by Maia Starr
"I did not know that anything this beautiful existed in the universe,” I said. Thoughts of paradises on Earth like Tahiti or the Caribbean came to mind.
"What is all of that? Those lines?” I asked as I noticed that there were different lines from one tree to another.
"Those are the bridges; some are rope bridges that link the huts of our homes,” Hekan answered.
"That is very high up in the trees!”
"Yes, we are dragons, remember? We fly,” he laughed.
"Oh, right,” I said, realizing they were aliens that flew daily and that lived high among the trees like it was normal. Directly in front of us was lush vegetation and I could see that it was close to a tropical jungle with tree trunks the size of the cars in thickness. They were so high, almost hundreds of feet. It was like tree house luxury homes with platforms built around them.
"This is stunning.”
A rush of air that was salty moved my hair. It was an ocean breeze, so clean. I breathed deep savoring the scent of flowers and sea.
"Come on. I will take you to the healer and then show you to a hut you can stay in,” he said.
"Yes, thank you. I am ready,” I said, finally pausing my awe of the place so that I could get on with the business of seeing this healer. There would be plenty of time to stare at the beauty of this place.
I followed Hekan out of the landing port and into a vast village.
"Holy crap,” I said, amazed by everything that I saw. It was like a fairy village, so magical and colorful.
"I cannot believe that this is where you all live.” My mouth was open as I stared and tripped over my feet as I was not watching where I was walking.
"Neither can I. I am thankful for it every day,” he said.
I guessed that I would be too. It was a very beautiful place.
“This is it,” he said, stopping at the base of a massive tree.
“What? This tree? Where? Where is the healer?” I asked. He tilted his head up. I followed his gaze. Up in the tree was a large platform and I could only assume that there was a hut on it.
“Up there? I cannot get up on that,” I said as I looked up.
"What? Why?” he said.
“I cannot fly,” I said.
“Right,” he said as he moved away from me. He shifted into dragon form. Then before I could protest, he picked me up and flew straight up the tree. I squealed. In seconds he set me down on a platform high in the tree.
“Jrarka! Are you here?”
“Yes, come in,” I heard a voice say. I followed Hekan inside the large hut.
There was a lot of natural light inside and a lot of various plants hanging from the walls to dry. A Draqua male stepped out into the main room.
“Hekan, it is good to see you. What can I do for you?” he said.
“Jrarka, this is Maria. She is a human female that has just arrived. She requested to see a healer,” Hekan said introducing us.
“Hello, Maria. Welcome to our beautiful planet. What is it that I can help you with?” he asked.
“I am wondering if it is possible to have me tested. You see, I think I may have recently been exposed to some sort of virus,” I said.
Hekan looked at me. His eyes grew wide. I could see a bit of panic in them.
“You cannot tell the commander, Hekan. You have to keep this between us.”
“I understand, but why do you think you have the virus. You are talking about the virus, the one from Ephane?” Hekan asked.
“Yes, precisely.” I looked at the healer and began to explain. “I was captured by the opposition. They put me to sleep. I was asleep for many hours, and I think they did some sort of experiments on me. But I do not know what. However, there is talk of a virus that the opposition has. This virus will render human females unable to produce offspring. I do not know if they gave it to me or not while I was asleep. Is it possible to test me to see?”
Jrarka looked at Hekan very concerned.
“It is true, Jrarka. But do not go speaking about this to anyone. Ravinn is telling the king about it this very moment. He has a file with the virus formula and information. That is all that we have,” Hekan said.
Jrarka sighed. He scratched his head as he was thinking.
“It will be difficult for me to test you for something if I am not entirely sure what it is made up of. I will need to see the virus recipe to know for sure. But for now, I can test your blood for any foreign properties. That will show if you have something invading your body, but it does not mean that it will necessarily be the virus. It could be anything that humans suffer from. But we will start there,” he said to me, motioning for me to sit down on a bench.
“Thank you; I greatly appreciate this. I must ask you to keep this between us. I do not want to be the new human female on this unusual planet that is already infected, at least not until I know for sure.”
“My confidentiality is part of my position. You have nothing to worry about. But at some point, I may have to speak to the king about this, but the king will keep it between us as well. He would not want to create panic among the villagers here.”
“Good, that is good to know. What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Push up your sleeve on that dress. I will prepare a blood extraction device,” Jrarka said.
After my time with the healer, Hekan showed me to a hut that I could call my own for the time being. He led me across several rope bridges through the trees, and I was very nervous at first, but I eventually found my footing on them.
"Here we are. Your very own hut for now,” Hekan said. We were on a platform that wrapped around another massive tree, but this one was different. At the end of the platform was a cute little hut with a thatched palm roof. It looked very tropical, like a resort bungalow.
"This? I can live here?” I asked.
Hekan led the way and walked in front of me along the platform to the door of the hut. He opened the door and then stepped inside. I followed him.
"This is your home. Everything you need is here. There is food and drink,” he said.
"Incredible,” I stepped inside. It looked like a luxury beach hut of a five-star hotel. The vaulted ceiling was very high, and a white concrete-like material speckled the wall. Extremely large windows gave me a glorious view of big trees, and beyond that, there was the crystal-clear water of the ocean beyond it.
“Is that? There’s a beach?” I said running to the window.
“Yes, we are water dragons. We spend a lot of time in the water. This planet is mostly water, with various islands,” Hekan said.
“Beautiful!” I said. Then I turned my attention back to the hut.
Lush furnishings decorated the round interior. A large bed with mosquito netting in a soft blue hanging from the ceiling over it looked very inviting. I saw a bathroom area with a large tub and could already imagine myself taking a hot bath. I ran over to it and ran the water. I could not believe it. It must take a very grand engineering to get water high in these trees. I could feel that it was turning hot too.
"I can see that you are already wanting to make yourself at home. I will leave you to it. Get some rest," Hekan said as he walked to the door.
"Wait. Remember what I said: you must keep it between us,” I said.
“Your secret is safe with me,” he said with a smile and then left.
I ran back over to the tub and felt the water. The tub was filling fast. I was very excited to be able to take a bath. I was feeling a little less tense about the situation with Ephane and the possible experiments that he did on me now that I had spoken to a healer and I knew that he was studying my blood. I would soon have answers, I hoped. All I could do now is wait. It gave me a sense of relief and this hot bath was going to be the best bath that I had ever had. I still felt like I had chlorine in my hair from swimming in the pool in Joshua Tree. That seemed so very long ago. I pulled off the sheer dress and my yellow bikini underneath it. But what would I wear afterward? I thought. I opened a large box that wa
s like a trunk at the foot of the tub. There were many folded colorful cloths. “This will have to do,” I said. I pulled out one to dry myself with and one to wrap around me like a towel when I was done and laid them beside the tub. Then I stepped into the tub and sank deep into the hot water. I exhaled in release. This was just what I needed.
CHAPTER TWELVE
COMMANDER CERIK HADE
“Be on the lookout for anything suspicious. We don't know what this potential virus looks like. So just keep any and all Draqua away from the water tanks. Ravinn is speaking with the King now, and I am sure he is going to double security. But I had to get over here as soon as possible just in case. I will need a water sample in order to get tested,” I said to one of the stationed guards. I knew all of the Draqua that were currently working, and they were to be trusted. One of them nodded in response, “Yes, Commander, right away.”
He went to get a large jug with a rope attached to it. He dumped it into the main water source. He closed the cap and handed it to me.
“Remember, be on the lookout. No one gets near this tank,” I said to them before I flew off in the direction of the king's palace.
“I am here to see the king; tell him it is Commander Cerik Hade,” I said to the guard on duty outside the palace.
Minutes later, I was walking into King Hydros’ chambers. Ravinn was still there.
“I have the water sample. I have given the guards at the water tank the warning. They are on the lookout,” I said, setting the sample on the table.
“Good. Yeqor is here to test the water,” the King said as he nodded at a Draqua that was waiting against the wall. We watched as he poured the water from the jug into various containers and began to do tests.
“You gave him the device with the file?” I asked Ravinn.
“Yes, he did. I must commend you on a mission well done, Commander. You will be rewarded for your efforts. You went through great pains to get it, and you succeeded,” King Hydros said to me.
“Thank you for your praise, my King,” I said as I nodded.
“It’s clean. I will take a copy of the file and analyze it. We will need to start working on a vaccine right away, just in case,” Yeqor said to the King. I was relieved that the water was clean.
“Good, go and do your work. Thank you, Yeqor,” the king said.
Yeqor left, and Ravinn and I were left with the king.
“If I may be dismissed, King, I have a newly arrived human female to attend to,” I said.
“Oh yes, the human female you used as bait. How is she adjusting? Did Ephane harm her?” the King asked.
“Not as far as I can tell,” I said.
“If she will have you in return, then she shall be your mate. I grant it. You deserve the reward for your work, and we will discuss your promotion to Captain,” the King said.
“Thank you, King Hydros,” I said with a nod and left. I flew back to the village. It was then that I saw Maria leaving the healer’s hut. Hekan was leading her across the bridges. I stayed at a distance and watched. I knew that Ravinn gave him orders to see Maria to an empty hut, but not the healers. Why was she there?
I waited and watched as Hekan showed her inside a hut. They were in there a few minutes with the door closed, and my jealousy was starting to get the better of me. Why was he taking so long to come out? He did not even need to go inside! I was beginning to fill with rage. But then Hekan finally emerged from the hut and flew off. I sighed in relief.
I flew to the hut and landed outside on the platform. I was not thinking straight. I was in a rage after seeing Hekan with Maria. Why were they at the healer hut? They were keeping a secret. I barged right into the hut. Maria let out a scream. I looked and saw that she was in the tub. She sat up quickly and grabbed a piece of cloth and put it across her body. But it was too late. I already got an eyeful of her beautiful and plump breasts. Flashes of her underneath me as I took her came back to me. I felt my cock growing hard. Only an instant of seeing her naked flesh was all that it took.
“Cerik! What the hell are you doing?” she shouted at me.
She was wet. Her long brown hair was drenched and sticking to her beautiful face. The cloth she was using was now drenched and sticking to her wet body in the water. It was hard to restrain myself and not get in that tub with her.
“What were you doing at the healer?” I asked.
“How did you know? Were you spying on me?” she narrowed her eyes at me.
“No, I came to check on you and saw you leaving the healer with Hekan,” I said.
“I just had a headache is all, and he offered to take me to the healer,” she said. I could tell that she was not telling me the truth. I took a step toward her.
“Don’t come any closer,” she said.
“Why not?” I asked.
“I don’t want you near me,” she said.
“You’re are still angry with me. How many times must I apologize that I did not tell you about the mission? I could not. You must see that,” I said.
“No. I don’t. You can apologize until you are blue in the face and it won’t matter,” she said.
“Blue in the face?” I asked.
“It’s an expression. Now get out. I just want to enjoy my bath and relax. I need to sleep,” she said.
I felt guilty once more. She was tired and not feeling well, and it was my fault. I cared for her, and I wanted her to be comfortable. I knew that I really cared for her because the old Cerik would not care for these things and would march straight over to that tub and join her. I would seduce her until she was begging me to fuck her. But I wasn’t going to do that now.
“There should be food there,” I said pointing to the food preparation area. “The water has been cleared. There is not a virus in it, so it is safe for drinking,” I said as I got one last look at her. She was not budging. She was being stubborn and headstrong.
“I will check on you later, Maria,” I said.
“Don’t. I don’t need you checking on me. I just need you to leave me alone,” she said.
I wanted to argue with her. She did need me. She was alone on an alien planet damn it! But I did not. I turned and walked out the door, closing it behind me. There was a lot of sexual tension and anger built up inside of me. I needed to cool off. I ran and dove off the platform and spread my wings wide. I soared in the air and made my way out to the ocean. I flew fast and hard and dove straight into the water. I don't down into the depths; I needed a good hard swim. I spread my wings and push the water behind me over and over as I swim through the deep. Seeing the various life forms of my beautiful planet was good for me. It gave me a sense of calm. I stayed in the water for a long time before I finally emerged and shot straight into the air. The sun was beginning to set. The thoughts of Maria still raced through my mind. I could still see her naked in that tub.I could still feel her as I pushed my cock inside of her. It was enough to make a dragon insane. What the hell was she doing at the healers really? I knew exactly who would know the answer. I needed to go find Hekan. I swam over the crashing ocean waves, zigzagging up and down. I flew toward the village and to the warrior barracks. There I found Hekan working on the closing responsibilities of a mission. I landed in front of him.
“Hekan, I need to speak to you,” I said marching to him.
“Yes, Commander, what is it?” Hekan said as he put the box down.
I whispered, “What was Maria doing at the healers? Why did you take her there?”
He was quiet, and I could see a bit of panic in his eyes. Then he calmly said, “She was not feeling well. Her stomach was bothering her, and I offered to take her there. That is all,” he said.
Maria said she had a headache, and Hekan was saying that she had stomach problems. They were both lying. Their lies did not match. I wanted to punch the truth out of him.
“Commander,” Ravinn said as he flew down and stood next to us. It was probably obvious that there was tension between Hekan and I and once again Ravinn was stepping in.
<
br /> “Yes, Ravinn?”
“The King has doubled the security at the water tanks. I think our mission is done for now. I told him about the preparations you saw on the space station and how you think that it could be preparations for a battle or an invasion. First thing tomorrow the barracks will be prepared for such an invasion. For now, our mission is complete.”
“That is good to know,” I said.
“Did you check on Maria? How is she adjusting?” Ravinn asked.
“She is not feeling well,” I said looking at Hekan. He looked away.