by Sky Winters
Valerie blushed and bit her lips. “I just went for a walk.”
“Men in Masawa never just take woman in night on walk. There was something more,” Naresh told her and giggled. “Malek is strong, and good leader; he will make good mate.”
“Who said anything about a mate?” Valerie asked.
“It true,” Willow chimed in. “Many women in Masawa, but Malek choose you. It is a good thing,” she said and smiled. “You will not feel bad after you go with him.” She looked at Naresh and both women started giggling.
“What’s going? What did I miss?” Valerie asked.
“When he takes his thing and put it here in your…” Willow began.
“Oh, I get it,” Valerie said and stopped the woman before she got even more embarrassed.
“Malek tall and strong,” Naresh teased. “Make him drink green root tea and you make baby, first time,” Willow added.
“How is it you aren’t jealous that he would want me and not another woman from the village?” Valerie asked. “I would be offended if it were me in your positions. Neither of you are married either.”
“True,” Naresh replied. “But you can’t force man to take you. When right one comes, then you know. We know Malek for you when you come. We see how his eyes get black when he looks at you.”
Valerie did not always understand their language, in as much as she had to clarify some things to them whenever she spoke. But she knew enough, by context, to fully understand their childlike innocence and generosity, and what it meant when they mentioned Malek’s eyes growing black. Did he really feel for her as much?
“You take to our ways very easy,” Naresh told her. “You would make good leader too.”
“Wait, what leader?” Valerie asked, not fully understanding what they were saying now.
“You and Malek,” Willow said.
And then it registered. If she and Malek were mates, then she would be the woman all women in the tribe looked up to. Right away she felt the weight of the responsibility resting on her, and she looked to them for emotional support. Their smiles seemed to do the trick, and Valerie smiled in return, but she wasn’t sure if it was out of happiness, anxiety or relief, that she was in a place where she was respected by all. she blinked rapidly as if to wake up, but when she trained her eyes again, she saw them looking and smiling still, and already so expectant.
CHAPTER 7
Time passed by much differently on Planet Xenon than it did on Earth, and by the time Valerie realized, she was already months into her new life. It felt natural to her, and even more so the longer she spent with Malek. He took her to the river, on what she termed dates, and which amused him incredibly. They were on one such date, at a little spot by the waterfall, the soothing sounds of the flow creating a gentle ambience. They were sitting on a piece of canvas, and Malek had his arms around her.
“I didn’t even know there was another planet in the Solar System,” she said as she curled up against him.
“We always knew there were others out there, but we have never had the pleasure to travel anywhere. It has been said that some of the Yacuza, the people who live in the city, they have travelled to distant planets. I heard that when I went to study there for a while.”
“Didn’t you ever want to though? I’m sure if I knew there were other worlds I’d want to go.” She shifted so that she could be more comfortable next to him, and he smoothed her hair that fell flat against her forehead.
“Wanting to do something and actually being able to are different things. Not everyone gets the chance to go into space.”
“So, there are more like you out there? Other worlds?” Valerie was growing more fascinated with the idea that Earth had not been the only planet all along.
“I guess,” he said. “But no more of that talk now,” he said and lowered his head to kiss her on the forehead.
Valerie sighed contentedly, and leaned in closer to him. “What else did you have in mind?” she asked playfully.
She felt his grip tighten on her, and it didn’t take long to understand just what he was about. He kissed her temple and smoothed her hair, and she closed her eyes as her heart raced in anticipation of what was about to happen. His lips, as warm as a summer’s day, and as gentle as the waters that flowed not too far from them, travelled down her face, until he buried his head in her enclave. Valerie shuddered, and he stopped to ensure she was alright. She smiled at his patience and gentleness, and held her head back to allow him room. His left hand held her firmly around the middle as his other stroked her stomach, kneading her flesh and moving slowly upwards until he cupped breasts that were ripe and ready.
Then, slowly he rose and rested her against the canvas, and hovered above her, with the moon as his light and the stars making their own showy display of brilliance. Valerie’s chest heaved, and though she was nervous, her body called to him, and for each time he touched her, she trembled. He removed the dress he wore, and in one fluid motion he tossed it aside and stood before her, his bronze skin appearing anything but that in the silvery glow of the moon. She held out her hands for him, and he knelt before her and removed her clothing. When he came down before her again, he found the hard surface of her taut nipples, as goose pimples lined her entire frame. He suckled her breast, and tasted every part of her, crisscrossing her ample frame and not seeming to get enough.
On his return trip, when his mouth came down over her breast, Valerie gripped his head and kept him there as she heaved and panted. It had been a while since she felt a man take control of her body, and she surrendered to this strange creature on a planet she had wandered onto. Her hands groped at him in the dark, and she felt his firm chest, her hands splayed and she dug hard into him. He let out a howl, and then his eyes grew red with passion. His manhood, waving uncontrollably, too eager to taste of this beauty, became too hard for him to control. He held onto it and with unsteady hands, guided it inside her. Her breathing intensified then, in the same measure as his, and she jerked as she felt him fill her up.
She tried to push him off, anxious that her experience with the average man had not physically prepared her for him, but he eased into her, using her natural lubricant to aid him, and then he buried himself deeper. Valerie wrapped her feet around him, now comfortable with his size, and urged him deeper. He was slow to respond at first, but his speed increased with his heartrate, and soon their howls and moans challenged the sounds of the jungle. Valerie dug her nails deeper into his taut buttock cheeks, keeping him inside her until she felt her hot fluid spilling over him. He paused, as if he had never experienced that before, and then he pounded. Her body rocked as he rolled her around on his member, and when he felt his own passion coming to a climax, he bellowed and let ring a sound so loud it awakened the creatures.
Malek gripped her, and under the light of the moon, he filled her with everything she had always needed, but had never gotten. When it was all over, he fell on his back, his body appearing as if painted, and she leaned over on her elbows and watched him. Her shivering drew his attention, and he quickly covered her with the clothing they wore before. Then he pulled her into his arms, and the heat radiating from him caused her to sweat profusely. He didn’t fall asleep afterwards, as she had grown accustomed to. He held her there, and they talked about her world and his, and he played with her hair as she did his now flaccid self.
Not long after, she saw a sly grin on his face, and in the wee hours of the morning, unbeknown to the world around them, they got lost in another round of making jungle music.
CHAPTER 8
Everything was euphoric for Valerie and she comfortably settled into what quickly became life as usual in Masawa. She had all but forgotten that she was in a strange place she wasn’t altogether intimate with as yet, so when she decided to go exploring in the jungle alone, something she had seen others do before, she didn’t anticipate that she would be in any danger. Her smile was as bright as the sun itself, and she walked along the trail, her hands running over the larg
e leaved plants that surrounded her. she listened to the sounds of the animals as they scurried about, getting lost in the natural trance that pervaded the place.
She was so caught up in the moment she did not hear when the jungle grew still, until the threat was immediately upon her. She heard something snap behind her, and when she turned, she fell backwards as something pummeled into her. she scrambled to her feet, just in time to see three women bear down on her, armed and gnarling like rabid animals. She staggered backwards, her arms thrashing about as she tried to hold onto something.
“What is this?” she managed to ask. She had seen them before, sometimes at the river, but they had never exchanged words.
“You come to our home. Take our man. Not right,” one of them screeched. “We make you go back.”
“No,” Valerie said as she started to move back. “Your people wanted me here. Malek wants me here. I didn’t come here to cause any trouble.” She was growing more frightened by the minute, and she tried to delay what she thought to be her inevitable demise. She did not know how to fight, and the women were trained and angry.
“What if Malek find out?” one of them turned to the others and asked. “He punish us.”
“We tell him she run off and get eaten by wild animals. Plenty in the jungle,” the other said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“You don’t want to do that,” Valerie pleaded. Everything in her mind was a muddle of confusion, and she stared into the faces of the people she had angered. “I didn’t choose to come here, and I didn’t choose to be with him. If there was a way home I’d take it, but there is none. So, I am stuck here.”
“No matter,” the first said, and she walked over to her with the stick poised to enter Valerie’s shivering body. “We don’t want you here.”
“Wait!” Valerie screamed and her hands shot up before her. “Please.” She was crying now, and she was shaking as she imagined what they might do to her. But she wasn’t about to stay there either to find out. As soon as she saw an opening she started running. She heard them tearing through the trees, twigs and brambles in their pursuit of her, and when she felt them closing in on her, she screamed.
Just then Malek emerged from a clump of trees to her right, and she veered in his direction, stumbling into his path as she raced to the safety and protection of his arms.
“What is going on?” he asked when he saw Valerie stumble before him. The women who were hot on her trail halted.
“We play with her,” the outspoken woman said.
“This doesn’t look like play,” Malek said and hopped from the Tsar. He stooped and helped Valerie to her feet.
Valerie was shocked at first, that the women would tell Malek they were playing and not actually trying to kill her. But then she stopped and looked at their faces, and even now they seemed more afraid than she was. She had never seen a villager punished before, but she could only assume it was terrible enough to drive fear into the lot of them.
“Is that true Valerie?” he asked her. She nodded affirmatively, and brushed off her clothes. “Are you sure? I heard you scream.”
“I’m sure. I was just out walking and saw something that scared me. That’s all,” she told him and smiled. Malek did not believe that was all there was to it, but he only had her word to go on.
“Alright. Would you like to ride with me?” he asked her.
She thought about that, and of the possibility that they could continue with their earlier plans if she were to remain; it would be ludicrous not to accept his offer. “Sure,” she told him, and he lifted her onto the animal and then hopped on after her.
In all the time Valerie had been in Masawa, she had never faced as much aggression as she had that day. She wasn’t sure whether or not it would be good for her to tell Malek what happened, so the women could be punished, but how would that help her? How would the others view her after that? Even though she was the victim, she would seem like the aggressor.
She was still contemplating what to do later that day when she saw one of the women approach her. It was the one who had pointed the stake at her, and Valerie tensed and drifted closer to the hut when she saw the woman getting closer.
“No need to be afraid,” she told her when she got to her. she folded her arms and looked around the village at the other people walking around and getting involved. “Why you not tell Malek what we do?”
“I don’t know what he would have done, and you looked terrified, so I didn’t. I get that I don’t belong here, and I’m not trying to take anyone’s place, but I did not ask for this,” Valerie said and brushed away a tear that was rolling down her cheek.
The woman smiled and went over to Valerie. “It ok,” she told her and rested her hand on her shoulder. “You ok.” Then she turned and walked away.
Valerie felt the weight of a thousand anchors lift from her shoulders, and her heart warmed when she saw Malek walking towards her. He got to her and swept her up in his arms, and without warning he kissed her, fiercely and passionately, as he was wont to do on occasion, and then everything else was forgotten.
CHAPTER 9
Malek stood and watched as the women readied Valerie for the ceremony. She was beautiful to him, and the people loved her. He had been waiting for the right woman for the longest while, and for quite some time he thought he never would. He had resigned himself to a long and lonely life, or to relocate to the Yacuza, abandoning his people in the process, in the hopes of finding love. He was still contemplating his options when he stumbled upon this strange creature in the jungle of Tundra. At first he had been alarmed, and frightened of her, until he realized she was more so of him. He had been fascinated by her difference, and over time, her complete beauty. Now as he stood waiting for her to be escorted to him, he felt nothing but pride, and nothing of treason.
“Malek,” he heard someone call from behind.
He turned and smiled when he saw Master Shakh approaching. “Right on time,” he said and hugged his elder.
“Wouldn’t miss union of Earth woman with Xenon man,” he said and grinned. “She make good leader with Malek.”
“I think so too,” Malek said and looked over at Valerie who had just raised her head. She was fully clad in white, and the smile she wore was her only accompanying accessory.
“If she stay,” Master Shakh continued.
Malek creased his brow and turned to the man. “What do you mean ‘if she stay’? We become one today; she already chose to stay.”
“But that was before discovery was made,” Shakh told Malek.
“What discovery?” Malek asked. He felt his heart rate increase suddenly, and it thumped against the wall of his chest, the sound reverberating within him he could feel his temples quake.
“When she first came, woman wanted to return to Earth. She came here not of free will. She chose to stay maybe because she thought no way back. Shakh discover way back in three moons.”
Malek heard what Master Shakh was saying, but he refused to accept it. He looked back at the woman being led to him, and in that moment his fear was greater than his love. “Must we tell her about it?”
“Shame on you Malek. You are noble one. It is the only thing to do,” he said and smiled as Valerie got to them. “Now, let us continue.”
Malek stood next to Valerie, in the moment he should have been enjoying the ceremony, with his mind everywhere but there. He was afraid she would seize the opportunity and leave, but as the wise one had said, it was not his choice to make; there was only one course to take.
“Wait,” he said. He sighed and stared at the ground and then turned to Valerie.
“What is it?” She had been the victim of cold rejection before and she was not prepared for a second dose.
He stroked her face and gave her a half smile. “I’m afraid I must tell you something.” She looked at him expectantly, reminding him of a wild animal trapped in a snare. “Master Shakh just gave me some great news. It seems the gateway to Earth will be re-opened three moons
from now.”
Valerie’s eyes popped as she thought about the implications. She could return home, and to a life she had…her thoughts fell flat there. It didn’t take long for the smile that had begun to form to wipe itself into obscurity. She looked at Malek, and saw the sadness in him, but she knew she would not be able to decide right then what the right course was.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to return home,” she whispered and let go of his hand. “At nights I dreamed of it, when I just got here. I…I…”
“It’s alright Valerie,” Malek told her. “I won’t keep you here if you want to return home. It is understandable.”
“I can’t do this right now,” she said, and then she turned and walked away.
The gathering parted as she did, and Malek stood there next to Master Shakh as he watched her walk away. His heart cried out, but there was no way to appease it. He felt Shakh’s hand on his shoulder then.
“Be strong great warrior; the day has just started, and it is long. Many things happen before sun sets,” he told him, and then he walked off with the rest of the village with him.
Malek heard what the old man said, but he found it hard to believe in it now. He wanted to get angry at himself, for falling in love with a dream. Of course she would want to return home; he would if he ever wandered onto a strange planet with strange people. So he would never deny her the chance of returning. With his head held down, he trudged to his tent, his heart a hundred degrees below the point it had been only a few minutes ago.
When he got there she was waiting for him, and she came forward to meet him. “I don’t know what to do,” she cried.
He held her, squeezing her to him, and he felt her tremble against him. “Don’t worry. We will figure it out together,” he told her. He felt the emotion well up inside him in the same way he suspected it was consuming her, and not knowing what else to do, he held her head back and kissed her, so that everything else would be still.
CHAPTER 10
Valerie and Malek spent the next few weeks acting as if the moons would not pass, and that their future was not hanging by a thread. They lived as they had before, with Valerie not making a decision in either direction. Until the day before the gateway would reappear.