by Maia Starr
"This is going to be a lot of fun, I promise," he said.
I strapped in and the doors closed. The pod shot straight up into the air. It caught me off guard and I braced myself, holding onto the walls. The Kalazaron warrior laughed. Then I laughed. He was right: I was already feeling better and exhilarated.
"Hold on," he said as he pushed a lever forward and we started fast into the distance and out of the capital city.
"Watch this!" he shouted as he began to do barrel rolls in the pod racer. Around and around it spiraled, and I was laughing and giggling nonstop. It was the most fun I had had since I’d arrived on this planet. I looked over at him, with his dark, blue-black hair and stubble beard. It was exhilarating to be this close to him and alone. He was a stranger to me; I didn't even know his name, yet I still felt safe with him. I watched him as he thoroughly enjoyed driving the big contraption. He was like a youngling, full of excitement and joy for the thrill of the ride.
The sky had turned a subtle pink as the silver sun was setting on the horizon. It made the flight that much more magical as we were surrounded by pink clouds. It was exciting. The pod banked as the side wings dipped toward the ground and then evened out again. We were heading straight toward the silver disk of the sun. He was flying in a risky and dangerous way, and I was having so much fun. Every time he did a risky maneuver, he would laugh and I would join him. It was thrilling. I had never experienced anything like it. I had been cooped up in the Loki living quarters since I was eighteen. This was the first real adventure I had been on since I left earth. For an hour, I forgot that I was a captain slave, and that felt very good.
"We should be getting back. Do you feel better?" He asked me.
"Yes, I do," I answered. I really did. I had forgot that I had been crying, and the awful sisters that had made me cry. The joyride worked.
"Good. I'm glad to have been of service," he said to me.
The stranger had treated me more kindly than any other Kalazaron I had met since I arrived on the planet. That was when I was reminded that I did not know his name. I did not know anything about him.
"What are you called?" I asked him.
He turned to me and gave me a confused look. Then he said, "You mean, you do not know who I am?"
"No. Do you know who I am?" I asked him.
"Yes, I do. I saw you once with the Loki family, and I assumed that you must be their captive. So I looked up the records. You are Ella Capricio."
My mouth fell open that he knew all this information about me. It was very uncomfortable. He knew everything about me, and yet I knew nothing of him. I felt a little embarrassed that he knew my history and how I came to be a captive. I wondered if he knew how badly I was treated at the Loki living quarters.
"Yes, that is all true."
"Do you really not know my name?" he said again.
"No, I have said as much."
"My name is Thaedon."
"Well thank you, Thaedon. You have truly made me forget my troubles," I said as the speed racer pod came to a stop in the exact location where he had picked me up. He had kept his word.
"I would like to see you again," he said to me.
"I would like that as well, but it is just not possible. I have no free will."
The door lifted and I got out. He walked around the racer to my side and towered over me as he said, "Ella, I will see you again. Be well." He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Then he walked away. I was left breathless by his dominant declaration. I smiled. I smiled all the way home.
When I walked into the Loki living quarters, I had completely forgot why I was out on my own anyway.
"Well, where is it?" Maris asked.
"What?" I said to her. Maris looked over at Soko with a confused look.
"The blue paint for your skin. Where is it?" Soko asked stepping toward me in a menacing manner.
"Oh, the merchant did not have any so he ordered some and I am to pick it up tomorrow," I lied.
"Very well; go to bed, slave," Soko said as she dismissed me. I gladly went to bed and out of their sight so that I could replay every single moment that I had with the Kalazaron warrior known as Thaedon in my mind.
Chapter 4
MASTER THAEDON KREE
Being the master of an entire planet and race had its advantages. I had to admit that I felt good having this kind of power. I was the youngest master that the planet Kaethon had ever had. They didn’t see me coming, like I said. But now that I was here, they didn’t know what to make of me.
I was going to do things differently. I already knew that. There was too much tradition in the making of vital decisions that held things up in an endless loop of decisions, so much so that nothing was ever actually done. I had my trusty advisor to help me. He was a well of knowledge. I had my youth, and I had my rebellious reckless ways. I knew that I was going to turn some heads in the way that I did some things, but that was the point. It was necessary in order to create some change.
Besides having power to change things, I also had the power to make sure that my courting of the human female, Ella, was not lost in my busy schedule.
It made me very unhappy to see Ella crying in the market like she had been. I was glad that I was able to take her sorrow away, even if just for a while. I could only imagine that she was crying because she was a captive. I just didn’t know which aspects of it upset her so. Was it just that she missed Earth? Would she want to go back? Or was it that her owners were unbearable?
I knew that particular family could be cruel. I wanted to give her a little light in her days. So after dealing with the responsibilities of being the new master, I finally had time to see her. I would keep my vow to make sure that I saw her again, and I was going to do it that night.
"Go to the living quarters of the Loki family. You will wait outside until the human slave known as Ella Capricio comes outside alone. Only when she is alone, you must say that she has been summoned by the buildings of order. Do not say that I, the master, has summoned her. She is not to know anything. Just go and fetch her for me and bring her back here," I told my personal warrior guards.
They nodded yes and were on their way. I turned to the preparations for dinner with the best view in the capital city. I did not know if my plan would work. Perhaps she would not leave the living quarters today. It was a gamble I was willing to take. I was going to wait as long as it took. Two hours later, my guards showed up with Ella; she looked surprised and full of fear.
"You?"
"I am sorry to have summoned you like this. It was the only way," I said as I moved toward her.
"Have I done something wrong?" she said as she looked at the guards on both sides of her.
"No, it was just a precaution." I turned to the guards and said, "Leave us."
"What is all this? Why are we on the roof of this is very tall building?" she asked, looking around confused. I had to set up a romantic dinner on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the capital city.
"For dinner," I said as I gestured toward the table.
She gasped. "Dinner?" she said as she walked toward the table.
"Yes, just dinner. Join me?"
She looked around at the vast view overlooking the capital city. Her mouth was wide open in shock. "How is it that you can use this roof? You must be very rich."
"Something like that," I said as I pulled the chair out for her to sit.
"Why am I here?" she asked.
"I enjoy your company, Ella; that is all.”
She looked at me suspiciously. In truth, I did not know why she was there. All I knew was that I wanted to see her again and again. I had no agenda or motive. I had the power to summon her and have dinner with her, and so that is what I did.
After a day of overseeing the systems and structures of the capital city, I wanted a little pleasurable conversation with my dinner. No female Kalazaron held my interest at the moment. That was the simple reason why she was there. I was also intrigued that she had no idea that I wa
s the new master. There was something very exhilarating about that. The fact that she did not know only made me feel like perhaps she would get to know the real me.
"Just dinner?" she asked and she looked at the table, then at me, with questioning, green eyes.
"You have my word," I smiled. Then she smiled and her shoulders dropped. She was letting her guard down. I poured the Icannet drink into her glass and we began to eat the first course of the extravagant meal. Her eyes grew wide at every dish that was placed before us. I don't think she had ever eaten so well before. Her amusements made me feel adoration toward her, but her lack of such a simple experience made my heart go out to her. She had been deprived, and that made me angry. I wondered how the Loki family treated her. They were power-hungry and known for it; no doubt they did not treat her well. I wanted to rescue her from that hell.
"Tell me about you?" she asked me over the last course after casual conversation about the beautiful, rooftop environment.
"I will tell you about me if you tell me about you," I said to her. Her eyes fell to the floor and then finally she said, "Agreed."
"What would you like to know?" I asked her as I leaned back in my chair and studied her beautiful face.
"Where are you from? Where were you raised? Who are your parents?"
"That is a lot of questions. I am from the capital city. I was raised here in a house in a living quarters close to the markets. My family were merchants and sold all kinds of general goods. I learned the business well while I was in the standard, warrior training that all Kalazaron must go through."
"Is that why you'd like to spend time in the market? You seem to be there often, but never to buy goods?" she asked in a very observant manner.
I was quiet. I had not realized that about myself. I did spend most of my time in the markets, but never to purchase goods. I always found myself drawn to the area. I guess it was because…
"Is it because it reminds you of home? Of your time as a youngling?" She said finishing my thought for me.
"Yes, I suppose you're right. I have never given it much thought. I think you may know me more than I know myself, and we have only just met."
"No, I am just describing myself. I have a place that I like to go to as well that reminds me of my home, Earth."
"And where is that?"
"The rooftop of the living quarters where I live. From that point, you can see far into the distance, past the capital city. There, the planet Kaethon looks almost like Earth. Just the nature of the planet, and I can get lost in that view and pretend that I am home on Earth just as before."
"How did you come to this planet?" I asked her.
"I lived in a city, very big and grand, just like the capital city of Konthos. I lost both of my parents and found myself on my own. Therefore, I went to an office where men find wives when they are working on distant planets. I offered myself as a bride. I boarded a ship and was bound for that planet with other brides; then it was captured by your Kalazaron warriors. I was brought here, and I was sold. That is been my life," she said as she began to form tears in her eyes.
It was right there in that moment that I decided I would use my power as the new appointed master to save her from enslavement. I did not know how; I was not sure how much authority I had on the matter. I would have to meet with Huine Srit and see what he could find in the archival documents and rules of the Kalazaron. He knew all.
Since I had become master, I made Huine Srit a very close advisor, giving him living quarters and a payment allowance in the buildings of order. I found knowledge to be the best way to rule as master. It was what allowed me to become master in the first place. Now I would use knowledge to free Ella from being a captive of the Loki family. If it was possible, Huine Srit would find a way.
"I am sorry you have had to endure those experiences, Ella."
"I should be leaving back to my post. I will be missed and punished. Thank you for dinner, Thaedon," she stood up from her chair. My eyes moved over her ample curves and olive skin. I was not ready to end the evening, but I did not want to hold her against her will. She already had enough of that by being a captive.
"I will have the guards escort you home," I said as I stood up and grabbed her hand in mine. She sucked in a sharp breath of air. I kissed the top of her hand. Then I walked her to some of the guards. This was not over yet; it was only beginning.
The next day, I had matters to attend to that did not give me time to speak with Huine Srit about finding a way to release or transfer ownership of Ella. That night was my coronation. It was the grand ceremony and a celebration that would claim me as the master. Since this event only happened every 10 to 15 years, it was a very grand event. The entire capital city of Konthos celebrated out on the streets, while the more influential and powerful celebrated inside the Stanis Trials arena that was lavishly decorated for a grand event.
The entire day was devoted to the coronation that evening. For me, I did not want the attention, and in fact, I found these celebrations to be dull. If it weren’t part of my responsibility to go through it, I would gladly stay in my living quarters. I would gladly have another quiet dinner with Ella, but it was not an option. The coronation was to begin.
Chapter 5
ELLA CAPRICIO
Dinner with Thaedon was the most elaborate experience I had ever had, even when I was on Earth. I didn't know how he was able to pull off such a thing; I knew then that he must be a Kalazaron with a very high power. The view from that rooftop was the most spectacular thing I had ever seen. With pod racers hovering around the city and zooming past, and the lights of the entire capital city bright below us, I did not understand why he had summoned me. I did not understand why he had warrior guards at his disposal to summon me in such away.
There was more to this that he was not telling me, and a part of me did not want to know. A part of me knew that his interest in me was too good to be true and there must be some reason behind it that I would not like. For the time being, everything felt good, and I wanted it to stay that way. I did not want things to change. I liked being able to sneak off in secret and enjoy my time with him and nothing else.
However, after the dinner I became very nervous for one reason: The coronation celebration was happening that evening. Since the dinner made me very aware that Thaedon was in a high position, I knew he would be at the celebrations. I did not want to see him there. I did not want him to see me at the mercy of the Loki sisters, especially with what they had planned for me.
"When you are done lacing up my dress, have the other servants paint the blue on you," Soko said to me as I tied her dress up the back.
"Yes," was all I said. They were making me go through with it. They were going to make me carry the trains of their dresses while I was painted blue, and in a blue dress. It was a joke of sorts. It was transforming a human female into a Kalazaron female. Everyone would stare at me. I hoped that one of those stares would not belong to Thaedon.
Finally, the time came when we were to depart the living quarters and go to the coronation. I was covered in blue. Even my hair and face were painted blue. I was glad for the camouflage. I did not want Thaedon to see me.
First Fraon and Penat entered the arena, followed by the Loki sisters. I walked behind them, one dress train in each hand. I kept my head down and walked quietly behind them as they entered in a ceremonious fashion. I could hear all the whispers as they did so, and they had achieved their goal of getting everyone's attention at first sight. I wanted to be invisible.
They walked in a straight line to the middle of the arena to be introduced to the master. There was a long line of Kalazaron, and each stepped forward and gave a salute with a hand to the chest and a bow to the new master. I did not look up. Then, it was time for the Loki family to do their greeting to the master.
"Kalazaron Loki," a male warrior shouted. The entire family moved forward and saluted and bowed. I slightly bowed and did not look up. Then there was shock all around as the master said, "
Loki sisters come forward."
I could hear whispers and shock of jealousy that the sisters were singled out by the new, young master. The sisters were very excited as they stepped forward. It was then that I looked up as they gave another lower bow to the new master as they stood directly in front of him. A small gasp escaped my mouth as I looked at him.
It was Thaedon. He was looking directly at me. It was unbelievable. The Kalazaron warrior that I had been secretly enjoying time with was the new, young master that every Kalazaron was speaking of. I was in shock. It took moments before I really understood that fact.
Thaedon just stared at me. Did he know it was me? He knew that I was the captive of the Loki family; he must have known that it was me. I felt suddenly embarrassed. It was a painful embarrassment as his eyes penetrated through me. His jaw set into a hard line as though he was angry. Was he angry with me for being at the coronation? I was probably jeopardizing his new position, but I did not have any choice in the matter.