by Zara Zenia
I was falling hard for this human female, and it was more than I expected. I had only expected to have a mate, to produce offspring, but passion and love came into it as a surprise. It was more than I could’ve asked for.
However, after the kiss, I left her. I had to. If I’d stayed in that room with her, I wouldn’t have been able to control my lust for her. It was also the reason why I’d stayed away for two complete days. She had her work anyway, and I knew she’d be occupied with it. Today though, I would need to speak with her on an important matter.
Anxiously, I pressed the door signal to her room.
She opened the door, wearing a blue dress that I’d had made for her. I’d had an entire new wardrobe outfitted for her that Pakdor put together. He certainly was doing well at this too, as everything fit her perfectly. This blue dress looked gorgeous against her tanned skin.
“Hello, come in,” she said nervously.
We hadn’t seen each other since that kiss, and her nervousness made me nervous as well.
“Are you well? How is your work?” I asked.
“I’m doing well and the work is getting along. Thank you again for that, it has made me very happy indeed.”
“Good, good. I’m happy for you.” I pushed my hands through my coppery braids in a nervous manner. “I have come to speak with you on a matter involving your father,”
“My father? What is it?”
“Some of the guards and staff have started to complain, making reports on the situation. It seems that your father is very curious about everything on the ship. I know that is to be expected, because of his line of work. But it has made some of the crew and guards grow wary. They don’t want to give more information than they are allowed to. That is standard protocol. They are just following the rules, but your father is being very adamant and pushy. He is demanding information, or to be taken to various parts of the ship.”
Andi sighed. “That is my fault. I never should have told him that I had access to various parts of the ship. I think he is a little jealous of it. It was his life work for so long, and he only wants to see how the Trilyn operate. Let me talk to him. I will take care of it. I’m sure he just has a little bit of what we call cabin fever.”
“Hmmm.” I frowned, wondering what to do about her father.
She stared at me, her brow furrowed. “Can I organize something for him? Maybe take him to the rooftop, or even better, a walk with me outside, just on the main road the way that you and I do? He needs to exercise. All humans need fresh air and exercise or we start to go crazy. Then maybe having lunch in the mess hall with the soldiers, I think that would appease him and not cause too much trouble. He needs companionship.”
I thought over her words. I knew it would please her to have him at her side more often. “As long as you have heavy guard with you on the walks, then I can allow one or two walks a week. Let’s see how we do with one. It is just too dangerous to have both of you out there like that. But I understand the feeling. He should be out in the fresh air and sunshine as you say,” I acknowledged.
“Good, thank you. Then I will have a talk with him. Was there anything else?”
I wanted to say ‘yes’. I wanted to say that the kiss we shared had been haunting me. I wanted to say that I couldn’t wait to take her into our marriage bed and that waiting was driving me insane. Instead… I said nothing of that sort. I gave her a rueful smile and sighed. “No, that was all. I have a meeting with Governor Edwards in fifteen minutes. I need to go to the communication room. Is all well here?”
“Yes, I’m quite happy with my new work, Manzar, thank you. I will go talk with my father this moment,” she said walking toward the door with me.
“Then we can take the elevator together,” I replied walking by her side realizing how dumb that sentence sounded, but when I was near her, she made me feel like a fool at all times.
“Very well then,” Andi said, giving me one of her delightful smiles.
We walked down the hall and stepped into the elevator. Having her this close to me was complete torture. I could smell the fragrance in her hair, I knew it had to be a Trilyn flower she was wearing, but it was driving me crazy. I wanted to pull her close to me and press my lips against hers once more. Instead, we stood there in silence, and it was the longest elevator ride ever.
Finally, the doors opened and she stepped out. “Have a good day, Manzar.”
“You as well, Andromeda,” I commented.
Then she turned back around and walked away. I watched her delicious backside jiggle with every step, until the elevator doors closed. Damn those doors.
I kept smiling as I made my way to the communication room. I wanted my days to be filled with Andi and her jiggling backside every day, and not the stressful situation of dealing with human rebels. But this was what I needed to do now.
“I’m ready to be patched into the governor. Whenever we receive the signal,” I said sitting in the chair in front of the communication screen. There was much to be dealt with, and I knew these meetings with the governor wouldn’t be enough before long. We would need to take action and soon.
“Good afternoon, Prince Manzar,” Governor Edwards appeared on the screen.
“And to you as well, Governor. What report do you have for me?”
“You’re not going to like this.” He frowned.
“I’m listening. Just tell me the truth.” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“There have been more protests than we’ve ever had before within the last week. It’s not just the Humanity First Terrorists, but people are taking to the streets, regular people to protest your presence in New-New Orleans,” Governor Edwards explained. “It’s no doubt that the Humanity First Movement is putting propaganda out on the streets to motivate regular folks. But we can't get to the culprit who is leading the outfit.”
“That’s not good. Just dealing with Humanity First is enough, now they’re organizing and radicalizing the general population against us. If things don’t turn around, then we will have to leave soon, and take our technology with us.”
“But, the technology agreement isn’t complete. The Trilyn are supposed to stay here and show us how to create it and use it. We’re still in the very beginning stages, it’s a very complex technology,” Governor Edwards defended getting flustered.
“I’m aware of that, Governor. But I cannot risk the lives of my army, and my own life, simply because the Louisiana Government can't get its people under control and squash the terrorist movement. Instead of getting better, it’s getting worse. We have to look out for our own interests as well and safety,” I said.”
“I understand, Prince. Give us more time,” Governor Edwards begged.
I sat there quietly thinking. How did the Humanity First organize so many against us so rapidly?
“Governor, there must be a leader of this Humanity First organization in this region. They’re very charismatic and persuasive, that is obvious. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to persuade the masses. I suggest you find out who could lead such a group. That is where your work should lie,” I suggested.
“Understood, Prince Manzar. Until our next meeting,” the governor said and then closed the communication call.
I knew I would need to set my own team on this, because I couldn’t trust the Louisiana Government, especially once they found out I would be taking a New-New Orleans wife.
Chapter 11
Andi
As the days passed, Manzar and I spent more time together and I was learning more and more about him as he began to open up to me. I knew some information about the rivalry between him and his six brothers. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have such a large family who had to juggle such power and what had happened on their planet that could mean extinction.
I had yet to ask Manzar about it. I only knew a little, the same that all Earth humans had known. But I knew there was probably more to it and it was a sensitive subject, so I didn’t want to ask him. We knew that the Trilyn
needed fertile human women in order to repopulate their race, which had been ravaged by a sex-specific illness that made it impossible for their females to have offspring.
In fact, the majority of the females were dying off. The Trilyn didn’t know what was causing it and were seeking a cure across the galaxies for it. In the meantime, life needed to go on. I didn’t know why Manzar wanted me as a wife. He couldn’t be sure I was compatible with his genetic code as I’d never been scanned before, but it seemed that he was tired of looking and wanted companionship, and I needed asylum along with my father… Ugh, my reckless father.
I went to him, pressing the door chime on his door. This would not be a pleasant talk.
“There she is. I haven’t seen you in days! How is the new princess doing?” The jolly tone he usually had was gone and it was replaced with sarcasm and a tone of irritability.
“What is going on, Father?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“What do you mean daughter?” He attempted to look innocent.
“I’m hearing things. The guards and the crew that you come in contact with are saying that you won’t stop your non-stop questioning about the ship and the Trilyn on it. You can’t do that. They’re different from us. They’re private and consider what you’re doing to be nosey. You have to stop.”
“Nosey? I’m simply curious. They’re my life’s work after all. I’m on a ship finally, and I have no answers still. I want to see things. I want to know things. I’m entitled to it. My daughter is the future princess, so they should give me access just as they have given it to you.”
“So that’s what this is about? You’re jealous of the access given to me as a wedding gift?”
“Why shouldn’t I be? I deserve that access as much as you do.”
“Do you, Father? Are you the one sacrificing having a true human husband and having to warm the bed of a Trilyn, for that access?”
He went silent.
I assumed he understood my point.
“You don't have to do it if you don't want to, daughter. It was wrong of me to suggest that you agree to this marriage. Look at us, we are prisoners on this ship,” he said in exasperation.
“That is exactly what I told you in the beginning. Now you want to me to change my mind? What are we going to do out there? It’s not safe for us. I’ve heard that the protests are rising in the streets. It’s not just the Humanity First, but more and more people. Do you think that you and I would last a day?” I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned, my hands on my hips.
“No, I suppose not. But I can’t stay in these chambers any longer. It was fine for the first few weeks, but now I grow tired of it.” He sighed.
“I know. I have cabin fever as well. I asked the prince, and he has granted me permission to take you on a walk once a week. To start with. Maybe we can urge him to give up more, but for now…” I let my words trail off, hoping this would appease him.
“Yes! That would a blessing.” Father looked relieved at the offer.
“I’m arranging it for tomorrow at noon. So we can have the sun on our faces,” I said with a smile.
“Tomorrow? Why not now? Look it is a perfectly beautiful day!” He pointed to the windows.
“Because there is a protocol to these things and I have to put in the request. You want to be Trilyn, but you don’t want to live with their rules. Honestly, Father…” I was exhausted with him already.
“Fine! Fine, daughter. Put in the request,” he snapped while looking annoyed.
“And you will stop harassing the crew and staff?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Good, because I also asked the prince if you may take a meal or two in the mess hall with the army every now and then to get you out of your chambers.” I grinned at him.
“You did? That would be delightful!” His smile reached all the way to his eyes.
“But only if you can have conversation with them without being nosey.” I put my hands on my hips.
He sighed. “Yes, yes.”
“Good. Then I will come to you tonight and we can have dinner together and play board games. For now, why not come to my rooms and stretch your legs and then I can put in a request to take you to the roof in about an hour. It is only a small space, but it is sunshine and fresh air.”
“I would love that, daughter.” He nodded rapidly.
My father hadn’t been to my rooms yet. Every time he requested to have a conversation with me, he always requested that I be brought to his room. But now that I had the wristband, I could go from my floor to his floor as often as I wanted.
He followed me out of his room and to the elevator.
I scanned the wristband.
“So that is the prized wedding gift, huh?” He stared at the band on my wrist with curiosity.
“Yes, Father, you have already seen it. The wristband gives me access to a couple of floors on the ship, but not the entire ship.”
“Why can’t I have one that allows me to go to the floor that you live on as well?”
“Because the prince also lives on that floor and anyone on the floor needs to be escorted, except for me.”
“Hmph… figures,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest in a pout.
“Father! Really you are acting like a spoiled child. Did you think his wife-to-be would be kept on a different floor away from him? This is all your doing, remember?”
He was silent, just like a pouting child. The elevator doors open and he stepped out into the hall. “God Almighty, will you look at this. Even the hallway is fancier,” he said.
I dreaded opening my door. I knew that my chambers were quite fine, especially compared to his.
The door opened and he stepped in. “You've got to be kidding me! This is where you have been living this whole time? My room is only a section of this. This room is fit for a—”
“Princess? Because that is what I am to become remember?” I seethed.
“Yes, you are right.” He went in and out of every section including the bathroom. He opened every single cabinet in the kitchen, searching for alcohol, but I’d had it removed. I didn’t drink, so I didn't need it.
“Have a seat, make yourself at home. I’m going to make some tea,” I said. “Would you like some?”
“No. I will just sit in this comfortable chair at the window. This view is spectacular.” He sounded like a petulant child.
“You have a view of the wetlands as well,” I reminded him as I allowed my tea bag to steep.
“Yes, but not one as big as this. Your windows are an entire wall,” he argued.
“Yes, that is true.” I sighed and took a sip of the tea.
Father stayed silent as he watched my reflection in the glass.
“Just let me finish a few things here and then we can go soak in some sun on the roof,” I commented.
“Ready when you are, daughter. I’m very ready,” he said standing up and walking to the window.
I went to the panel on the wall and typed in a message in the Trilyn language to the command room of the ship. It simply read – Andromeda and her father will be on the roof landing pad for two hours starting in fifteen minutes. Waiting for clearance.
I sent the message and waited. I pulled my hair high into a ponytail and then twisted it around in a bun. I pulled on the tank top that I had been wearing when I first arrived. It was the best shirt for allowing the sun’s rays to hit my skin and soak in.
Ping. The control panel was blinking.
“What is that?” my father walked over.
“It’s a reply to my request to take you to the roof for two hours. Let’s see what it says…”
He hovered over my shoulder, always curious. “Well?”
“We are good to go. Ready?”
“Yes! Finally,” he said walking to the door.
I smiled. Although he acted impatient, I was glad to be able to give him this small luxury. I knew I’d felt happy when I first went to the roof, and now I was able to give him the same l
ittle treat.
A few minutes later, we were on top of the roof.
“Oh, I needed this.” My father laid down on his back. His hands clasped behind his head with his eyes closed. A big smile spread out on his face.
I sat in the sun looking out over the landscape. I was thankful for being able to do this in safety.
We laid there mostly in silence for two hours.
My father inhaled the fresh air and walked around the roof, for a while looking out over the swampy bayou. He seemed genuinely calm.
This gave me a sense of relief.
The next day, I had clearance to take him for a walk. I gave my father a cloak as well to wear just as I did.
Four guards walked with us. Two walked in front of us and two behind us.
“This is what I needed!” my father gushed excitedly walking fast.
“Wait up, Father.” I moved faster.
“Come along, daughter! We must stretch our legs and get the blood flowing!”
“I’m glad that you are excited. A walk is good for both of us I think.”
“Yes, it’s not natural to be cooped up the way we are. I’m beginning to regret coming here for sanctuary.”
“Father! Really how can you say such a thing? It is wrong. Prince Manzar is doing a lot for us by allowing us to stay here.”
He stopped and turned to me. “You have been defending him a lot lately, daughter. Are you starting to have feelings for this Trilyn?”
My eyes opened wide. Is it that obvious? “I just have more respect for him is all.”
“Uh-huh,” my father said then continued walking. He didn’t believe me.
“We can’t walk too far away from the ship.”
“Why is that? In fact, since you now have… respect for the Prince perhaps you can put in a request for us to leave a few hours one day and return before nightfall.”
“Father! That is too dangerous,” I exclaimed surprised by his audacity.
“Why not? We would have guards with us. Don’t you miss being out in the city? Going to a restaurant or having a coffee in the plaza? We still need to live life, Andromeda,” he reminded me