Alien Romance: Seized By The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Protectors Book 1)

by Aana Celestya

  "Hey," She called as he strode across a wide, columned hall with patterned stone floors and high, stained glass windows, his long legs forcing her to run to keep up, "HEY!"

  He stopped abruptly, turning quickly to glare at her.

  "The other one could speak English," She said as soon as she had his attention, "I'm betting that means you can to. So I think it's about time you told me what's going on here."

  His reply was to grunt, then turn and keep going down the hall.

  "Hey!" She said, irritated, "I'm talking to you!"

  She grabbed for his arm, only for him to turn again suddenly and snarl in her face. His canines were far sharper and more pronounced than a human's. Almost fangs. Astrid felt her heart nearly stop in her chest for a moment. She let go of his arm at once, startled, and he turned and continued walking.

  Frightened but unsure what else to do, Astrid followed after him as he wandered down long, elaborately decorated halls. There were few others in this massive palace from what Astrid could tell. They passed only a handful of men, a few wearing rich furs and some kind of stiff cloth covered in intricately painted patterns, others more simply dressed in clean white cloth and round hats, their edges decorated with colorful embroidery.

  Astrid wasn't certain if they were servants, or possibly clergy. The man who'd brought her here, naked above the waist except for his silver fur cloak and wearing only tight black pants and heavy boots beneath, seemed almost plain in comparison to the elaborate dress of everyone else.

  At last he led her into a small room, the rear wall of which was lined with small cabinets, their wooden doors carved with cut out patterns, each one intricate and unique.

  Astrid wondered if some of it might not be writing to identify what was in each cabinet. Her companion certainly didn't seem to need to hunt for what he wanted, opening a door and pulling out, to Astrid's surprise, a bottle and syringe. He filled the syringe from the bottle, then turned to her.

  "Oh no," She said, backing away, "Hell no! I don't care what that is supposed to do, I have a totally different physiology than you, you have no idea what it will-"

  She was cut off as he lunged at her. They struggled briefly, but he was more than two full feet taller than her and strong as an ox. He shoved her against a wall, her back to his chest, and stabbed the syringe into her thigh. He released her as soon as it was done, letting her slide to the floor overcome with sudden dizziness.

  "What... the hell..." She groaned, holding her spinning head, "What did you do to me?"

  The man spoke and at first all Astrid heard was the same rolling speech as before. But somehow the words, though they were still most certainly not English, made sense.

  "I fixed you," He was saying, his tone even and unconcerned, "You are not the first off worlder we have encountered. The difficulties of speech became tedious, so we devised a means of dealing with it more easily. The microscopic nanites I just injected into your blood deliver the data required for a complete understanding of our language directly to the long term memory centers of your brain. They will also remain in your body, monitoring and maintaining it in case of negative reactions to our planet's radiation, gravity, and common allergens and diseases. This should allow you to operate normally despite your... disadvantages."

  He eyed her critically and Astrid felt the strong urge to punch him again. She fought it off, telling herself his rudeness was just a result of cultural differences.

  "Did these microbes give you the ability to speak English as well?" She asked.

  "No," He replied, "But you're not speaking English."

  Astrid made a startled noise as she realized he was right. The meanings were the same, but the sounds were different, flowing as instinctively as her native tongue.

  "I am Hestian," The man said, looking down his proud nose at her, "Son of Bellerophon and the Hesperides, crown Prince of the Glittering City and all of the Elysian Empire. Who are you?"

  Astrid felt a moment of panic, like the bottom of her stomach had suddenly dropped out. She was talking to a prince. They hadn't been taking her to their leader. Their leader had scooped her out of the dirt himself. The news made her head spin. She should have guessed. He looked like a prince, with his sculpted muscles and his golden skin and his regal features. She just hadn't expected the prince of an alien civilization to be a barbarian in a fur cloak fighting on the front lines of a war.

  "I'm Astrid," She said after a moment, gathering he courage, "Astrid Carver, astronaut. First of my species to stand on another planet."

  Prince Hestian frowned at that, handsome brow furrowing in a way that made Astrid's heart beat faster.

  "Curious," He said, and turned away from her, sweeping away again and leaving her to rush to keep up with him.

  "What's curious?" She asked, to no answer from him, "What's curious!"

  He said nothing, only led her through the palace as silently as he had when she didn't speak his language. Astrid cursed at his back in frustration, but he ignored her.

  They traveled deeply through the palace, climbing higher to what Astrid assumed must be near its highest point. The halls here were even emptier here. Astrid saw no another soul in these shaded halls which had no windows, only cut out patterns along the very tops of the walls which let in only a pale, weak light. There was a strong smell of incense in the air and an aura of respect, like this place was somewhere sacred. Had he taken her to a church, she wondered?

  Finally they reached a pair of heavy gilt doors, and Hestian stopped.

  "This is as far as I go," He said, "You must continue alone."

  "Why," Astrid asked, "What's through the doors?"

  He ignored her and turned away, beginning to leave again.

  "Hey!" She said sharply, following him, "Don't leave! Come back here and answer my questions! Who are you people? Why am I here?"

  He stopped abruptly and for a moment she thought he was going to snarl at her again. Instead he just turned around, his expression deadly serious, and took a step towards her, closing the distance between them.

  Astrid took a step back instinctively, wide eyed, but he only stepped forward again, following her as she stumbled backwards until her back hit the door. He leaned in close and her heart hammered as he loomed over her, staring intently into her eyes as moved in, so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

  Then she heard a click and the door she was leaning against opened, spilling her backwards into the room beyond. Hestian, his hand on the latch looked down at her sprawled on the floor with an expression that was utterly unreadable. He shut the door without another word.

  Chapter Three

  Slowly, as confused and afraid as she was angry, Astrid stood up and looked around. She was standing in the entrance way to a series of rooms that looked like no others in the palace. Everywhere she'd seen had been somewhat closed off, the decor all heavy and regal, giving a sense of all-encompassing solidity, reliability.

  By contrast, this place was airy and open. Wide, open windows let in the bright mountain light and the crisp breeze, tasting of snow, fluttering translucent golden curtains. Flowers spilled from every available surface a sound like strange harp music filled the air.

  There was little furniture or decor, everything clean and open. What little was there was made of wood, the first Astrid had seen in the palace. She saw the first couches and chairs there as well, fragile looking carved chaises and arm chairs padded with soft cushions in soft blues and lilacs that contrasted the golden color of the walls. Standing the doorway, Astrid heard voices and walked towards the cautiously, unsure what she would find.

  What she found was a large round room, its walls lined with doors to branching rooms, and in the center a huge round table, around which stood a gathering of women.

  "The attack was successful," One was saying, leaning over the table and adjusting a figure on a holographic display that covered the table's surface, "But Orestes's forces are still occupying the tundra near the crash site."


  The one at the head of the table seemed to be in her early forties, tall and strong as an oak, her long chestnut colored hair a cape of waves around her shoulders. A pair of delicate round spectacles were perched on her long nose above an expression of intimidating sternness.

  "Have we sent out anyone out to retrieve the debris?" Asked one of the other women, "Even if the tech is primitive, we don't want it falling into the hands of Orestes's war brides."

  This one was a bit younger and broader with a kind, romantic face and a matronly figure.

  "They already have it," The first replied, "We can't get through their line without another full scale attack."

  "What do the Accords say?" asked the second, turning to look at a third, "Do we have the right of attack?"

  The third, a thin woman with copper colored skin and ink black hair, shook her head, her eyes distant, focused on some far away memory.

  "The right of next attack is theirs," She said, "We must hope the theft of his newest wife will be enough provocation to draw him in."

  Astrid stepped closer, and all seven women turned at once to stare at her, their eyes piecing.

  There were seven of them, their ages as varied as their appearances. The oldest was a bent old black woman probably in her seventies, her hair in neat dreads. The youngest was a blonde girl of perhaps fifteen.

  All of them had hair at least to their waists, and the oldest women's hair swept the floor. They wore long flowing garments in shades of the sunset, pink and gold and fiery orange, which somehow managed to look comfortable, practical, and elegant all at once.

  The stern looking woman at the head of the table fixed Astrid with a stare of crippling severity and Astrid froze.

  "Is that her Antheia?" the blonde girl asked, wide eyed, looking from Astrid to the tall woman at the head of the table.

  "No wonder Orestes let us have her so easily," said a wrinkled, gray haired woman of sixty or seventy with a snort, "She's hardly bigger than Tara."

  "Yes, that's her," Antheia said shortly before anyone else could speak, "And unless Hestian is a bigger fool that we took him for, he's likely already given her a language booster. So please attempt to be civil."

  She gave the old woman a pointed look, but the old woman only turned her nose up like Antheia had no authority over her.

  "Let's sit and give her a proper welcome," Said the larger, kind looking woman who'd spoken earlier, "We can leave this business for later."

  She moved around the table, her robes and her long, flat black hair swirling elegantly with her movement, to open her arms to Astrid.

  "We are all so eager to hear about where you came from," She said taking Astrid's hands, which Astrid was too startled to refuse, "It's been so long since someone new joined us! I'm certain you're going to love it here. I am Mermesa. These are Tara, Aiopis, and Nelisa."

  Mermesa waved, in turn, to the blonde girl, a light skinned black woman about Astrid's age, and the dark haired woman who'd been asked about the accords earlier.

  "And these are our elders, Antheia, Donakis, and Kalypso," Mermesa continued, gesturing to the tall woman in the spectacles, the gray haired old woman, and black woman Astrid had noticed earlier.

  She looked close to ninety, seated on a bench near the window with her legs folded, her long dreads pooled around her. Old age hadn't made her frail but rather sturdy and soft. She reminded Astrid of a wise old elephant. She'd barely moved since Astrid arrived and didn't now. Only the gentle rise and fall of her breathing indicated she was still alive at all.

  "And who are you?" Mermesa asked, turning back to Astrid with a kind smile.

  "I'm-" Astrid started to answer, feeling a lump rise in her throat and tears to her eyes, "I'm Astrid."

  She didn't know why she was suddenly crying, she'd never been prone to it, but this situation would have overwhelmed anyone. As her shoulders shook with sudden sobs, Mermesa's expression crumpled into sympathetic horror. She ushered Astrid out of the war room and into a nearby one lined with comfortable seating. The other women followed, confused and concerned, as Mermesa found Astrid a seat.

  She shooed Tara off to find their guest a drink, and then put an arm around Astrid comfortingly. As she asked what was wrong, Astrid began to babble through her tears, explaining how the experiment had gone wrong and how confused and terrified she'd been, especially when no one would answer her questions. The women listened, concern growing on their faces with every word Astrid spoke.

  "So Orestes is adding women to his war brides by force now," Antheia said as Astrid finished, her expression dark, "His depravity grows by leaps and bounds with every moment of his exile."

  "We should never have sent him away," Aiopis said, her shoulders hanging in misery, "It's on us that he's become this way."

  "We couldn't have known what he would become," Nelisa said quietly, "It was beyond all our knowledge."

  "He was already on this path," Antheia said, shaking our head, "We all felt it. It's why we exiled him to begin with. I will never regret our decision to deny him the throne."

  Many of the others nodded in agreement. Astrid sipped the water Tara had brought her from a beautifully painted clay cup as she composed herself.

  "So why am I here?" Astrid asked, "What even is this place? Did I land on Keppler-22b at all?"

  "I am not familiar with that designation," Nelisa answered with a frown, "This planet is called Nibiru. You are in the royal palace of the Shining City, star of the Elysian Empire. The Empire extends from this mountain range across the polar cap of the planet, and south till the Glacier Melt, which separates us from the coastal races. This place is the women's quarters, called the Garden of the Hesperides, and we are those Hesperides."

  "We received word that Prince Orestes, the scarred man you met on the battlefield, was making contact with an outside race," Antheia spoke, and with a gesture summoned a holographic image of the man so real it made Astrid jump, "Orestes was once crown prince of the empire. But he was violent, cruel, and a ruthless expansionist who wanted to pitch the empire into open war with the coastal races.

  A council of women across the empire was convened and it was decided that he was unfit to rule when his father passed. He refused our decision, vowed he would upend heaven and earth before he gave up the throne. We were forced to exile him. He took a good portion of the army still loyal to him and refused to leave the empire's territory, setting up camp on the tundra. And then he began collecting brides."

  Antheia waved her hand the snarling image of Prince Orestes was replaced with an image of five women. All of them wore armor and carried weapons, their expressions hard. Some of them did not look human.

  "Orestes began gathering support from the empire's enemies," Antheia explained, "Both on the planet and off. And as the symbol of their loyalty to him, he demanded a bride from each, accepting only their brightest and most powerful."

  "Disgusting," Donakis said in revulsion, looking away. The rest of the women seemed to share her displeasure with the situation.

  "I do not know if it is so on your planet," Antheia continued, "But there are few women on Nibiru. It has always been so. Only one in perhaps one hundred infants is born female. For this reason we are treasured, protected, and deferred to in matters of strategy, lawmaking, and all royal decisions. For a single man to claim so many women is to break every taboo our people have."

  "So then, you're not all Hestian's wives?" Astrid asked, curious.

  "Goodness no!" Antheia said, her hand over her heart and her expression offended. The other's all looked somewhere between aghast and amused. Mermesa laughed.

  "We are the women of the royal family," Mermesa explained, "We are all related to Hestian in one way or another. If one day he finds his mate, she will live here with us. But he has not yet."

  "And what does that make me?" Astrid asked, "I still don't understand why I was brought here."

  "Orestes made contact with your planet," Antheia said, "And, from what our intelligence has gathered, de
manded their loyalty and his bride before he would deal with them at all. War on this planet is strictly regulated by the War Accords.

  By the Accords, we cannot attack Orestes until he commits an act of war towards us, which he will not until he knows he is strong enough to defeat us. But when we heard he was acquiring a new bride, it gave us an opportunity, since he was to meet you on territory that belongs to us we were allowed to engage in a skirmish to take control of your first, which we have. Now we wait for him to attack in order to reclaim you. If he does so, we will be allowed to destroy him."

  "But that doesn't make sense," Astrid protested, "My planet doesn't know about any of this. We've had no formal contact with Nibiru or any other inhabited planet. I was part of an experiment in space travel. I wasn't supposed to end up here at all."

  The women all looked confused by that.

  "Perhaps there was some sort of mix up," Mermesa ventured, though everyone else looked doubtful, "Regardless, you're here now. Orestes made his intentions to make you one of his brides clear."

  "But I have to go back," Astrid said firmly, standing up, "I need to go home and tell my people that the experiment worked. That we're not alone in the universe! I don't belong here."

  "I'm afraid that's impossible," Antheia said, "Your ship sits in the middle of Orestes's army. And we need you here, for the sake of the future of the empire. We cannot allow you to leave."

  "No!" Astrid said, pushing away from all of them, "That's not your decision! I'm going home!"

  Chapter Four

  She stormed out, leaving the women behind and charging out of the room, back to the doors of the women's quarters. They were unlocked and she pushed through them carelessly, storming down the long, empty hall.

  She quickly found herself lost in the palace's winding corridors and realized she had no idea where she was going to begin with. At last she spotted one of the men in the white hats and hurried towards him. He stared at her like she was a ghost, his eyes the size of dinner plates.