by Maia Starr
“I was just in my room,” I said, not wanting to give up my secret hiding spot.
“Lazy human! I will be sure to tell father, and you shall be punished,” Maris added in.
“You summoned me for a purpose?” I quietly asked, wishing to walk away as soon as possible.
"We have been invited to the Stanis Trials tomorrow. We shall both need gold and silver ribbons for our hair. Go into market and fetch some. Be quick about it!" Soko shouted at me.
I nodded and was glad to be sent on an errand into the city streets. I liked going to the market; it was the one place where I didn't have someone shouting at me constantly. I could be free, if only for an hour. I grabbed my hooded cloak and pulled it over my shoulders. I walked out the door of the main house. As soon as I was walking along the busy street, I pulled my brown hair down from the constricting bun that it had been in. I liked walks, as it was a time to reflect on my past and how I came to this strange planet.
I was eighteen years old when I arrived on Kaethon. I was on a mail-order bride ship headed to the mining planet of Merton Loy. I was going to make some miner I had never met a happy husband. But that did not happen; instead, I ended up as a captive slave of the Kalazaron. The Kalazaron, a male-dominant warrior race of beings that resembled men, did what they wanted, when they wanted. This included pillaging and plundering spaceships in space.
Growing up on Earth, I never thought that I would ever call any other planet home. It just wasn’t something that I thought about. How could I ever leave Earth? I grew up in Italy in the vast countryside outside of Sienna. It was a beautiful area, with lots of rolling hills and vineyards. I loved it.
Then when I was twelve years old, I moved with my family to New York City. New York was massive and exciting, but I often longed for the beauty of the countryside. I did not have a view from our small apartment that looked out onto the street. I would often climb fire escapes just to get a look at the distance beyond, but with so many buildings in the way, they blocked any sort of view.
Only a couple of years later, my parents passed away in a tragic accident and I was on my own, trying to make it in the large city that was completely unaffordable. So when I turned eighteen, I made my way to the Office of Brides. I was seen as exotic to the office and they had a position for me almost immediately.
"Ella, your exotic, Italian beauty would be very welcomed on the mining planet of Merton Loy. We have a ship departing Earth for the mining planet in one week. If you want to be on it, then we will match you with a husband to be," the placement adviser said to me.
"Yes," I said without thinking twice about it. I had no other place to go. Even the shelter of a ship for a couple of months would be better than where I was now, living in community houses with just a bed to call my own.
I didn't understand why I was seen as exotic. I looked like every Italian woman with brown hair, olive skin, and green eyes. I had an hourglass figure, which was standard for Latin women. I didn't think I was anything special, but the bride office did, and I wasn't going to argue. I needed a new home. I needed a new experience and adventure.
I remember walking around New York and watching my last sunrise and my last sunset. I would never see it ever again. I would now be going to an entirely new solar system. It was a hard thing to grasp, but I had to do it. I knew that I had too. It was calling me.
Everything changed a few months into the trip. It was captured by Kalazaron. They were like the pirates of space, pillaging and plundering all that they wanted without any remorse. I will never forget that first time I saw them.
In their physical appearance, they looked human, except for a few differences. They were very tall, between seven and eight feet, with long, lean bodies. Their skin was tinted blue in various parts, but not all; it was more like an accent on their skin. They were all very athletic and fit and put warrior training above all else. The male Kalazaron always dressed ready for battle with their leather-like cuffs that went from wrist to elbow, and a leather-like kilt around their waist. They were mostly shirtless at all times, with various straps crossing their chest to holster blaster guns and knives. They were brute-like, and very blunt. Some of them scared me a little, but others seemed harmless.
But life wasn’t all bad. I did enjoy the beauty of the planet I was now on and knew that it was more beautiful than that of Merton Loy, the mining planet. I could see how the Kalazaron evolved to become such a fierce race of warriors; it was because they wanted to protect it at all cost. It was a blue planet. Not only was the sky blue, but the dirt was a pale blue as well. The Kalazaron with their blue accented skin seemed well adapted to their blue environment. The planet was a lot like Earth, with all the regions you found there like forest, deserts, lakes, oceans, and mountains.
I would have liked to live in the mountains, but instead I lived in the city with the Loki family. They were not a family of power, but they were not exactly poor either. They were one level below the powerful and rich. They were well off enough to afford a large comfortable home with four floors. They had three servants, or slaves, and I was one of them.
The Loki family had purchased me at an auction that was held shortly after our ship was captured. The Loki family took me in as a house servant, and I didn't know what that would be like. Now, over five years later, I had a good sense of what the rest of my life would be like. I was a little more than a housemaid to the Loki family, and nothing else. I was fortunate for the position, because as a captive slave, I knew that some of the other brides had experienced a worse fate with a warrior who was not kind and used them in ways that only a husband should.
“Just do you work and follow orders and you will be treated as well as a slave can be,” the auctioneer said to me before handing me off to the Loki family. So that is exactly what I did. Now I was 24 years old and a grown woman with a mind of my own. Following orders seemed less and less like something that I would be able to do without talking back. Therefore, I was glad when I was sent on errands. I would rather follow orders that made me leave the house than kept me inside.
Now, as I walked through the market, I lost myself in the many goods laid out on the tables. There were many beautiful trinkets, cloths, and ribbons in the clothing area of the market. Merchants shouted greetings followed by compliments about the goods they were presenting.
"Human female! Your master would love these gem chains!" a merchant shouted to me.
I looked up just in time to see a male Kalazaron staring at me from across the market. He was staring right through me. I turned behind me to see if there was anyone that he might be looking at instead of me. When I turned back to look at him, he smiled, acknowledging the fact that I had just looked around.
His grin was handsomely devastating. He had jet-black hair that was almost blue in color. He was very tall at seven foot five, at least. He was rogue looking with thick, black brows and a black, stubbled beard. He looked like a thief or other outcast, with his dark, almost menacing presence. He must be a rebel or something, because I had near seen any male like him.
Though his very athletic and firm body was exactly that of a well-trained Kalazaron warrior, the kind you saw in the city. He was shirtless, with the kilt-like covering they all wore. He did have a dark cloak over his shoulders. He grabbed the hood and pulled it over his head and smiled at me. I was very startled by his actions toward me, so much so that I was frozen in place. Then a few Kalazaron walked between us, blocking my view of him. When the Kalazaron moved on, he was no longer standing there. I looked around, but could not see him. I did not know what that was all about, but I secretly wanted more of it; there was something about him.
I quickly got back to my errand and found various designs of gold ribbon that would suit the evil sisters. I paid for the goods and walked through the market toward home.
"Are you going to wear those ribbons at the Stanis Trials tomorrow?" a voice said behind me. I turned around to see the dark-haired, handsome Kalazaron standing behind me with the hoo
d on his head.
"I am not," I said abruptly.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Can I help you with something?" I said to him, suddenly feeling frustrated that he was asking me questions.
"No."
"All right," I said to his strange answer. "If you'll excuse me I must be getting back," I said, turning away from him.
He continued to walk beside me and said, "Getting back where? Who owns you, beautiful human female?"
His question offended me even though it was obvious that someone owned me—and he managed to sneak in a compliment, so that was nice. But I was a human female, after all, and all human females were owned as slaves except for the very few that ended up marrying their masters, but I only assumed that was a rumor. Still, hearing the words felt awful.
"That is none of your business," I said as I began to walk again.
"Yes, you are right. I apologize; it is just I have never seen a human female that looks like you. I was intrigued. But you are right, I have no authority to ask you such questions as these yet. Will you forgive me?" he said with that grin once more.
I tried to keep a serious look on my face, but his happy smile only made me laugh. "I forgive you if you will explain yourself," I said to him.
"Explain? I do not know your meaning," he said crossing his arms across his broad, strong chest.
"What do you mean you have never seen a human female that looks like me? What is wrong with me?" I said putting my hands on my hips.
"I have never seen one as beautiful as you," he said taking one step closer to me. My heart began to pound. I did not think that was what he was going to say. The sisters constantly told me that I was the ugliest human they had ever seen. After a while, I began to believe it. So it was very strange to hear this from a Kalazaron warrior—one who was very attractive. I started to doubt his words and I grew angry.
"Who put you up to this? Is this a trick? Was it Soko? She sent me to the market and then you came after me for this trick. I will not fall for it. Excuse me," I said is I began to walk away.
"It is no trick. I am being truthful. I am always truthful; it is my strength," he shouted to me as I began to walk faster back toward the house. My heart was pounding faster and faster and I felt very angry to the point of tears that I had been played with such a cruel trick. The sisters must have been the ones to put him up to this. They always played jokes on me, but this one had gone too far by bringing another Kalazaron into the mix.
I stomped all the way back to the house. I knew that when I walked in, the sisters would be waiting and would burst out laughing at me. Perhaps even the attractive warrior would be there waiting as well, joining in the laughter and their joke.
"It is about damn time, slave!" Soko shouted angrily.
"She was probably trying on ribbons herself! We should cut off her ugly, brown hair. It's hideous, anyway,” Maris shouted as she snagged the bag of ribbons from my hand.
"Soko! Maris! Act like full-grown Kalazaron females. You both act like younglings," Penat Loki said as she entered. She was the mother of the two sisters. She wasn't exactly mean, but she wasn't comforting either. "Get on with your work, Ella."
I nodded my head yes and then moved to the second floor food preparation area with the other two slaves to prepare the evening meal. I was glad to be out of sight of the awful sisters, but something struck me hard. They did not laugh or even mention their cruel joke in the market. Was it possible that it wasn't a joke after all? Was it possible the Kalazaron warrior was telling the truth and just wanted to make conversation with me?
Suddenly I felt my heart drop to my stomach as I began to feel nervous that such an attractive warrior would find me attractive in return. I smiled. I finally had something of my own. I finally had a secret of my own, even if it was a small interaction with a stranger. It was something that the Loki family could not take from me. It was my experience, and my experience alone. I hoped that I would see him again.
Chapter 2
MASTER THAEDON KREE
They never saw me coming. When it was time to pick a new Master of the Kalazaron race in the Stanis Trials, no one knew that I was going to compete until the first day of the competition. This caught everyone off guard. What was a young council member doing competing for the title of master? No one had done such a thing. Surely no one as young as I was, at thirty years of age, could have the intelligence needed to pass the intellectual test—it just was not done. The test of intellect required an older wiser Kalazaron who had experienced many things.
The test was made in this way. The Stanis Trials that determined who would be master were the only level of the trials that did not require a physical competition in the form of fighting. This was all about the mind. I had served for two years and I had made many decisions and put good systems into place for the capital city. I thought I was qualified to be the next master, but no one else did. I knew that I could do it.
When I walked into the arena and moved toward the group of elders that were gathered to compete, the entire crowd began to chatter in busy talk.
I saw Consulate Dalik Moscurn stand up from the bench with the other officials and move toward me. Everyone was staring at me. I just smiled.
"Thaedon, what are you doing? This is the gathering for the elders that will compete today for the title of master," he said to me.
"I am aware. I am also competing."
"No, you are not. You are too young," he said to me.
"I am younger than the others, that is true. But my trusted advisor, Huine Srit, has looked over the old guide rules and has found that there is no rule regarding age and eligibility. It has just always been of a certain age due to the level of the intellect test. But a Kalazaron warrior that has served at the level of council is allowed to compete. It has been proven by the old guide rule documents themselves."
I looked to my advisor sitting in the stands. He was an older Kalazaron, and he was not my advisor; I just told everyone that he was because I went to him often for information. He knew a lot about the old documents stored in the holograph banks. He spent a lot of his time reading through them and found many loopholes in a lot of the laws of the Kalazaron. I paid him well for knowledge about anything and everything that I wanted to know.
So when it was time to find a new master, I immediately wanted to compete. I went to Huine Srit in order to see if there was any knowledge in the old documents that said I could not compete. We found none. In fact, he found more documents supporting my right to compete. Knowledge was power, and I realized this at a very early age. This was why I spent all of my youth practicing on old tests from the previous Stanis Trials. Of course the tests would not be the same, but it gave me a good idea of how the tests were done. It gave me a good sense of what mental capacity was tested. I spent just as much time training my intellect as I did my warrior skills; I had been training for this day for fifteen years, if not longer.
"It is just not done," Dalik said to me. I gave him a strange look. He and I had been acquaintances for a long time and I knew his history. Almost twenty years ago, he had made a name for himself in the Stanis Trials as well. He had competed twice, the only warrior to have done it. He won both, and he was married to a human female. He had done many things that were not done by the Kalazaron. Now, he was standing there lecturing me. How could he?
I turned to him and said, "If anyone can understand doing things that are just not done by the Kalazaron, I assume it would be you."
He was silent for a long time. He looked over toward the stands. I did not know what he was looking at, but I assumed it was his human female wife. Then he turned back to me and said, "Best of luck to you, Thaedon."
I smiled and everyone grew quiet as the leader of ceremony entered.
"Day one of the Stanis Trials begins now," he shouted. Everyone cheered.
There were tables in the middle of the large arena. The leader of the ceremony gestured to the ten of us to take our places at the tables. I walked out
proudly and heard the gasp of many female Kalazaron. They were probably shocked to see a young, arrogant, rogue of a warrior take his place in the competition.
"The first test is one of problem-solving on a large, planetary scale. You may begin," the leader of ceremony said.
Before us was a holographic screen on the table top. There were dividers between each of us so that we could not see the others work. I looked down at the table top and the projection. Then I closed my eyes. I took a few moments to clear my mind, even though we were being timed. Then I opened my eyes and dove into the test; I found it very easy.
I finished before everyone else. I could hear whispering in the stands about me.
"Time is up," the leader of ceremony shouted. The elders around me stopped working. I wondered if all of them had finished the test.
"Stand, competitors," he continued. We all stood and backed away from the tables.
"Now the test will be evaluated. Results will be shown at the top of the trial tomorrow. You are all dismissed," the leader said. The crowd stood and clapped as we walked in a circle around the arena. This is how it was done. Then we walked out of the arena to side rooms. Following this would be a grand party to kick off the first day of the Stanis Trials. This is where the competitors would go and get all the attention they wanted. People would gloat over them and worship them.