The Complete Alien's Bride

by Yamila Abraham

  Lisette stared at Matoranis hoping to see something in his face indicating compassion.

  Prax-Denay pointed to Elentinus. “Here’s your Lord Elentinus. My brother, Hor-Denay, is his manservant. He accepted castration in order to work for him. It always made me sick that he had to endure that.”

  Lisette bit her lower lip. Hor-Denay had encouraged her to marry Prax-Denay. She swallowed down this morsel of information. Why say something that might cause animosity between the brothers? Hor-Denay had obviously been naïve about the reality of the situation.

  “Lord Elentinus is the acting Viceroy of planet Earth in addition to a High Council member. He’ll be the one who decides your fate. His authority over you Earthlings is absolute. No one can challenge whatever decision he makes.”

  She felt a tiny swell of relief. “He…he’ll probably go easy on me.”

  “Not probably. Definitely. He’s famous for being compassionate.”

  Prax-Denay’s voice lacked all reassurance. Of course she wanted to know if the unborn child would be okay. Elentinus wouldn’t force her to abort if she didn’t want to, right?

  But the baby’s not an Earthling. Lisette cringed.

  “Um…Elentinus, I mean, if he knows I love you, won’t he go easy on you, too?”

  “Call him ‘Lord Elentinus.’ Omitting the titles of your betters is almost as severe a crime as blasphemy in our shallow society. If Lord Elentinus was the only man on this council he’d find a way to absolve me of all wrongdoing and let us live together with our children in peace back in this lab.”

  Lisette balled her hands against her chest. Her eyes welled with renewed tears.

  “But there are six other council members to outvote him, and they all despise him. Why do you think he hides floating around Earth’s orbit rather than living on our home world? If he stands up for us the rest of the council will vote for the harshest punishment just to spite him.”

  Her face crumbled.

  “Lord Elentinus will assert his rights over you since none of them can challenge him on that. He won’t intervene on my behalf. He’ll vote in the most compassionate way, but what the rest of the council decides will be final.”

  “Will Matoranis stand up for you?”

  Prax-Denay grumbled in consideration. “I don’t know. When I do good, such as creating the Instajant vaccine, it reflects positively on him. The same goes for when I do bad. I may have humiliated him. I don’t know how bigoted he and the rest of the High Council really are. All of them have castrated Etikens as servants.”

  Lisette felt stricken.

  “In our ancient history Etikens were portrayed as beasts who couldn’t control their sexual urges. The truth is, no Dak-Hiliah man does well at controlling his urges. The higher castes strove to pretend they were above base desires. Etikens were traditionally poor and uneducated. They had no need to pretend they had more control than what was true. Etikens had sex freely and frequently. Few were married. Few were monogamous. But there were no more Etiken rapists than there were rapists in the higher castes. That was a monstrous rumor based on bigoted assumptions.

  “The Etiken district was completely closed off from the rest of the planet. In ancient times, when communication was more difficult, that allowed the higher castes to imagine the worst kinds of monsters dwelling in the slums that their sewage and trash poured into. This was sensationalized by High Council hopefuls who wished to gain the public’s attention.

  “When a labor shortage required tapping into the Etiken workforce the tradition of castration began. Only a castrated Etiken man could be trusted with women of the higher castes. It’s been so for an eon. Even now, when we’re at the height of our sophistication, this hideous tradition is still the norm.”

  Lisette sighed.

  “I’ll do my best for both of us, Lisette. I wish I could promise things will be fine.” He swallowed. “I can’t.”

  “How long until they come for us?”

  He frowned. “I’m surprised we haven’t been taken away already. They must be waiting for Lord Elentinus to arrive from Earth.”

  Lisette placed her hand on his. “We have to…cherish…the time we have left.”

  Prax-Denay brought her fingers to his lips and kissed.

  He took her to bed and made love to her gently. Their bodies entwined and he kept his movements slow, savoring their connection. She was still wonderfully filled by his endowment. He gave her amnesia about their predicament by causing prickly twinges of ecstasy deep inside her. She stayed on the brink of orgasm while he caressed her and gave soft kisses to her neck. Her moan triggered him and he thrust with enough strength to bring them both to exquisite climaxes. After this he remained above her, still holding her with both arms.

  She knew he never wished to let her go.

  Armored robots, not unlike the Sentinel robots who would hunt escaped slaves back at her old colony, came into the building the next morning. The two were sharing a quiet breakfast in the kitchen. Neither gave signs of panic when they heard the loud clanging things enter. Lisette’s heart raced.

  “Prax-Denay and Lisette Bellamy, come with us.”

  They rose in unison to obey. The robots flanked them but did not touch them. Lisette thought their arrest would happen more dramatically. They were simply brought to a flying car and then switched into a larger craft at the space port. The three robots buckled them onto a bench seat, side by side, and sat across from them. Lisette looked at Prax-Denay. He wrapped an arm around her.

  The flight lasted long enough for her to fall asleep several hours. Prax-Denay nudged her just as they approached planet Fenterill. As with her previous flight, the greatest bump in the trip was while entering the atmosphere, after that the landing was soft.

  They disembarked in a spaceport far busier than the one she’d left. This time three dozen Dak-Hiliah men were intermixed with the hundreds of robots doing work. Lisette even believed she saw an elderly female.

  They were brought to a flying car that looked newer and more ornate than the one on Paggellatin. Now Lisette could see out the windows. It was as if she were looking at the same landscape on Paggellatin, except populated. There was no unruly vegetation to conquer derelict roads, nor crumbling walls with shattered glass. A few other vehicles flew across or below them. On the sidewalks were swarms of robots and several Dak-Hiliah. She even saw new construction being done by giant mechanized vehicles. There were skyscrapers with rounded corners and gleaming edifices which came together to create a stunning skyline. Beneath this was a massive dome with a sign that read ‘Hall of Governance.’ Their car landed in the lot before it.

  An effeminate Dak-Hiliah man stood waiting for them with his arms crossed. The robots brought them to him.

  “I’m Barrister Graw. Are you Prax-Denay?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see you lack shoulder horns. This is indicative of one from the Etiken caste. This is your caste, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  Lisette glanced at his smooth shoulders.

  “Very good.” The barrister took out a thin tablet and tapped on it for several moments. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Lisette. “Is this Lisette Bellamy?”

  “Yes,” Prax-Denay said.

  “Is she pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is it yours?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  “Very good. So none of the facts of this matter are in dispute.” Graw focused on his tablet. “Prax-Denay, of the Etiken caste, you have been accused of blasphemy against the druid Archment by defying his explicit decree that Etikens may not breed outside their caste.” He looked up at them. “The High Council wishes for both you and the human woman to appear before them. I shall bring you now.”

  With that he led them and their robot escorts up the short steps to the forbidding doors of the hall.

  The walk down the massive open corridors would be a blur in Lisette’s memory. She found herself and Prax-Denay standing in a shallow ro
und pit with the massive chairs of the seven High Council members looming high above them. There was an audience area behind them that could seat several thousand. Only a few chairs were occupied. Lisette vaguely recalled seeing Jorenkis and his cohorts (except for Tiltawhirl) in the seats as they entered. The crest of the building’s dome appeared to ascend a mile above them. Lisette felt small. She was sure this was intentional.

  In the raised seats before her she saw the council members Prax-Denay had shown her on the console. Each chair, which had black stone backs as tall church steeples, had a number engraved in the desk before it. Elentinus sat at number three. Matoranis sat at number seven. The seats were not arranged in numeric order. Number one was in the middle directly before her and was higher than all the rest.

  Barrister Graw went to a podium in front of them. “Honorable High Council, I bring before you Prax-Denay, an Etiken, and Lisette Belamy, a human from Earth. I have confirmed with the accused the facts which bring him before you. Prax-Denay admits he has impregnated this woman, who is not of his caste, and has thereby committed blasphemy against the Druid Archment.”

  “Very good, Barrister Graw,” said number one. “I believe you may go. If the accused has not denied his charges then there’s no need for you to speak on his behalf.”

  Graw bowed deeply. “Yes, my lords.” He exited the circle.

  Prax-Denay stepped up to the podium (where there was apparently some kind of microphone hidden inside). Lisette moved to stand beside him. Her husband was looking up at the council with a face devoid of emotion. If she was not so in tune with him she wouldn’t have known he was terrified.

  “Maybe we can settle the matter with the human first,” number one said, while turning to Elentinus. “Elentinus?”

  “Lisette,” Elentinus said.

  She stepped forward to have a clear view of him past Prax-Denay.

  “I realize this is a most uncomfortable setting, but I must ask you, did you choose to lie with Prax-Denay?”

  “Yes.” She’d wanted to shout it, but her voice was barely a squeak. She swallowed down a lump and braced herself to try again. “He’s my husband and I love him.”

  Prax-Denay gave her a tender glance.

  Elentinus appeared unmoved. “So. You wish to stay with him.”

  “Yes!”

  “That’s not an option,” number five, a rotund middle-aged man whom Lisette remembered from her lesson to be Lord Nayjoor, said. “The penalty for blasphemy is death.”

  Lisette began to cry. Prax-Denay put his arm around her.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Lisette looked up just before her glasses fogged. This was Matoranis speaking.

  “The penalty for blasphemy is what we decide for it to be. Kindly remember that this is the scientist who discovered the Instajant vaccine.”

  “Are you saying he deserves a pass on this crime because of his contribution to our society?” number one said with neither disdain nor enthusiasm.

  Nayjoor scoffed.

  “I would have us continue to discuss the matter,” Matoranis said, “but can we no longer speak of execution? He deserves at least that.”

  “We shall not impose a sentence of execution on Prax-Denay,” number one said. “Agreed?”

  All the numbers, except 5, lit up and chimed. Number one looked around and then fixed his gaze on Nayjoor. The older man grumbled and pounded an obscured button on his desk. His number chimed and lit up.

  “What do you feel needs to be discussed, Matoranis?” number one said.

  “Oh? Have I the floor?”

  Number one bowed his head.

  “What in the name of the gods were you thinking, Prax-Denay!” Matoranis said. “You’ve had a glorious career. The work you’ve been doing lately has been exceptional. Why would you jeopardize things in this way?”

  Prax-Denay lowered his head. “I fell in love with her.”

  “You’ve no right to be in love with her!”

  “I know.”

  “These human women are so cunning,” Nayjoor said. “She probably tempted him in order to destroy him.”

  “Watch your tongue,” Elentinus said. “Lisette was an obedient slave, keen to please her masters. She had no such aspirations.”

  “No,” Lisette said through her tears. Everyone fell silent to look at her. She didn’t realize her soft cry had been heard.

  Prax-Denay moved aside from the podium. She hesitantly took his place.

  “He told me…he told me we could only…only be colleagues. He told me about his caste and that if he was caught in a…relationship…with me, that he’d be castrated. But I…I still kissed him, when he was trying to resist. I convinced him…to risk everything. I’m the one…the one responsible.”

  “No,” Prax-Denay said softly.

  Nayjoor gestured to her in disgust. “She admits it.”

  “Who among us,” number two said, “would resist such a lovely woman if she pursued us?”

  There were murmurs of affirmation.

  “I wish to assert,” Elentinus said, “that she was ignorant of what the Etiken caste truly is. She saw a fine scientist before her, not a slum dweller. She could not have understood the taboo of pursuing someone from his caste.”

  “Slum dweller!” Matoranis said. “How dare you, Elentinus. That’s such blatant bigotry. Does not his own brother work as your manservant? My gods…the man gave us a vaccine that saved our entire race from extinction. What more does he have to do to prove himself?” He cleared his throat and rose from his seat. “Fellow council members, if we were to pick one Etiken out of the entire race whom we felt worthy of a bride, would it not be this man before us? And, that said, do we intend on allowing the Etiken race to go extinct? If they’re not permitted to breed with the humans their race will die off in scarcely two generations. Many of our people claim to be pleased with this—that they’re a blight on our society. These same people would certainly never do the work the Etiken do for us. Not all of them can be replaced by robots. I say, let Prax-Denay keep his human bride and be allowed to breed with her.”

  Lisette gasped with joy. Prax-Denay hugged her against him.

  Number two thumped a long scepter on the floor, which seemed to be their version of clapping. Matoranis righted the armor attached to his dark mesh garb and sat.

  “Are we prepared to vote on this?” number one said.

  “Absolutely not,” Elentinus said. “It’s blasphemy.”

  Matoranis scoffed. Nayjoor sneered at Elentinus.

  “You may state your argument Elentinus,” number one said.

  “It is our lot to follow the will of the druid in the highest seat no matter what the cost. Even if that cost is the extinction of one of our races. Druid Archment decreed that Etikens may not breed with those outside their caste. If we pardon Prax-Denay we set a precedent which will make all humans part of the Etiken caste. My dear wife Maritza is not a member of the lowliest caste of our society.”

  “You’re behaving unusually repulsive today, Elentinus,” Matoranis said.

  “My devotion to our faith is not unusual.” He turned away from them. “The love I have for my wife is well known also. She is not an Etiken. Therefore, neither is this woman.”

  “I’m an Etiken by marriage!”

  Three of the council members gasped.

  Number four clapped his hands together. The elderly man wore a gleeful expression. “An exception!”

  Number one and two laughed with him as though this were a private joke.

  “Yes, you see,” number four said, “the humans aren’t of any caste, but surely they can marry into a caste.” He looked around at them. “If we don’t allow this then the Etiken will go extinct. It’s no longer blasphemy if we allow humans to marry into a caste.”

  “I’m putting this to a vote,” number one said.

  “Wait,” Elentinus said.

  “Shut up, Elentinus,” Nayjoor said.

  “Humans shall be allowed to marry into the Etik
en caste. Agreed?”

  Numbers 1, 4, and 7 (Matoranis) lit up at once. Then 2 and 6. Elentinus was leaning back with his arms crossed. Nayjoor sneered at him and hit his button to light up number 3. The moment he did Elentinus jolted forward and hit his own button.

  “Well,” number one said with a raised brow. “It seems it’s unanimous. Humans shall be allowed to marry into the Etiken caste. This decision shall be retroactive to allow Prax-Denay’s marriage.”

  Lisette leapt into his arms with a squeal of joy. Prax-Denay hugged her off her feet and spun with her. His face became wet with tears. Lisette was so happy she couldn’t stop laughing.

  “If there are no other matters than we shall adjourn,” number one said.

  “I have one more matter,” Elentinus said.

  “Oh, please,” Nayjoor said.

  “What is it?” number one said with a twinge of annoyance.

  “Since human women are by and large our only remaining breeding partners, and since this council has just made it legal for those human women to marry into the Etiken caste…”

  “Get to your point, if you please,” Matoranis said.

  “I would like Etiken castration to be outlawed.”

  The others looked at him in shock.

  “It is no longer necessary to continue the practice to ensure the druid Archment’s decree is followed. It’s barbaric and should have ended centuries ago. It would be asinine to continue doing something so vile and damaging to our fellow Dak-Hiliah just for the sake of tradition.”

  “Oh gods, yes,” Prax-Denay whispered.

  Number one blinked a few times. He leaned back. “I see your game, Elentinus.”

  “We all do,” Nayjoor said. His face had darkened with anger.

  “If you object to my proposal then state a valid reason why.”

  The cheery council member at number four perked up. “Well, I can think of one reason. Eak-Rizot is going to be fuming mad that the next guy who has his job gets to keep his scoligel.”