Astrid looked back at the other woman, her anger draining into exhaustion.
"It feels like giving up," Astrid confessed, "Settling in here is like admitting I can't go home."
"You can only be where you are," The old woman squeezed Astrid's hands, then let her go, "Being miserable doesn't change anything. And being happy doesn't mean you have to stop trying. So try."
She looked down then, and with a calm flick of her wrist, the shattered vase flew back together and into her hands. She set it back on top of the pile of other gifts, then turned and left. Astrid watched her go, wishing she could ignore what Kalypso had said. It was easier to go on being stubborn and unhappy than to try and change.
She turned back to the pile of gifts and noticed one she hadn't seen before. A neat box, wrapped in an orange bow, was wedged under a stack of books on top of an antique hardwood chaise lounge. A letter was tucked into the bow and she plucked it out curiously.
Inside was an engraved invitation, embossed with rose gold and silver, inviting her to be the prince's companion to a solstice ball that evening. The language was formal and impersonal until she flipped the thick, rich cardstock over and saw a handwritten P.S. on the other side.
"When you attended the tchung hee game the other day, you looked beautiful in that gown. I thought you should have one of your own."
Astrid raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, then shifted the stack of books to reach the gift. She tugged a corner of the orange ribbon and watched it slide away, the box unfolding as soon as the ribbon's grip was released. Inside, a beautiful, flowing silk dress in twilight shades of lavender and rose shimmered with golden embroidery.
Astrid lifted it out, her eyes wide. It was beautiful, from the artfully draped Grecian sleeves to the plunging neckline. Astrid almost couldn't wait to wear it. She looked again at the invitation and took a deep breath. Oh well, she thought. How bad could it be?
Chapter Eight
The solstice ball was held in the palace's largest ballroom, the ceiling of which was open to the endless wheel of stars above it. This high in the mountains, the stars were clear and painfully bright and cut through by a shimmering green curtain of aurora.
The floor of the ballroom was entirely made of the beaten rose gold that seemed to be such a popular precious accent here in the palace, polished to a shine that reflected the glimmering stars above.
The scent of rich, aromatic food wafted from tables on either side of the ballroom, laden with exotic, heavily spiced treats. The music was strange, but not unpleasant, just deeper and slower than Astrid was used to. Perhaps the human range of hearing was higher than the Nibirians, Astrid hypothesized, so what was comfortable and pleasing to their ears was different than what would be best for a human's.
Their instruments favored wind and percussion over strings, humming flutes and rumbling horns mimicking the sound of wind through the peaks, accompanied by rolling timpani drums and the strange plinking harmony of a lithophone.
She was not, as she'd anticipated, the only woman present. Perhaps a third of the attendants were female, including Mermesa, Nelisa, Donakis and Aiopis, who accompanied Astrid as she made her way to the ballroom. The elder three all had, to Astrid's surprise, families they intended to meet there.
Mermesa had a husband and three sons, two of which were old enough to attend. Nelisa had no children, but was wed to a pair of men who doted on her all evening. Donakis had grandchildren beyond counting. There were many other women as well, tough most of them seemed attached to various male guests.
"Having a woman in the family means automatic elevation to the court."
The voice startled Astrid and she looked up in surprise to see Hestian standing near her. She was struck once again by how handsome he was, more so than usual at the moment, dressed in his finest suit, his haired pulled back away from his regal, angular face.
The fashion of the moment for men seemed to be thick cloth, heavily embroidered in complex patterns and colors. It had a distinct impression of imperial Russia to Astrid, the way his high collared robe glittered as it swept the floor.
"This ensures that no woman suffers because her family is of low means," He offered her a hand and a polite incline of his head, "Would you do me the honor of a dance?"
Astrid, determined to try as long as she was here anyway, took his hand and he guided her out onto the floor where other couples, mostly men dancing with each other, were swaying to the music.
Astrid had seen them performing complex segregated dances earlier, each sex on separate sides of the room, moving in precise spiraling patterns that mimicked each other but never touched. Astrid was glad that segment of the evening seemed to be over.
She had no idea how she would have fumbled her way through a traditional dance like that. This was easier to manage.
Hestian seemed to be a very competent dancer, as agile here as he was in the arena or the battlefield. It seemed as though physical challenges were easier for him than social endeavors.
From what she'd gathered watching him, he was well liked for being straightforward and plain spoken, but he lacked a certain degree of tact, which gave him difficulty dealing with some people, and she was among them.
"I wanted to thank you," He said as he turned her in smooth, careful circles across the golden floor, her gown fluttering around her ankles, "For attending tonight. You did not have to. I realize I have not done the best job of demonstrating my worth as a mate."
His expression and his words were carefully blank, as though he were trying to distance himself the conversation. But Astrid could see the strain in the tightness of his mouth and the slight furrow in his brow. He was embarrassed.
"I think they do it differently on earth," Astrid, for his sake, adopted the same aloofness, "For one thing, if one person talks about nothing but themselves and expresses no interest in the other person's feelings or desires, they're generally considered to be, to use an earth colloquialism, assholes."
She saw color tint his cheeks, his eyes carefully focused over her left shoulder.
"That was never my intention."
"Don't worry about it," Astrid said, rolling her eyes, "It's not as though any of this were real. The Hesperides told me you're just trying to goad Orestes into an attack."
He fell quiet and almost missed a step in the dance. Behind his carefully distant expression, Astrid couldn't pin down what he was feeling. She wondered if she'd made a mistake, bringing up his brother.
"It hasn't been all bad," she tried to reassure him, "The dress is nice."
He didn't reply, and for a few minutes they just danced in silence. His hands, large and strong and rough with calluses from training with his lance, guided her smoothly through the turns. The starlight highlighted the strong lines of his face and made him seem almost unearthly in his beauty, a thought that made her laugh. Astrid was almost having a good time.
"What is your earth life like?" He asked after a time, "What do you enjoy?"
Astrid was surprised, breaking her passive staring over his shoulder to look at his face. Was he actually taking her advice? She considered her reply for a long moment before she answered.
"My life is good. I'm living with my dad while I go to school and train. I'm studying astrophysics. I plan to join the space program. When I'm not working, I like mystery novels and practicing martial arts."
"I didn't understand half of that," Hestian admitted.
"Now you know how I feel."
Astrid laughed, and felt some of the tension leave Hestian's grip on her hand.
"Martial arts," He repeated, "I take this to mean you study combat?"
"Yes. Mostly hand to hand, sometimes with melee weapons. Jujitsu is my favorite at the moment but I've studied several different schools."
"Do you have many wars on your planet?" he asked curiously as he guided her through another spin, "That the women must train so rigorously?"
She frowned for a moment, then shook her head.
"Actually, m
y planet is more at peace with itself than it's ever been, historically speaking. There are still a lot of wars going on, but I've never had to fight in one. Martial arts are primarily studied for exercise and self-defense these days."
"Strange," Hestian said, puzzled, "And why do you study these arts?"
"I have to be in top physical shape if I want to fly in the space program someday," Astrid replied with a shrug, "Also I just enjoy it. Forms, sparring. It's fun."
He hummed thoughtfully.
"Tell me more about this space program," He asked, changing the subject, "Your species has not left its native planet yet, correct?"
"Sort of," Astrid smiled, pleased by his interest and the chance to talk about something she loved, "We've made short jaunts out into our solar system, but so far..."
Chapter Nine
They danced for perhaps another hour while Astrid told him about earth, her dreams of traveling to space, her father, and finally how she'd ended up on Nibiru to begin with.
"...dropped me in the middle of that battlefield, and here I am," She finished as, feet sore, they left the dance floor and wandered out on to one of the many balconies, "You picked me up and I've been stuck here ever since."
"I can see why you want so badly to get home," Hestian said, releasing her arm to lean against the carved stone railing of the balcony, watching the stars rise over the mountains around them, "It seems as though you have quite a life there."
"Yeah," Astrid leaned on the railing beside him, mood dipping as she remembered how frightened her father must be, "It's not that it isn't nice here. If this were a standard mission I'd be thrilled to be bringing home news of an alien civilization so like our own, and with so much to offer. But the way things have gone, being stuck here, no one knowing where I am, having no back up or even a way to take notes or samples... I just need to get home. As soon as possible."
"I'm sorry for trapping you here," Hestian couldn't meet her eyes, but Astrid could hear the honesty in his voice, "If so many lives were not at stake, it would not have been like this."
"Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't have," Astrid sighed, running her hand through her hair, "It's not like I don't understand your reasons. I just can't accept them."
They were quiet for a moment, just drinking in the view. The sky above was a rich velvet blanket of stars. Slight differences in the makeup of Nibiru's atmosphere meant it wasn't only black, but rich plum and deep blue and in places almost fuchsia. And the stars were brighter and more varied in color than any Astrid had ever seen, shimmering gold and icy blue white and burning red like spilled coals.
It felt more real to her then than any moment before. She was really looking at an alien sky. None of these stars was familiar to her. There wasn't a single constellation she recognized. She must be millions of light years from home. The thought of being so far from every other human being was dizzying and Astrid felt tears building behind her eyes again.
She covered her face with her hands. She felt a warm, reassuring weight on her shoulders and opened her eyes to find Hestian had put an arm around her. For a moment she wanted to pull away, to curse him for keeping her here. But she was lonely and, despite everything, he had been kind to her. She leaned against his side and he held her close, squeezing her reassuringly.
"Would I be an earth asshole," He asked, "If I talked about myself again for a minute?"
She made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
"That depends."
He smiled at her, a touch of sadness in his eyes, then looked away out over the mountains again.
"I was never meant to rule. Orestes was born and raised to one day be King of the Shining City, Emperor of Elysia. I was to be his war council, to lead his armies under the direction of the Hesperides. I was prepared for this life. Glad for it even. But Orestes... Every day he grew crueler, more impatient for my father's death. And he made no attempt to hide his plans for the empire.
War against the coastal peoples, ruthless expansionism. When the Hesperides expressed doubt about his ideas, he proposed a system of intense cloning to phase out the female gender entirely, saying that with parthenogenesis they were an unnecessary distraction.
That's when the Hesperides called together women from all over the Empire to decide his fate and he was declared unfit to rule. He was exiled, and I was made heir. I'd spent my whole life knowing exactly what I was meant to do, and suddenly it had been taken away from me, replaced with something new.
And then Orestes returned with his army, and I refused to ride out to meet him. I was afraid, and unprepared. And my ailing father saw it. He was too weak to have been leaving his bed, but he rode out because I would not, and before he went he went he ordered that I should never be king until Orestes had been dealt with.
He died on the battlefield that day, by my brother's hand, and the empire has been without a true leader ever since. He died disappointed in me. He died, with his last words to me being an oath that I would never wear his crown."
Astrid listened, her own troubles briefly forgotten as he described his own. Her relationship with her father had always been loving. She couldn't imagine losing him that way.
"But what I'm trying to say," Hestian continued, "Is that, in spite of everything... I'm glad it happened."
That caught Astrid off guard and her eyes widened.
"Really?"
"If Orestes had not left and I had not become heir, I would never have met you."
Astrid felt heat touch her face at that, her heart fluttering in her chest.
"Even if some coincidence had brought you here without the influence of Orestes," He said, "As second son, I would have had no claim to you. We would likely have never even spoken. All of this is just a long winded way of saying perhaps it isn't so terrible, your being stuck here. The worst tragedy of my life led directly to my meeting you, and I would not give that up for anything."
He reached out to brush her hair from her blushing cheek, his eyes tender.
"Maybe this will lead to something you would not give up either."
Embarrassed, Astrid had to look away. Hestian leaned in and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Keep talking like you're in love with me," Astrid half laughed, trying to lighten the suddenly intense mood, "And I'm going to have trouble believing this is just to taunt your brother."
"I never claimed it was," Hestian said his hand sliding back into her hair. Astrid looked up into his stormy gray eyes made silver by the moonlight, feeling her will power dissolve as he pulled her nearer.
His lips found hers like they'd been made for each other, two pieces of a puzzle connecting. He pressed her against his broad, strong chest and, though he had to bend to make up for the height difference, they both hardly noticed.
Nothing else mattered but how right this felt. The slide of his lips, the scratch of his beard, the graze of his teeth. It was as though she'd never really been kissed before this moment, never truly known what it felt like to be held before she'd felt his hands on her back. She could have stayed like this forever.
But a sound from the party behind them broke the reverie of that embrace. Hestian pulled quickly away and Astrid was smart enough to imitate his rapidly adopted casual posture without asking why.
"There you two are!"
It was Mermesa, a little tipsy and clearly having a wonderful time. She leaned against the arch of balcony door to support herself.
"We were wondering where you had wandered off too! The party is just starting to wrap up. Come and have one last drink with us!"
Hestian hid his disappointment well, offering Astrid his arm.
"Shall we?" He asked.
"We shall." Astrid agreed, still a bit dizzy from the kiss. She took his arm and they glided back into the ballroom where most of the male guests had begun to filter out.
Only the women remained, still exchanging a few last all important pieces of information and one last drink while their escorts waited near the doors to see the
m home.
As they toasted they toasted the long health and happiness of the empire, Astrid remained close enough to Hestian that a casual motion let their shoulders brush, a quick graze of skin that kept them both warm and almost too aware of one another. As the women began to drift out of the room as well Aiopis caught Astrid's arm.
"Come on," She said, almost as tipsy as Mermesa, "Let's go back together. I want to show you this holo program before I fall asleep."
"I thought I might escort her back to her quarters," Hestian broke in as Astrid was trying to figure out how to politely decline, "If she would like me to that is."
He looked at her significantly and she glanced away, smiling at Aiopis.
"I think I'll stay a little longer," She said, "Hestian can see me back."
Aiopis looked confused for a moment, but then her eyes widened in understanding.
"Ooh, oh I see. Good, yes! Good! Have a fruitful evening!"
She stumbled off with the other Hesperides while Astrid hid her burning face in her hands. Hestian's hand on her shoulder helped her collect herself, and they wandered out of the party together a little later.
"I was thinking," Hestian said as he walked beside her, not quite holding hands though their fingers brushed with every step, "The Hesperides would not approve if I brought you into the arena but,"
He took her hand at last, lacing their fingers.
"There's an exercise room I use when I'd rather have my privacy. If you'd like to, you could train there. Perhaps we could even spar."
"I'd like that," Astrid agreed, smiling, "I'd need to adapt some of my moves to how ridiculously tall you are compared to my usual partners. But I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass."
"We'll just have to see about that," Hestian said, obviously confident he would win, "I'm one of the fiercest warriors in the Shining City."
"Even the fiercest warrior can't defend against a move he's never seen before," Astrid said, a dangerous glint in her eye and a mischievous smile on her face, "You've never even heard of my moves."
Alien Romance: Seized By The Alien: Scifi Alien Abduction Romance (Alien Romance, Alien Invasion Romance, BBW) (Celestial Protectors Book 1) Page 5