One of the women picked up a bowl and poured the contents into the water, immediately changing the shade of the bath to a light pink that seemed to shimmer with touches of gold. A velvety, sultry scent touched her nose and she took a deep breath to fill her lungs with it. Her head swam slightly with the effect and she felt her body starting to relax into the hot water. Another of the women picked up what looked like a complex pitcher, used one hand to carefully tilt Layla's head back, and poured more water back over her hair. This seemed to be some kind of beginning for the other women, who started moving around her, picking up bottles and vessels, and bathing her quietly. She let them lift her arms to wash them as the woman with the pitcher cleansed her hair. After several minutes she felt brave enough to speak again.
"Who is Jiri?"
The first woman smiled at her again.
"He is the youngest prince."
"The youngest prince? Of where?" she asked.
"Of this planet."
The answers were so vague and delivered with such soft, unassuming tones that they sounded almost like riddles.
"What do you mean this planet?"
Just as the words came out of her mouth, Layla noticed that the sleeve of one of the women's robes had lifted away from her wrist as she poured water over Layla's shoulder, revealing what looked like large glowing gems embedded in the flesh of the inside of her lower arm. Layla grabbed her wrist before she could move her hand away and turned the woman's arm over so that she could look at the gems more closely.
"What are these?" she asked.
She saw the women exchange glances.
"Do you know where you are?" the woman asked her.
"No. I can't even remember where I was before I was brought here."
The women looked at each other again and Layla could see something in their glances that told her that something had happened that was even more serious than she had originally thought.
"Should we tell her?" one of the women asked.
"Tell me what?" Layla demanded, "Who are you? Where are we? What has happened?"
The questions poured out of her in rapid-fire succession and she felt like she was screaming in contrast to the consistent, even quiet of the women. There were a few more seconds of silent tension before the woman who had first spoken to her looked back at her.
"You are in Orion's Belt."
Chapter Three
Layla stared at the woman, waiting for her to say more, but she didn't continue.
"Orion's Belt?" Layla asked, her voice quieting, "Like the constellation Orion?"
The woman nodded.
"The constellation, yes."
"I don't understand."
"People of Earth think that they understand everything about what they see through their telescopes. In reality, there are whole worlds that they look right at and never actually see. This is one of them."
Layla tried to process what the woman had just said to her. Her mind was spinning and she was having difficulty making her thoughts cohesive. It wasn't until the woman grasped her hand and gently pulled it off of the other woman's arm that she realized she was still gripping it tightly.
"These are star stones. We are born with them. Their size and shape correspond with the patterns of the stars the day we are born and throughout our lives they show our thoughts, emotions, and needs."
"Who are you?" Layla asked, her voice falling to a whisper.
"My name is Sylan. And you are Layla?"
"Yes." Layla was startled that the woman had said her name so casually, as if it was not unusual that she knew it, "How did you know that?"
Sylan smiled and reached for another small vessel on a table beside the tub.
"Jiri chose you," she said, tipping the vessel to pour another sweet-smelling liquid into the bath.
Layla watched as the liquid swirled through the pink water, adding ribbons of lavender and soft silver sparkles. She looked up at Sylan quizzically.
"He chose me?" she asked.
"Yes. You must be very special. I have never heard of a prince choosing a human woman before."
Layla paused before she asked her next question. She felt that the answer could be something that would change her life, and after she heard it she would never be able to go back to before she had. Finally she took a breath.
"What did he choose me for?"
"The princes are warriors and they need special care. We care for them when they return from official duties or from battle."
"Each of you takes care of a prince?"
"Yes. Each prince is given a nurturer of his choice when he comes of age. As the youngest, Jiri was the last of the princes to choose his nurturer."
"How did he choose me?"
She wanted to say if we are from different planets but she was already having a difficult enough time comprehending that she had not just been kidnapped, but kidnapped by an extraterrestrial species that had brought her away from her planet to one that she didn't even know existed. Saying it would have forced her to acknowledge it, and she was not yet prepared to do that.
"He's been watching you. Our men often visit your planet for recreation and on his last visit, he saw you."
"Where?"
"I do not know," Sylan said, suddenly looking uncomfortable, "I have already told you more than I likely should have. We do not talk with the princes. We are tasked to care for them, and that is all. I overheard Prez talking to his brothers one night when I was preparing his bath for him. I should not have listened."
She looked suddenly terrified and Layla got a knot in her stomach. Sylan obviously feared the prince who she was tasked to nurture, and perhaps the others as well. That meant that Layla might need to be afraid of the man who had chosen her. The women looked so calm and content, but Layla wondered if that was because they weren't near the princes at that moment.
"I won't tell anyone," she assured her and Layla saw Sylan give a shaky smile, "What do I do to…nurture him?"
"Help him with his needs. Feed him, massage him, tend to him whenever he needs you. You will eventually learn to anticipate what he needs and wants before he asks for it. That is a good thing. It is easier for the princes to never want for anything."
"Come on," another of the women said, "Jiri has been expecting her. We do not want to keep him waiting."
At that, the women began to move more quickly, finishing washing Layla's body and then helping her out of the tub to carefully dry her with soft, plush towels. They spent a few minutes styling her hair in the braids that the others wore and using soft powders and creams to apply color to her lips and eyes. Finally they dressed her in little more than lingerie and wrapped a purple robe like theirs around her. She was one of them now, a part of a people that she didn't know or understand, struggling to remember what she had left behind and terrified of what might await her in her future.
When they deemed her ready, the women guided her back down the steps away from the tub and through the mirrored room to a door on the back wall. Sylan opened the door and gently pushed Layla through it into a long, narrow white hallway.
"This is Jiri's wing. We are not allowed to step in with you. He may be in any of the rooms, but they generally like the ones at the end of the hall the best. Find him and he will let you know what he needs."
Layla's eyes drifted down to Sylan's arms and saw a faint red glow emanating from the cuffs of her sleeves.
"What does the red light mean?" she asked.
Sylan looked up at her and for the first time the woman's face looked sad.
"Fear."
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About the Author Ruth Anne Scott
Ruth Anne Scott was born and raised in the Shire of Middle America (otherwise known as Telluride, CO) and spend her childhood hiking, sightseeing, and exploring the wilderness around. As a young dreamer and creator her favorite pastime was and still is to
sit on the moss covered banks of San Miguel river to write and create her fantasy worlds.
As a postgraduate she spent much of her adult life working at Amnesty International, doing research into women's rights abuses around the world. Ruth continued to write fantasy as a means to escape the harsh realities of the world around her.
This is the reason Ruth likes to incorporate strong and savvy women in her fantasy works.
The boring part: Now a full time author and artist, Ruth can usually be found hunched over a keyboard or tablet, frantically trying to get the images and words in her head out and onto the screen before they drive her mad. She's addicted to coffee and can be found at the local coffee shops :)
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Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
The Chosen Ones
A Sci-Fi Romance Saga
Complete Series (Books 1 – 4)
By: Ruth Anne Scott
Glossary
Species: Noxium (nox-e-um). Noxium is a humanoid species that aren’t much different than humans. Only they have some special abilities, and their skin is covered with intricate tattoos. Each Noxium receives their mark when they come into their powers. They are separated into pods that have the same or similar powers. After their planet begins to disintegrate, they save themselves and land on Earth. At first Earth isn’t accepting, until they realize they can benefit from the Noxiums. They are provided their own territories and Humans and Noxiums are in a sense segregated.
Home Planet: Suaro (su-ar-o). This series is going to take place on earth in the South Sector which is more of the “neutral” grounds.
Hero is a Noxium. They don’t age the same way as humans. For every 10 human years he ages one. So he is 8, and a Noxi (Singular form) which is still young, but powers start between ages 4-14 depending on the Noxi.
Wyser (Y-zer): 6’2”, Pale blue eyes very light and contrasts against his dark skin. Straight black hair, but he has random places of pure white hair. He keeps it cut choppy and medium in length. His tattoos run from behind his left ear, down his neck and over the left side of his chest and ends right below his waist line. He’s built strong. Wide shoulders. He’s got the abs all women drool over. No body hair, except on the head (a Noxi thing).
Heroine is a human woman. The Noxiums came to Earth when she was about 10. Now she is 19.
Hannah Nichols: 19 year old college student. She loves her dad but she is sick of all his hate and needs to break free. She is about 5’9. Fairly muscular. She’s a runner, does track on the college team. She knows all sorts of Mixed Martial Arts and is trained in self-defense.
Contents
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Chapter 1
Hannah
I stood and took a deep breath. It was getting pretty annoying waiting for the damn boy to move the hell out of the way. He acted like he owned the place because his daddy was on the alumni board. What about my daddy? He kept snotty little boys like him safe from Noxiums. I fisted my hands and stormed over to him. He barely glanced in my direction before he saw me as no threat.
“Excuse me,” I said using the manners Daddy taught me.
He waved me off like I was some annoying fly buzzing around him and went back to bullying the boy.
I huffed letting my frustration show. “Excuse me, asshole.” I said poking my bony finger into his tense muscle. Daddy taught me to be polite, not patient.
His eyes glanced to mine and he smirked. I knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing all boys thought about me, until I showed them I was no Pollyanna, and the smile fell right from his face when I skipped the intros and punched him right in the nose. He fell to the ground covering his bloody nose and cursed me.
I shrugged and used my boot to kick him in the ribs. “You really shouldn’t ignore me,” I said smiling sweetly. Then I laid my hand on the other boy’s arm. “Are you okay?”
“Thank you,” he said and sprinted off as if he feared his good fortune wouldn’t last.
The other boy looked at me like I lost my mind. Maybe I had, but growing up in a home full of hate, I refused to deal with it here in my haven. No one batted a lash at the fallen boy with blood gushing from his nose. “Next time try not to bully someone in front of me. Better yet, keep your damn hands to yourself, and I’ll leave you alone. But for now, I’m watching you…”
His face paled and he nodded before backing away from me. When I spun to head back to my original destination there was a crowd. They applauded and whistled. I wouldn’t lie, I was an attention whore sometimes, and like a lady I bowed. That only increased the clapping, and I strutted through the crowd of people who had most likely been on the other side of that boy’s bullying. One girl gripped my wrist, and normally I didn’t like to be touched, but I felt the desperation in her icy fingers.
“Thank you,” she said timidly.
I looked at her and saw the fading black eye and narrowed my eyes. “I should have hit him harder.”
She shook her head and gave me a watery smile. I swore I’d find him again and when I did, he was going to pay.
The school buzzed with excitement and so many other emotions I couldn’t think. The new law passed and Noxiums were allowed to attend college now. I didn’t think it was a good idea and planned to keep my distance. I didn’t like them, but I had my own reasons for that, but if they wanted to learn who was I to tell them no? Daddy was calling my phone, and I answered rolling my eyes as soon as I heard his tone.
“I’m coming to get you, Hannah. I don’t want you in school with those things.” I’d been expecting his call all morning, and I already had my speech ready. I wasn’t going home. I loved being away from him and the hate too much.
“No Daddy, I love it here, and I know how to take care of myself. Plus you’ll need more eyes now. I can do that here and keep going to school.” He went silent, and I knew my plan worked. He liked the idea of using me as a spy.
“Alright baby girl, but if it’s too much you let me know. Try to get close. Learn what you can.”
“Like undercover?” I asked in a girlish voice. I liked to make people think I was stupider than I was. No one really knew how intelligent I was, and that was the way I planned to keep it. Most saw me as a little girl who was going to follow in her daddy’s footsteps. I planned to break away from it all. This was just the start of my freedom.
“Exactly baby girl,” he replied, and I heard the happiness in his tone. He thought he had me wrapped around his finger. Sure I didn’t like Noxiums, but I wouldn’t make them my life. I had better things to do besides worry about what they were doing. They’d been here since I was ten. It was normal.
I smiled and shoved my phone back in my pocket and glanced around when I felt eyes on me. By the tree a couple feet from me, there was a boy. No, not a boy, but a Noxi. He stared at me with such intensity that I shivered. He smirked and tipped his head. Apparently he listened to my whole conversation. I frowned. “That’s not very polite.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back unaffected by my tone. “It’s not polit
e to lie either, especially to your ‘Daddy’.”
I glared and stormed away. Looked like the Noxiums were already on campus and apparently they had very good hearing. That was something I needed to remember.
I felt his eyes on me and my back stiffened. Boys watched me all the time, like I was some piece of meat, and I hated it. It was why I didn’t date. I didn’t like the way they leered at me like I was just something they could try to get into bed. If I ever fell for a boy it would be because he saw what was inside and didn’t base his attraction solely on my looks.
I picked up my pace realizing my detour had made me late for class. I looked over my shoulder, and the boy was still watching me. Now he didn’t seem so unaffected. I sent a glare over my shoulder before I jogged to my class. Kicking ass took time, and I couldn’t afford to be late again. The professor had already given me a few warnings. I couldn’t help his class was clear across campus. But no excuses.
Chapter 2
Wyser
I chuckled after she turned and ran away. Her glare did nothing to me, not the way she thought it would. It was amusing more than anything, but she was smokin’. I was going to enjoy my time at Appleton University or AU as I’d heard it referred to. I’d never seen so many scantily dressed females in my life. Where I came from, women kept their bodies covered. Legs and boobs were for their mates only, not the whole world to see. I’d been here for years, but had never gotten used to how different humans were. I loved summer though. It was the best time of the year.
Abducted by Aliens (Tales From Angondra Book 1) Page 43