by T. J. Quinn
The need for air broke them apart, heaving heavily. “You were saying?” he managed to mutter.
“Don’t gloat,” she demanded, stomping her feet on his with all her strength.
He didn’t even flinch. “Let’s go. Your friend is waiting for you,” he ordered instead, struggling to keep the turmoil of emotions roaring inside him at bay.
She nodded and followed him.
He took a similar vehicle to the one that drove them to the palace, but this one was a lot smaller.
“Do you people know the colors?” she asked as they drove through the streets, surrounded by thousands of similar vehicles, all of the same color, made of the same gray material used on everything. Even their clothes didn’t have much color.
“Yes, we do know colors. Why do you ask that?”
“Well, because there’s a tremendous lack of color in your lives. Don’t you find it monotonous? It’s awful,” she stated, pointing at the other vehicles, the buildings, and all around them. “You don’t even have parks or squares to break the monotony of the buildings.”
He looked around through her eyes and realized she was right. They had grown used to looking for the best use of things they had forgotten about the colors and the diversity. He remembered, from the history classes their planet of origin was very different from this one.
Before he could explain it to her, they arrived at his place. The tall gates opened up for them to get in and closed immediately after them. The house was surrounded by an extensive garden, with colorful flowers and all kinds of green bushes, that was a quite a sight for sore eyes.
“See, this is what I mean. You need gardens like this one all over town. People would be happier, believe me,” she said when he helped her out of the car.
“You’re probably right,” he admitted as he guided her inside the house.
Like the vessel and the palace, the decoration was minimalist, and it cried for color.
“Where’s Eleanor?” she asked, as he guided her through the house.
“I asked Colborn to put her in one of the guest rooms,” he replied, opening the door to the first one. But that one was empty.
He went to the second one, and the third one and the other woman was nowhere to be seen.
“Are you sure he brought her here?” she asked, worried.
“Yes, he sent me a message when he left the house, after leaving her in bed,” he replied, returning to the first room, to examine it thoroughly. He noticed the rumpled sheets on the bed and the open window. “I thought you said she can’t walk,” he said as he rushed to the window.
“She can’t. It’s too painful for her to stand, but she can crawl,” she replied as she followed him across the room. “Eleanor!” she called out.
“I’m out here,” Eleanor was there, clearly freezing, but still mesmerized with the colorful gardens. Despite all the years she had lived in Atlanta, she was still a country girl.
Sasha scolded her friend and made sure Asgar took her inside, to a warmer environment. She told her the news and Eleanor was a bit more enthusiastic with the whole soulmates thing than she was, though she was certain there wouldn’t be a soulmate for her.
Egil joined them for dinner that night, and Asgar asked him to modify a slider to help Eleanor move around easier. That would give her a bit more independence, especially if she had to stay alone in the house.
Sasha was very happy to have her friend near her, but she wasn’t so happy with her negativity. Eleanor had been through much, she knew that, but she had no intention of letting her go through more, just to protect herself. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.
After she had helped Eleanor to get in bed, she returned to the living room where she had left both men. Egil had already left, but Asgar was still there staring into the dark night.
“We need to find a way for your people to accept Eleanor,” she spurted out, embracing herself, as she stood next to him.
“We will. She’s feeling a bit pessimistic about it all, but I think it’s understandable after all she has been through since you were abducted,” he replied, glancing at her.
“She has been in pain for so long sometimes I wonder how the hell she still keeps a smile on her face,” she said, with a low tone.
“You two have been friends for a long time?” he asked.
“Yes, since we were in preschool. We were three years old,” she explained. “I have been with her my whole life, and I don’t want that to change.”
“Believe me; I’ll do all in my power to avoid that,” he assured her.
“Thank you, I would appreciate that.”
“Would you like to go for a walk in the garden? The Máni has just come out,” he suggested, with an alluring smile.
“Máni? What’s that?”
“It’s our satellite,” he explained, signaling the huge moon that had just shown up in the dark sky.
“Ours is called a moon. It looks huge.”
“It is huge but totally inhospitable,” he stretched his hand to her. “Shall we?”
“Why not?” she rested her hand on his, and after he had helped her put on a cape, she allowed him to guide her out, while tiny jolts of energy rushed through her body.
Outside, the moonlight was more than enough to light their way through the garden. The scents of the flowers were a lot more intense, and Sasha took a deep breath, relishing on their sweetness.
“So, what do you think about our planet so far?” he asked her after a few minutes.
“I have to admit it’s quite similar to ours,” she said, brushing the silky petals of a huge flower. Everything was bigger around this place.
“Do you think you can build a home here?” his tone was serious as if her answer was crucial for him, but she dismissed the idea for ridiculous.
“I had a home, back on Earth,” she grumbled, still refusing to believe she was not going back.
“Did you? Tell me, what did you leave behind that really mattered to you?” he asked in a daring tone.
His question was hurtful, especially, because he was right. She hadn’t left anything behind other than a job she was starting to hate. Her only real friend was Eleanor, and she was there with her. She realized the damn lizards knew what they were doing when they abducted the women. They targeted lonely women that wouldn’t be missed and that had better chances at adjusting to living on other planets since they hadn’t left anything important behind.
But she wasn’t about to tell him that. Not yet, anyway.
“I had a home, a job, friends…” she listed, though she was clear her tone wasn’t very convincing.
“Yes, I’m sure you miss that a lot,” he teased her.
“Would you be happy, if you were in my position?” she asked, turning the tables on him.
“If I was alone like you obviously are, I don’t think I would mind that much,” he accepted. “But I have a huge family I would certainly miss, as well as a bunch of good friends I would hate not to see again, including Brynjar, Haakon, and Egil,” he added.
“Define huge,” she asked him, with a slight frown. She hadn’t thought of his family.
He chuckled. “Well, there’s mom, dad, four brothers, of which, two are mated and have three kids each.”
“Wow… yes, it’s huge,” she was silent for a few moments assimilating his information. “Your brothers are mated with Zuvrakian females?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, they are. It’s relatively rare these days to have two members of the same family mated, but I guess they are very lucky.”
“How does the mating work for your own species?”
“The same way it works with yours. When we reach maturity, our bodies start producing a pheromone that allows us to identify our soulmates,” he explained.
“And it never fails?” there was incredulity in her tone. Of course, she had heard about soulmates back on Earth, but she had also seen the death of those dreams, usually in a court of law.
“No, never. We have
a festival every rotation, in every city to gather all of those that aren’t mated, so that people can get to know each other and find their soulmates.”
“Hasn’t it happened that someone falls in love with someone that isn’t meant for them?” she asked, intrigued.
“No, we don’t have records on that,” he assured her.
“I’m glad for you.”
“Yes, I guess it’s a good thing. The sad thing though, is that there isn’t a single Drogon female on the planet that isn’t mated. Not even a child,” he added in a stern tone.
“What?! Not even one?” The King had told them there were a few million people on the planet, so that fact was quite astounding.
“Not even one. That’s why you and your friends are so important to us. So far, we believed mating with other species was part of a legend,” he explained. “When I found Rosalind and Erin, the first two human females we came across with, I was amazed and happier than I ever was.”
“I guess it brought your people hope,” she murmured, getting a better picture of their situation.
“Yes, that’s right. And I know you don’t think it’s correct for us to buy the women from the Slythonians, but at this point, we don’t have any other choice,” he concluded.
Sasha opened her mouth to suggest they could convince women to join them, but then she remembered all the rumors about Roswell and the aliens the government supposedly kept hidden from the population. Trying to get to some sort of agreement with people back on Earth was out of the question, at least for now.
He let out a deep sigh. “It’s getting late and the king has summoned you to the palace early in the morning,” he said, changing the subject.
That startled her. “What for?”
“He’s planning on doing a video, to introduce you and the rest of the women to the population. We need to get you all mated and united as soon as possible,” he replied, with an enthusiastic tone.
The possibility of him getting mated, all of a sudden, acquired a huge importance. She hadn’t thought of that, and for some reason, she hated the idea. “I guess you wouldn’t tell me if you are the man mated in this group,” she said, tentatively.
“No, I wouldn’t. But like all males on this planet, that’s something I look forward to. The Drogons aren’t meant to be alone. When one of the mates die, life suddenly loses interest,” he explained.
“I suppose that only aggravates your problem.”
“Yes, it does,” he guided her to her bedroom, next to the one Eleanor was using.
He knew she wanted to be near her friend, just in case she needed help.
“Don’t hesitate in calling me if any of you need help,” he said before he walked away to his own chambers.
Somehow, his cold farewell disappointed her. It was as if he had lost interest in her ever since they had arrived at his house. After their last kiss, she had expected him to demand more. His sudden disinterest was too puzzling and yes, too annoying.
Confused, she decided to take a shower. Surely the warm water would help her relax and get some sleep. The truth was she was starting to feel the effect of so many sleepless nights.
Chapter Six
Fortunately, she was able to get some rest that night, and when she met Asgar in the kitchen for breakfast, Egil was already there with the slider he had adjusted for Eleanor. Unlike the sliders you could find on Earth, this one hovered, what would allow her to move to wherever she wanted to, and it also had a chair, so she wouldn’t have to stand on it. It wasn’t beautiful, but it would help her a lot.
Sasha took it to her friend’s room and quietly left it by her bed. There was no point waking her up, especially if they had to go to the palace.
She left her a note on the table, and a few moments later, they were on their way back to the palace.
The king himself was waiting for them. Sasha felt he had a strange expression on his face, especially after he greeted them, but she didn’t know him enough to be sure.
He gave Asgar a million instructions about the videos he wanted to be done and then he disappeared. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about his departure, but she dismissed the feeling, sure she was overreacting to the whole thing.
The rest of the morning went by amongst the typical chaos of shouting, but by the end, the results were quite satisfying.
They were about to return to Asgar’s place when he received a call from the king demanding their presence on his office.
“What’s the matter?” Sasha asked when he ended the call, worried about his expression.
“Brynjar has summoned us to his office.”
“Us as in you and me?” she asked, surprised. “Did he say why?”
“No, he didn’t. Something wrong is going on,” he said, picking her by her hand and dragging her down the hall.
“What could be wrong?” she asked, the bad feeling she had been experiencing all morning getting a lot worse.
“I don’t know, but we’ll soon find out,” his tone was so dark it only worsened the way she was feeling.
They reached the king’s office, and Asgar pressed the button to open it up.
“Is there a problem?” Asgar asked as soon as he stepped in, looking straight at Brynjar, sitting at his desk with a stern expression on his face.
Sasha entered after him, and the first thing she saw was her friend, Eleanor, seated on a chair in front of the desk. “Eleanor! What the hell are you doing here?” she asked, in a loud tone, taking a couple of steps in her direction.
Asgar saw the other woman at that same moment, and his protection instincts burst out protecting his válkana. Stretching his arm, he stopped Sasha, holding her by her arm and pulled her behind him.
The king got up and stood in front of his friend. “Well, don’t you have anything to say before I accuse you of treason?” his ice tone sent chills down Asgar’s spine. He could count on his fingers how many times he had seen his friend this furious. Because, he was furious, there was no doubt of that.
“Treason? There’s no treason…” Sasha intervened, outraged.
Knowing his friend very well, Asgar turned around and silenced Sasha. He didn’t need her impulsive words to make things harder than they already were. “For once, keep your mouth shut,” he barked at her before he turned to look at his king. “I assure you, none of my actions were meant to be treason, but if that’s how you feel them, I shall accept your decision,” he stated, trying to stay as calm as possible. He knew the risks he was taking when he took Eleanor under his protection. He just hadn’t expected Brynjar finding out about her before he told him.
“You can’t do that. I’m not letting you do that,” Eleanor cried out.
Both men ignored her words, as they stared at each other. Behind Asgar, Sasha was paralyzed, with her forehead leaning against his back, her hands clenched on his clothing.
Despite the tense situation he was living, the fact she sought protection and comfort from him, warmed his heart, like few things did these days.
“Please, listen to me,” Eleanor insisted, finally standing up, supported by the chair backrest. “The only thing he did was save my life. If someone is to pay for that, then it should be me, not him. He didn’t do anything wrong.”
Brynjar frown at her words.
Eleanor finally managed to stand between the two men, with shaky legs. “If you want to blame someone, then, blame me, not him, do you hear me?” she insisted.
But Brynjar was shaking his head.
“He just saved my life,” she managed to say before she fell to the floor.
Both men jumped to grab her.
“Don’t touch her,” Brynjar snarled at Asgar, and he stepped back, with an incredulous look on his face.
The king picked her up in his arms and took her back to her chair. “You better start explaining what the hell is going on here,” he ordered Asgar, standing next to the woman, with a deep frown.
“When I got to the auction, the Slythonians presented five human fe
males. As you ordered, I planned on buying them all, but while we were inspecting them, as they expected us to, Sasha mentioned the existence of another human female,” Asgar started explaining, trying to stay calm. He still couldn’t believe what his senses were telling him.
“What did you do then?” Brynjar hurried him.
“I sent the rest of the women to our ship with Egil, and on her way out, Sasha yelled she wouldn’t leave without her friend. Eskol silenced her, but her outburst allowed me to ask the captain for her friend.”
“They were planning to keep her for themselves?”
“No, I was damaged goods; they couldn’t present me to their elite customers,” Eleanor intervened through gritted teeth. “They were planning on selling me to the first buyer that would want me.”
“Though they warned me of the problem, I decided to buy her,” Asgar continued. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with her, but I simply couldn’t leave her behind,” he made a small pause, feeling Sasha’s arms wrapped themselves around his waist. “Eskol went to the dungeon to pick her up, but he tortured her so badly, that when he finally gave her to me, she was unconscious. I took her directly to the infirmary, where she stayed during the whole trip.”
“So, Colborn is involved in this as well.” It was a statement, not a question.
“He only followed my orders,” Asgar assured him.
“You can’t blame them, please,” Eleanor, begged him, squirming in her chair.
The King ignored her. “Why didn’t you bring her to me, like you did with rest of the women?” he asked in a stern tone.
“Because we weren’t sure of your reaction,” he explained.
“Reaction to what? Where’s the difference between her and the other women?” he demanded raising his tone.
“I can’t walk. I’m crippled,” Eleanor answered the question. “That’s why the Slythonians hadn’t planned to abduct me. They only took me because I interrupted them when they were grabbing Sasha. They never leave witnesses behind,” she explained.
