by T. J. Quinn
“You must have found our installations quite primitive,” she told him, with a scowl.
“Yes, a bit, but it’s good to do things for yourself, once in a while,” he replied, shrugging.
Once inside his quarters, she looked around, surprised to see how big they were. On one side of the room, near the window, there was a huge bed, and a combing table with its chair. On the opposite side, there was a small sofa for two, a small table, and two individual chairs and on the third side, there was a small dining table for four. It was like a little house in one room. On the fourth side, there was a door, and when he took her through it, she found a strange room. She had never seen anything like it.
“This is the bathing room,” he explained. “Here,” he signaled the toilet, “you’ll be able to handle your intimate needs, and it will take care of it for you. And here,” this time he indicated some sort of glass box, “You’ll be able to bathe. I’ll show you later how to use them, but I’m sure you’ll love it.”
She furrowed her brows. “If you say so.”
He chuckled and kissed her. “Why don’t you get some rest while I discuss a few things with my men?”
She nodded, and he left the quarters, leaving her alone with her thoughts. All of her things had been brought there, but she didn’t see any sense of unpacking. According to Anubis, they would arrive at Nibiru in a few days.
With a long sigh, she turned to the bed and decided to do as he told her and take a nap. Her stomach still felt a bit strange, and she guessed it would take her some time to adjust to this new sensation.
She was sound asleep when he returned to his chambers. The sound of the door sliding open was enough to wake her up.
“Hey, sleeping beauty, did you have a good nap?” he asked, with a naughty grin. He had taken off his mask, and he was looking like his usual self.
She stretched smiling. “Yes, I have to admit I did.”
“Time here feels a bit different because there’s no dawn and no sunset, but we try to respect a schedule as if there were,” he explained.
“I guess it makes sense,” she nodded.
“So, dinner time will be in an hour, enough time for me to show you how to use the bathing room.” There was a wicked grin on his face, and she chuckled.
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me,” she assured him, jumping out of bed. But she wasn’t able to take a step away from it. He crossed the room in a few strides and pushed her back to the bed.
“I changed my mind. We have time for a bit of fun before I show you the mysteries of the shower stall,” he whispered in her ear, as he started to tug at her clothes to take them off of her body.
In no time, they were both naked and entangled on each other’s body, relishing the kisses and caresses that quickly drove them to ecstasy.
Sometime later, when the waves finally subsided, he carried her to the bathing room and showed her how to use it, loving her reactions to the benefits of the toilet and the shower stall. Of course, they were a bit late for dinner, but his men other than giving them a naughty smile didn’t mention their delay.
Those days on board the vessel were nothing but boring to Aneksi. She knew nothing about Anubis’ lifestyle and his family, so she had a lot to learn. She knew the basics of course, like the fact he was the son of the God Osiris and the Goddess Neftis, and he was the half-brother of Horus. But she didn’t know much more about them. She guessed she would have time to get to know them.
“My father rules over Nibiru with an iron fist. In spite of that our people actually love him, but our family is a bit complicated, as you soon will find out. Too many people, with too much power,” he explained to her, one day they were talking in bed.
“Do all of your people have the same powers?” she asked, intrigued.
“No, just our family, the ruling family. Our people are not so different from yours, as you can see by the crew members of this vessel,” he replied, with a faint smile.
“Oh, I see, that’s good, I won’t feel alone then,” she said, scowling.
“You’ll never be alone. I’ll always be there for you.” His words were appeasing, but for some reason, she had trouble believing them. She still didn’t know why he had decided to take her home with him, so it was hard to know where she stood.
Soon, Anubis was calling her to the control room, for her first sight of his home planet. Like he had told her, Nibiru wasn’t as blue as her planet, but it still looked beautiful, at least, from that distance.
It didn’t take them long to enter the planet’s atmosphere and the closer they got, the more she was able to see. There was a large mass of dry land on the side of the planet they were approaching, surrounded by what looked like water.
“Is that where you live?” she asked him, intrigued.
“Yes, unlike your home planet, we only have two continents here, this one, called Amun-ha, is where most of the planet’s population lives. On the smaller one, called Isamun-ha, there are a few colonies of our own people and some other species, from other planets that have chosen to live amongst us,” he explained.
“Are there people of my own planet living here?” she asked, intrigued.
“Yes, there are, mostly women, but also a few men. Some have asked to join us, and we’ve allowed them to move onto our planet, and others have been invited as a reward for their faith,” he explained.
“Oh, I had no idea,” she murmured, while she watched the vessel draw closer to the planet’s surface.
The skies on this world were of a paler shade of blue, and as they got closer, she could tell the vegetation wasn’t as green. In fact, there were places where green wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“What’s that purple mass?” she asked him, pointing at a particular part of the continent.
“That’s our biggest forest. Most trees here are purple. Our sun isn’t as close as the one you have back on Earth, and the processes the plants do to capture its light are different and originate the purple color of the trees.”
“I thought the sun was controlled by god Ra,” she said with a scowl. She had never really believed that theory. Her logical mind found it hard to believe.
“Ra can’t control the stars, though sometimes he acts as if he could,” he replied with a scowl. “People relate him with the sun because of his golden appearance. You’ll agree with them when you meet him,” he chuckled, amused. “But despite our powers, we can’t control forces like the sun and the moon. They are beyond us and I would say beyond anybody,” he explained.
“They are amazing forces,” she agreed.
“Exactly. When my people visited your planet for the first time, your people identified us with elements they knew and were familiar with. Like I told you once, people need something to believe in and we saw no harm in letting them believe in us. We do all we can to help them can, and I could say, we have a symbiotic relationship.”
“What could you possibly get from us? You seem to have it all,” she asked, intrigued.
“Your planet has a metal we need for our vessels, called titanium. You have huge amounts of it, and in exchange for our advice and help, we get the metal we need,” he explained. “Due to our special powers and the fact we travel through the skies, your people put us on a pedestal and considered us their gods.
“I should have known self interest was behind this whole thing, but then again, I’m not what you would call a religious person,” she confessed. “Gods and prayers never felt real.”
“I noticed that. There was never reverence in your way of talking to me. You’ve always treated me as your equal, and that’s one of the things I love about you,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
Her heart missed a beat when she heard his words. Was it possible he was talking seriously? Or was it just one of those things people say when they want to show their appreciation to someone? She wished she could ask him, but she simply couldn’t. Her heart wouldn’t survive having her all her hopes killed with a few words.
&nb
sp; She took a deep breath and changed the subject. “How come you were related to the dead and their preparation for the next world?”
“When we first visited your people, they liked to revere their dead for several days, but with the heat, it was impossible. The deterioration of the bodies was too fast, and the stink made it impossible. That first Anubis decided to show them a few techniques to preserve them, and that’s how it all started.”
“What do you mean, that first Anubis?” she asked, puzzled. She only knew of one Anubis.
He laughed out loud. “Though we live much longer than your people do, we’re not immortals. We’ve been visiting your planet for hundred’s of years. In each generation of my family, a new member is born to replace the one departing. We only discover our fate when the previous member dies and transfers the powers to the new one.”
“Of course, that makes more sense,” she nodded and cuddled up against him to enjoy their approach to the planet’s surface.
Nibiru wasn’t anything like what she had been expecting. For some reason, she had been expecting a more modern version of her own planet, but it wasn’t. She had never seen anything like what she was seeing. The vessel was approaching a city with tall buildings, surrounded by a maze of what looked like roads, but the vehicles didn’t travel on them, but above them as if flying.
She was astounded. Nothing had prepared her for what looked like organized chaos. Would she ever adjust to place like that? She was seriously starting to doubt it.
The vessel landed on a huge cleared area, where she was able to see several similar vessels parked around.
Anubis smiled at her and guided her out of the vessel and into one of those small vehicles that seemed to fly around the place. She wanted to say no, that she would rather walk, but she knew she would look weird and that was the last first impression she wanted people to have of her.
Taking a deep breath, she entered the large, oval vehicle, made of a transparent material and took a seat on a chair, and Anubis did the same, next to her.
“So, what do you think of your new home?” he asked, smiling.
“Overwhelming,” she confessed. “I have no idea what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this, believe me,” she added, with a self-deprecating grimace.
“I know it’s quite different from what you’re used to, but I’m sure you’ll quickly get used to it.” She gave him a small smile and nodded. She truly hoped so.
The vehicle they were on started moving on its own after Anubis pressed a few buttons and soon they were traveling through the roads she had seen from the vessel.
Like he had told her, people on this planet weren’t much different from those back home, though they were a lot paler than she was used to and most of them had blond hair.
She was able to see several of the purple trees he had mentioned, and the truth was they were beautiful, with so many leaves, granting an extraordinary look to the city.
“Where are we going?” she turned to ask him, a bit more excited with the surroundings.
“Home. I thought you would like to take a bath and get all dressed up before I take you to meet the family,” he replied, with a grin.
“You don’t live with your family?”
“No, of course not. Isis is not very fond of me, and I understand her position, it’s not easy to live with the proof of your husband’s infidelity,” he said, grimacing.
“Oh, yes, I guess I had forgotten that small detail.”
“But I would have moved out anyway. Life at the palace can be complicated,” he admitted, with a sarcastic tone.
“Isn’t it always?” she asked, chuckling.
After a while, they left the tall buildings behind and entered an area with huge houses on it, surrounded by amazing gardens, with colorful flowers. Several children were playing around, watched closely by adults.
“This place looks great,” she said, apparently pleased.
“You sound surprised, as if you hadn't expected to find anything great here,” he pointed out.
She shrugged. “I have to admit those tall buildings we left behind aren’t very cozy. Do they belong to a single family?”
“No, most of them are occupied by offices where people work, and those where people live, normally harbor several families.”
“In the same building? Doesn’t that generate conflict?”
“I guess it can, but people learned to solve their differences. It works like a mini-town. People have to work together to ensure peaceful coexistence,” he explained.
“It makes sense, though I’m not sure I would like to live in a place like that.” She realized she didn’t know where he lived, and she turned to look at him flustered. “But, of course, I believe it’s a matter of getting used to it.”
He laughed out loud. “Don’t worry, sweetheart of mine, I don’t live in a building like those. My house is more like one of these houses, though many would describe it as a small palace.” She covered her face, embarrassed but rejoicing on the way he had called her ‘sweetheart of mine.’
The vehicle they were traveling on finally turned onto what looked like a private road and there, on top of a small hill, was a small palace, made of a yellowish stone, with huge windows on both stories. Aneksi was sure it was big enough for three or families to live in.
“Do you live here all alone?” she asked, surprised.
“Well, not exactly. All of my wives and children live here,” he said in a tone so serious, her chin dropped, and she stared at him as if she was looking at a total stranger. He chuckled. “You should see your face. Of course, I live alone, with the serfdom clearly; I wouldn’t be able to keep this place clean by myself,” he added, showing her he had been teasing her.
“It’s not funny. Things like that make me realize I really don’t know much about you. I don’t even know how old you are,” he grumbled.
The vehicle stopped and she struggled with the door to get out. She had no idea how to open the damn thing, but he finally opened it up for her and followed her out.
She walked a few yards into the garden.
“I’m sorry, Aneksi, I shouldn’t have teased you that way,” he apologized. “But you’re right. I guess I haven’t told you much about me, but I promise that will change as soon as we get settled.” He closed the distance between them and stopped a couple of steps away from her. “I have no wives. I’ve had women before in my life, it would be strange if I hadn't, after all I’m almost 100-years-old, but I have never formalized a relationship with any of them. I wasn’t ready and I guess I was waiting for the right one to come along.”
She tilted her head back to look at him. “100-years-old? How long can you live?” she asked, startled.
“Most of us live up to 200 years.”
“Oh. And do your people grow old like us?” she asked, amazed.
“During the last twenty years of our lives, we start to age, yes. Some say it’s the water and the nutrients on this planet that extends our lives, and I believe that’s true. Those of your people living here are living longer.”
“Well, I guess that’s better than nothing,” she mumbled.
He stretched his arm and took her wrist, pulling her into his embrace, kissing her forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re still very young.” That didn’t comfort her, but she didn’t say a thing.
After a few moments, he guided her inside the palace where they were greeted by a few members of the serfdom.
“How come they all speak my language?” she asked, surprised, as he took her upstairs and into his room.
“We all have translators implanted in our ears, it translates what we hear into our native language and whispers within our brain the correct words to speak. I’ve been to your planet so many times now, that I’ve learned how to speak it more fluently,” he told her, as he closed the door behind them.
“Will I have one of those?” she asked, trying to measure someway how long he planned to have her with him.
“Ye
s, you will. We’ll take care of that as soon as possible,” he assured her, smiling. “So, what do you think of the room?” he asked her, showing her around.
It was huge, with a magnificent bed as the centerpiece of the whole space, completed with a combing table, and a small sofa.
“It’s lovely.”
“You’ll love the bathing room. It has a bigger shower stall and a huge bathtub, with warm water all the time. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun in it,” he said, with a wicked grin.
She chuckled and walked through the door he was pointing at. He was right. The room was fabulous, and she loved it.
He followed her, and when she turned to look at him, he was taking out his clothes. “We’ll save time if we bathe together, don’t you think?” he asked, walking towards her and starting to get rid of her clothes.
“Are we in a hurry?” she replied, with a naughty grin.
“I wouldn’t say hurry, but it’s never a good idea to be late for a visit to the palace,” he assured her, but she could tell he was teasing her.
“Oh, yes, I’m sure of that.” She helped him with the last piece of clothing and leaned forward to rest her face on his broad chest. He surrounded her petite body with his powerful arms and kissed the top of her head.
“What’s your first impression on your new home? Do you believe you can be happy here?” he asked, in a soft tone.
She tilted her head to look at him in the eyes. “Yes, I’m sure of it. It looks like an amazing place, and I have so much to learn about it; I’ll never be bored.”
He caressed her cheek, tucking one of her dark locks behind her ear. “I want you to confide in me all of your doubts and fears. Your happiness is the most important thing in the universe to me, and I’ll do all in my power to make sure you find it with me.” His eyes were locked on hers, and he sounded so serious she almost believed him.
She had to make a tremendous effort to tell her silly heart not to fall for pretty words. Anubis had never mentioned what he expected from their relationship, and the last thing she needed was to get her hopes high just to have them crushed under his feet as he walked away from her. She wouldn’t survive that, she was sure of it. She closed her eyes and nodded, a knot closing her throat and stopping her from uttering a word.