she hadn’t noticed previously. “It is a mark of pride for Melier males. The first mating between a forced pair is much different.”
“How?” She was almost afraid to ask, but she had to know. Maybe it would help her grasp the reason Soren wanted her to mark him, aside from letting the world know he was hers. They had a babe together, and loved each other; why did she need to scar him so others would accept their union?
“The female will control the male by pinning three of his limbs with her own while a single hand digs into his chest. If he refuses to cooperate during the mating, she pierces his heart and kills him.”
Lucia’s expression contorted to one of horrified disbelief.
“It is a show of her dominance,” Zun said with a reassuring tone, brushing his knuckles along her arm again, though it was anything but reassuring.
So basically, the queens are cold hearted bitches.
The sadness she’d been feeling about the queen’s relationship was now a mixture of various emotions. She felt bad for the king for being forced into a pairing. What if he had loved someone else, and one day was just plucked from his life and forced to pair with the queen, and take on a responsibility that he may have never wanted?
It was fucking depressing!
Soren’s eyes caught her attention as he made a beeline for her, a small grin on his lips. Soon he was dropping to his hands and knees before her, stealing a kiss and making her giggle. Her sadness about the king and queen was soon forgotten as he stole her entire focus.
Her fingertips rubbed and scratched along the smooth scales of his neck, instantly starting up his loud purr that vibrated against her mouth. She pulled back to twitter at the tickled feeling of her lips the vibration caused. Soren was on his back in no time, head in her lap as he sprawled in front of her.
“Such a big suck,” she teased while her hands continued to rub and scratch under his chin and along his jaw. His eyelids drooped lazily while he continued to purr so loudly she was sure everyone could hear it. She leaned down to kiss his nose and he exhaled, his purr revving. “Have you been enjoying your party?”
“I am now,” he flashed his big, toothy smile and Lucia giggled again.
Zun and Ren grunted.
She turned her attention to them both as they sat there looking sour. Lu figured it was for two different reasons, but she smirked and reached out both of her hands to rub under their chins too. Ren tried to resist, but her fingers were becoming Melier scratching experts, and ever so slowly, he began to purr.
Zun was much easier, and once her fingers found a spot behind his ear his deafening rumble burst forth like he couldn’t control it anymore. He even lost his balance as he tipped sideways to lean further into her hand.
Lu fell into a fit of laughter at this, causing both the brothers to jerk away from her wicked fingers and relax against their own cushions. Their purrs didn’t cease though, much to her entertainment.
She was surrounded by three dozing, purring beasties.
“Disgusting.”
Her eyes whipped up to where Val’Koy was standing with a red female at his side. It was she who made the comment. Her dark blue eyes were unsettling with the amount of hatred they harbored as they bore into Lucia. Involuntarily, she tremored, which only made her angry. When did she turn into such a coward?
Since you landed on a planet where literally everyone hates you.
Not everyone.
Okay, everyone but three.
“Princes, lounging around a creature,” she continued. “It is disgraceful.” Val’Koy laid a hand on her shoulder, essentially quieting the female when the purring stopped and Soren began growling. His heated response drew gazes from curious onlookers.
“You will apologize,” he ground out, deftly getting to his feet. Zun’s growl started up as well while he glared at the red female, causing the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.
“I will not,” she glowered and curled her top lip menacingly, revealing sharp teeth, smaller compared to the males. “You weaken the bloodline with filth.” She turned and left, Soren baring his teeth as he started after her but Val’Koy stopped him.
“You would insult your blood in defense of a beast?”
The new addition to the conversation turned out to be the queen. She stood not far away, looking upon S
oren like he was a stranger.
Soren’s heated gaze, as he continued to bare his teeth, turned to his mother. His chest heaved with his anger while Val’Koy still held a hand on his shoulder to keep him from doing anything stupid.
Lucia found herself getting to her feet, causing Zun and Ren to do the same. She made her way to Soren, her fingers tentatively reaching out to be laid on one of his arms.
“Soren?” she whispered. He continued to glower at his mother for a period of time, and then his gaze swept down to her and softened. He turned to her and ran a pair of hands over her curls, petting her in a fashion while she looked up at him. “Woosah,” she smiled, finding it ironic she had to tell him that.
His lips twitched and then he sunk down before her so they were better leveled. “You are not a creature,” he whispered and nudged her chin with his nose, a small, pained whine sounding in his throat. Her hands found their way to his neck as she dipped her face closer to his, resting their foreheads together.
“As long as you don’t think so, that’s all I care about.” Her fingers rubbed the skin and scales beneath them and a slight purring started up. Her lips pulled into a small smile before she pressed her mouth against his. When sounds of revulsion floated to her ears, she pulled away and mentally willed the crowd to shut their fucking mouths.
“It is true,” the queen said in a small, pained voice only to continue on with more vehemence. “Enslavement has made you weak. She has not marked you, Val’Ja, and she is not your mate. We will dispose of the beast and you will gain back your spine.”
When Lucia turned her incredulous, furious gaze on the queen, she felt her anger rising up through the cowardice that seemed to cloak her since her arrival to Melierun, and it could not be contained. The queen could belittle her all she wanted, but how dare she call Soren weak! She felt Zun step closer to her, and then she let her mouth go.
“Excuse me?” she shrilled, noticing the winces of those nearby as her voice nearly peaked. “Weak? If any of you had been through eight years of enslavement at the hands of Trepnils, and witnessed the things Soren has, you’d be holding your fucking brains in a dish and drooling right now!”
The room was eerily quiet; all you could hear was the panting of her and the queen as they glared at each other.
