by Alma Nilsson
He frowned.
“That was a joke. What I mean is, thank you for sharing those memories, it meant a lot for me to understand how you perceived everything. I believe you completely now.”
“Good.” He could see her thinking about something, and he was self-conscious. He had just shared his most personal memories with her, he had never done that with a woman before who was not his mother, “What is it?”
“I didn’t realize how religious you were until now.”
“We are all religious.”
Dru didn’t answer that. She didn’t feel anymore religious than when she left Earth. She believed in spirits sure, but deities that controlled her fate, she was unsure. She could see that he needed reassurance of her favor though, “Let’s ask our questions then. What is your favorite color?” She wanted to ask this question for frivolousness, to see how far the Alliance seriousness went in the man. She didn’t want to spend the next 300 years with someone who was too serious.
“Is that one of your questions?” he smiled a little thinking how strange humans were with their minds obsessed with making things beautiful.
She nodded for him to answer the question, pleased that he had smiled, meaning he had more emotions than just being logical and serious all the time.
“Unfortunately, it is ka, one of the two colors humans have trouble distinguishing.”
She put her hand up to the silver necklace with the blue stones, “Are these stones ka colored and not blue then?”
He nodded, “Yes, but they look beautiful with any color dress and suit you.”
“Next question, what is your favorite food?”
“I don’t have one,” he replied honestly.
Dru wasn’t surprised, Alliance people really only looked at food as sustenance, so she was not going to press him. Then she just jumped to a very serious question, which would be more what he would expect in this situation, “What do you expect from a wife?” She could tell from his bewildered look that she had caught him off guard and this pleased her.
Ket took a minute to think about his answer. If she had been an Alliance woman, he knew what he would have said, but given her reaction to the ban, he needed to be careful now about how he explained himself, to make sure she understood his intentions and expectations properly. “I would like a wife who is a doctor, with strong telepathic skills, and who looks forward to my returns. A wife who smiles at me when I’ve been good and frowns at me when I haven’t. And a wife that has a special look reserved only for me.”
Dru had not expected that answer. The example answers to that particular question in her cultural handbook were very different, they were more detailed about exact responsibilities and nothing about emotion. She asked more, “And where would your wife live?” She honestly wanted to know, and this was the second question women asked men they were considering courting, if she were going by the book.
Ket answered this one without hesitation as though he had done it a million times, which made her feel a bit sad that she was not the first one asking this. “I’ve a house suited to my rank in my House’s compound, near my parents’ family home. It is a 15-minute walk between them in the Imperial Ring of the Capital City. I think you would be very happy there. I’d allow you to decorate the house as you wish, with some things from Earth. I’ve heard that this has been a difficult compromise between Lieutenant Kole and his human wife, but I would welcome the diversity you would bring.” And to be honest he was a bit afraid of denying her as Admiral Tir had done Captain Kara and now the Admiral’s whole house was painted red, both inside and out.
Dru knew that once a couple was to be married that the wife to be could make considerable changes to a house, all paid for by the husband’s family. Some of the women who had already been married had done that. Dru had grown up in rustic circumstances and then had rooms either at the fleet academy or onboard ship. She wouldn’t know how to decorate a house especially not a large or grand house.
Ket noticed her change in demeanor, “Is there a problem with the house I mentioned?” He wondered if the proximity to his family put her off. Her captain had actually taken her sword to her mother in-law the last time she was on planet and Tir brushed it off saying, ‘Humans don’t live with their families like we do. This will just take some getting used to.’
“No, I just realized something about myself for the first time. It’s only a triviality.” She could feel his mind searching and looked into his sharp grey eyes and easily made him forget what he wanted to ask her then. And then she gently reminded him of his courting questions. She knew she was flirting with danger by doing this as she didn’t know the extent of his telepathic skills, but what better way to measure his skills but by testing them.
“What would you want from a husband?”
Dru had thought about this question a lot. It was a typical question before courting according to her cultural handbook. She had prepared an answer for Mr. Mystery, but she had expected him to be a stranger, not Ket. “I’ve a prepared answer, of course, but that’s not fitting now. I never expected a man I already knew to be asking this question, and definitely not you.”
“Drusilla,” his tone strict, “tell me what you would want from a husband.”
She looked directly into his eyes, “I don’t know now. Knowing you, changes everything. I would forgive you so many things. I can’t believe I have already forgive you for the ban and now my prepared answer for this question is useless. For you, it would be a completely different list.”
“Try.”
She thought for a moment, “I would want you to be more honest.”
“I’m always honest.”
“No, you’re always Alliance honest. You only tell the truth when asked. I want you to be more forthcoming with things and not keep so much hidden from me.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible, as I don’t realize I keep so much from you.”
“Really? The word ‘ban’ mean anything to you?”
“That’s different.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. I would like you to start telling me things. Try to understand that I don’t know what is always going on and that sometimes I need some help.”
“But that’s no fun Drusilla. You’ll figure it out. No one is judging you and it’s adorable to watch you navigate the Alliance.”
“Adorable?” she asked quietly.
He stood up, leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Absolutely adorable.” He kissed her ear lobe and then sat back down, “Tell me, when did you first know me then? When you ran into me outside the medical school?”
His warm breath on her ear sent shivers down her spine and when he kissed her ear lobe, she almost moaned. She was so aroused. He sat back in his chair and she blushed thinking about the naked picture in the article. That was the first time she had seen him.
“You just projected that,” Ket told her with humor. “I love the lovely shade of pink in your cheeks over it.”
“I’m glad it doesn’t bother you.”
“Why would it?”
“I can’t explain it,” Dru admitted.
“See, explaining your culture is difficult. Now please tell me the next time, I’m curious.”
“I wanted to know what specifically would be talked about during the symposium about new procedures on warships and went through a lot of the holographic simulations in the library. Thank you for the private study room by the way. It has been invaluable to me,” she said, and he nodded. “You were in a couple of the simulations I did. At the time, as I didn’t look up the names of the doctors, I didn’t put two and two together.”
He was looking at her blankly.
“That those beautiful nude images and the impressive doctor on the warship were the same. I never checked the names.”
He smiled at her inexperience.
“In the holographic simulations, I was impressed with your skills and confidence. I’ve been in war and in the moment keeping a clear head isn’t easy, I don’
t think I could have done what you did. Then when you were berated for it on planet, I was again impressed with your demeanor as you defended your amendments to the procedures. I think you were right.”
Ket had never been so complemented by a woman before. Most women just assumed because he was a man, he had some special skill that made it easier to deal with violence and emergencies. And that because he was a man, he cared more about his appearance than his work and therefore should never presume to amend a woman’s procedure. Now, he realized what Tir had been trying to tell him the last time they met, ‘Humans see the sexes as equal; I mean really equal.’ Ket had never thought of himself as a man who wanted to be equal to a woman, but being here with her, he didn’t know what he wanted anymore. He always thought that he would leave the actual mating and shaping of human wives to the other men, until he saw Drusilla. Now he realized that she was his greatest tool in the change Tir wanted to bring about. A change that he was apathetic about before, but now suddenly he was almost passionate about. He would guide her to become exactly what he needed, what they all needed. It is the gods’ will, he thought.
Dru couldn’t make out his reaction to what she said. She wasn’t sure if she should compliment his looks instead, as her handbook had instructed her to do, but the truth was, his being handsome was secondary to his mind and manners.
“You have caught me off guard with your praise of my skills. Most women compliment me on my appearance and rank.”
“Would you prefer I do that?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. If we are going to spend 300 years together, I want a husband I respect not a vain man.”
“But you do like my appearance?” he couldn’t resist asking, in the end, he needed to make sure. He was still an Alliance man after all.
“Of course, you are very attractive to me. I thought that was obvious,” Dru was surprised he wanted this confirmation. Wasn’t he attractive for an Alliance man? It doesn’t matter as he is attractive to me, she thought looking at him.
“Another time we should discuss attractiveness. I’m curious as to which humans are considered attractive and why. Obviously, in the Alliance you were the most attractive out of all the other humans taken from the Dakota.”
“On Earth I am not,” she admitted. “Rebecca is considered to be the most attractive among us.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you are here then where you are the true beauty,” he smiled. “Now back to questions. This is not one of my usual questions obviously, but I must ask it. Will you abide by the ancient Contracts?”
“I feel like you are asking me something specific, but I don’t know what.”
“Will you ever want to leave planet? Join Captain Kara?”
“It’s not illegal anymore for human woman to do that. The High Council changed the law regarding human women.”
“I’m aware of the law change. However, I’m not Tir. I can’t have my wife off planet.”
“Why not?”
“I’m old fashioned. I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I would need to know you are safe at all times. You are only safe on the Capital Planet. I would never want you to leave.”
Dru didn’t know whether to be charmed or scared by that admission, “You’re not going to imprison me in your house or anything?”
He was horrified, “No. I just don’t want to risk you dying needlessly. The Alliance is powerful because we always protect our most prized possessions at all costs.”
“But you…” she countered, and he interrupted her.
Men and women are not equal, he projected as it was forbidden to say it out loud. “Without women the Alliance would fall and more importantly if we had children, they would need you more than me.”
“I’d say any children would need us both equally.”
He ignored her comment. He wanted to tell her that she was straying into a forbidden topic but was afraid it would trigger her to talk about it even more, so he asked the same question again, “Would you join Captain Kara?”
She looked in his eyes deeply, “If I have a good job here, I wouldn’t consider joining, but I can’t say, ‘never’. I know the human government sold us, and I’m probably seen as just as much of a traitor as Captain Kara but it’s difficult for me to say that if I had the opportunity to return to Earth that I wouldn’t. I think though, it is unlikely that I would ever do either.”
“I don’t think anyone in the Alliance Empire was surprised by Captain Kara’s trial except the women from the Dakota. I’m sorry for that, but even you must see what a great opportunity we have given you all by making you Alliance citizens.” He didn’t react to the flash of annoyance on her face, “If it makes you feel any better, the amount paid for you all, was an offer the human government couldn’t refuse. The full details were not disclosed as I know Tir used a lot of his own universal credits and connections in the deal,” Ket admitted.
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“No, not from your point of view, but I must admit that I was relieved. We are meant to be Drusilla. Before the trial, I was slightly concerned that I would have to come to Earth to find you.”
“What do you mean?” Dru had just assumed he would have given her up if she had returned to Earth and the human fleet.
“One stipulation of the ban is that I must present myself to you before or within the week of the ban ending in person.”
“Would you have really come to Earth to do that?” Dru had forgotten his condescending words about a better life for them all in the Alliance and was a little charmed now.
He gave her a look of disbelief, “Yes. You know in the Alliance we take our commitments very seriously.”
“Even with humans?”
“With everyone.”
“And then what would you have done?”
“I would’ve taken an extended holiday to convince you that we are destiny. We are the gods’ will.”
“What if I wouldn’t have believed you? I want details Ket,” Didn’t he understand that this would have been very romantic for me? More than having a ban being placed on me or receiving jewelry or any of the other rituals, she wondered.
He brushed the side of her cheek with the back of his hand, shockingly, instantly showing her mental images of him kneeling before her naked form licking her sex. His strong hands cupping her naked bottom and her hands intertwined in his long and loose hair.
Dru closed her eyes, so aroused by the scene, but then opened her eyes in surprise when he took his hand away and the fantasy was gone.
“I’m sure we would have found a compromise. This is the gods’ will. But if we were to enter into a courtship, I would need your word that you wouldn’t join Captain Kara or return to Earth.”
Dru was still reeling from his telepathic skills to convey such a sensual feeling, so real, with just a momentary touch it took her a couple seconds to answer him, “Not an official compromise?”
He shook his head, “I want to trust you, Drusilla, and I want you to trust me. I know, it’s very modern not asking for a written compromise.”
She was momentarily stunned by this. She thought that all Alliance people needed everything in writing. “Good. If you ask me to court you, we will discuss it again.” She could tell he wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but she wasn’t prepared to compromise on anything now.
“I’ll accept that for now,” he agreed. “Moving forward, how often would you imagine we would have sex when I was home, if we were married?” He tried to casually stand at the edge of her thoughts with his own mind to see if he could catch any stray reactions. He still didn’t know if she were a virgin or had had a very bad sexual experience for her to have had to undergo a sex test in the medical exam on Space Port One. She was so young and clueless in Alliance culture to begin with the last thing he wanted was that she was clueless in sex as well. He didn’t find the idea of having to teach a woman about sex arousing at all, quite the opposite.
“Is that really one of your qu
estions?” Her cultural handbook had mentioned that this could be a question but stated that it usually came after a couple had decided to court unless one of the parties had a specific or unique reason for bringing it up. She wondered then; Does he have access to all of my medical file? Surely not, men were forbidden from knowing anything about women’s reproductive or sexual health. She had been told by Doctor Jina that, ‘The birth of children is a miracle to men. It’s best to keep them at an arm’s distance from it. Men have no understanding of what it feels like to bring life into the galaxy and their minds are not equipped to understand. Therefore, they are kept ignorant of women’s bodies, except for what is expected in the sexual act.’
“Yes, it is an important question. Everyone is different.”
“Is there a specific reason you are asking it now though? Do you have something you want to tell me?”
He liked that she was turning this back on him. He smiled, “We can come back to it another time,” he felt her shame in not wanting to answer and picked up a sight of Doctor Jina with her and then her bed functions. He was satisfied that, even if she was a virgin, she was working on it with a professional.
“What would your answer be?” Dru honestly wanted to know. She’d never been in a relationship with sex. In the Exterior, she had been too young to do more than kiss or hold hands with a boy and at the fleet she had been too jumpy to go further with anyone because of what had happened with the five guards.
“After a couple gets married, they have a months’ honeymoon alone at one of the designated resorts on planet. I would imagine we would have a lot of sex then. Afterwards, for the first ten years of marriage, men are allowed to take months off at a time to be home with their wives. During those times, I would say I’d like to have sex three or four times a week, maybe more. But I would also like to talk to my wife too.” He wanted to add but resisted, ‘But, I’m not like Tir, who apparently has met his match in interspecies sex games onboard the Refa.’