by Crystal Dawn
The hard work he’d done for the day would help him to sleep solidly once he had eaten and gotten ready for bed. When he got up he fixed a quick breakfast then he was ready to take on a hard day’s work. The breeze brought a scent to his nose, Cretia.
“Hello Cretia. What brings you here this morning?”
“You could at least act happy to see me since we’re friends.”
“You act like someone who wants more and I have nothing more to give you.”
“Where’s your intended?”
“She’s not here.”
“You can’t really mean to mate her. She has a child.”
“So?”
“You’ll have to raise another male’s offspring. That’s a hard job.”
“I already love the little girl.”
“She left her first mate and she’ll leave you too.”
“That’s got nothing to do with you. My decision is made.”
“I care about you. You’re making a mistake.”
“It’s my choice either way. I think it would be best if you don’t come around anymore.”
“Fine.” Cretia yelled and she stomped off. He could only hope she wouldn’t be back, because there was nothing here for her.
He pushed Cretia out of his mind and got to work. Pride washed over him at all he’d accomplished and it was only midday. Washing off outside, he saw the air bus when it pulled up. Romo and his extended family was here. They came bearing baskets of food. Niku couldn’t deny his dragon was hungry.
“Hello everyone.” Niku greeted.
“We thought you might be hungry. Had I known you were doing all this work, we would have come sooner. The ladies,” Selia giggled. “Have gotten the yard done and are taking a break before starting on the fields.” Romo explained.
“I saw how good your yard looked and decided to start to work on mine.” Niku admitted.
“You’ve gotten a lot done.” Romo observed.
“I’m motivated. This will be a home someday, soon hopefully.” Niku said and cast a glance at Betty. She turned a lovely shade of pink and looked at the ground. “I’m a terrible host. Let’s all go inside where we can unpack the feast you brought and sit down to eat.”
They all moved inside and he watched Betty to see her reaction to his home. The floors were all made of old wood that was highly valued on Draconis because of its decorative and durable nature. The same wood was used in making the cabinets, but the countertops looked like the Earth stone granite. The sink, Romo had told him looked like a farmer’s sink and ones like it were popular on Earth.
Niku had recently added a few other things he thought an Earther would appreciate to his home. All his life he’d dreamed of the day he would meet his mate and he had been dedicated to making her happy. Those feelings only grew the first time he met Betty and he knew she was his perfect match.
They were sitting down to eat when there was a knock at the door. “Were you expecting someone, Niku?” Romo asked.
“No, I’ll see who it is and send them away.” He got up to answer the door, but he knew who would be there. No surprise, it was Cretia. “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t come here anymore.”
“I thought we were friends.”
“I’m busy right now with my mate and her family.”
“You can’t mate her. She’s not good enough for you.”
“Cretia, leave and don’t come back.”
“You’ll regret it, Niku. She’ll ruin your life.”
“Just go, before I say something we both regret.” Niku threatened. He just wanted her gone and wished he’d never been friendly to her. She’d been so sad and had no friends. It was only an attempt to be kind and she’d developed a crush, one he’d never encouraged.
“Was that Cretia?” Romo asked.
“Yes, she’s beginning to act like a stalker.” Niku admitted.
“You have those here?” Bree asked.
“I saw a movie on Earth where a woman had one. That behavior is unknown on our planet.” Niku explained.
“She’s just a sad and lonely woman. Hortin brought her here but died before he claimed her. Others offered but she refused them all. Cretia wants what she wants, even if it’s not what he wants.” Romo observed.
“Maybe she’ll find a nice dragon of her own.” Tomi said.
“I hope so and I hope it’s soon.” Niku admitted. He watched Betty carefully unsure how she felt about this.
Everyone began to dig into their food. Dori had made ribs and found a way to make a barbecue sauce that tasted like the one at home. Others had made baked beans, potato salad, and cake for dessert. It tasted much like it had when he’d eaten out on Earth. It made him happy to see they were settling in and finding the substitutes they needed to make the food they loved.
Males that entered the mating program had to attend classes that taught them what to expect and how to know if their mates were adjusting or needed help to acclimate. Bree had brought a large part of her family with her and that seemed to be making things easier for all of them. It gave him hope that Betty would learn to love Draconis as much as he did. Selia seemed to adjust to things with the ease some children had and he was grateful for it.
They ate and chatted about nothing important but he knew Cretia coming over had put a pall on the evening. Betty refused to look at him and everyone else seemed worried. It was not the almost festive feeling that he had felt when they arrived.
“Why don’t you take Betty for a walk, Niku? She can suggest some plants for you while the rest of us clean up.” Dori suggested. Niku wanted to hug her, she was helping him.
“Could you suggest some plants? I don’t know much about what to plant where.” Niku admitted.
“You did well in the yard.” Betty pointed out.
“I was using the pattern and plants you placed in Romo’s yard as a guide.” Niku explained.
“Run along, you two.” Dori encouraged. He could see Betty giving in.
“Let’s go.” Betty agreed.
He led her out the door and around to the back of his yard. “I have a large property also.” Niku shared.
“Are all farms this size?” She asked.
“Oh, no. Many are like ten acres or so. Romo and I both saved and worked extra jobs to get the money for these large land holdings. I suspect you have no idea how things work here. The emperor rules the planet. My job is directly under him so my pay is better than most military. Under the emperor, are six kings. They are not equal, the king of this region is the highest level king and except for special services, Romo works for him. He makes more than most too, but less than I do.”
“What are special services and who does he work for then?” Betty asked with a light of interest in her eyes.
“Special services are when he’s needed to help me with a meeting of dignitaries, a matter of war, or a trip both his king and my emperor go on. When that happens, he works for me. We work well together and he is irreplaceable.”
“Who is under the kings?”
“That would be the lords. It’s not like on your planet where royalty is divided into many types. We only have the emperor, the kings, and the lords. Again, the lords are not the same. Some have small holdings other have large ones. Many are wealthy, but some are practically bankrupt. What they retain no matter what, is the voting rights that help make laws.”
“So the average person has no say?”
“That may have been true in the dark ages. Now the average citizens have the ear of their lords. If average citizens are unhappy enough, they move and the lord won’t have enough people to run his domain. If it gets bad enough, the king will remove him and give his title and all that goes with it to someone else.”
“Does that happen much?”
“No, just twice in the last five hundred years. It shows that the people do hold the power.”
“What about these rogues I’ve heard of?” Betty questioned.
“I agree some of the things they want would be good fo
r the people, but they are too short sighted and would destroy our planet if they ruled.”
“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?”
“No, they want us to mine our planet heavily and industrialize. They want all the things that started the heavy pollution that is destroying Earth. Their concern is for now and let the next generation worry about itself.”
“How do you know so much about their ideals?”
“Their leader and I grew up together. We discussed those beliefs and I could agree with him until he wanted to strip mine our planet and have unregulated factories making all kinds of products. I explained to him what happened to Earth and a dozen other planets who moved into industrialization before they were ready. He said our kids could sort it out.”
“I guess that’s what many of our leaders thought too. Now it’s a mess and we don’t know how to sort it out.”
“We should discuss plants a little bit or I won’t have any idea what to plant.”
“Okay, but I want to discuss this more later.”
“Next time we’ll go into more detail.”
“Okay. You need a field of some kind of beans. You have a type that looks like a pinto bean that I selected for Romo and Bree. You also have something that looks like Indian corn.”
“What is Indian corn?”
“Grows on an ear and is multicolored.”
“Okay, I know what you mean.”
“You have a cane that is sweet. Your people use it like sugar.”
“Our people.”
“Huh?”
“You are one of us now. It’s our people.”
“You are right, but it will take time. Are you sure I have the skill to grow so many diverse plants?”
“I’ll help you. It will be a piece of cake.”
“Why does that scare me so much?”
“You just need confidence. Plants will love you if you treat them right.”
“I also have a bag of coffee seeds and we need to find the perfect spot for them. I’ll research and figure out where they’ll go.”
“Why would you give me your coffee seeds? Are you considering mating me?” Niku asked with a big smile.
“I had a dream.” Betty admitted.
“What kind of dream?”
“A really hot one.”
“Was I in it?” She nodded. “Were we dressed? She shook her head. “I had a dream just like that too. It’s a sign when fated mates dream share.”
“A sign of what?” Betty asked.
“A sign that we will be perfect together.” Niku insisted. “Let’s go back. I’m sure the others are ready to go home.”
“Okay.” Betty agreed but he really wanted her to admit she was already home.
They headed back to the house and when they arrived, he opened the door for her. “You two back already? Well we just finished up. I hope Betty gave you some good ideas?” Dori asked.
“Yeah, I know what to do now.” Niku declared.
“I guess I’ll get my ladies home.” Romo said. “Why don’t you come to supper tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll see all of you then.”
They trooped out and loaded up. The air bus pulled away and headed toward Romo’s house. He felt a sense of loss every time they were parted. That was just crazy since they weren’t claimed yet. Nothing would have pleased him more than if she’d admitted to being his.
“Looks like you got shot down again.”
“Cretia what the hell are you doing back here. Don’t you understand I’m not mating you?”
“Just want to make sure you realize you have options. That woman doesn’t want you, but I do.”
“My dragon won’t settle for anyone but her. You need to leave, Cretia. There’s nothing for you here.”
“Fine, but you know where to find me when you give up on that female.” She turned and left leaving Niku happy that she was gone.
He’d never heard of a female acting like Cretia, but he’d never heard of a male dying before claiming his intended. Females were usually brought in just in time for the mating ceremony. The ship had been delayed and by the time Cretia and eleven other mates got here, their males were off fighting. Two of them didn’t make it back and ended up living with the intended mate’s family. The other female had mated after a month while Cretia was still unmated over a year later. Her intended one’s family was probably pushing her to mate so she’d be gone.
Niku had felt empathy for Cretia before, but now she was messing with his life. He suspected she just wanted a male with more to offer her. It wasn’t going to be him because his dragon would torch her before he touched her. The surprise was that she’d been here so long and still didn’t understand mating or dragons.
Now that he was alone he took a shower and got a cold drink. Normally he’d sit outside and enjoy the fresh air and views, but Cretia had put a damper in his mood. Not only did he not want to see her, he didn’t want to think she could see him. Niku wasn’t normally like that, but he’d tried to be nice and so far, it hadn’t worked.
The next morning, Niku finished the work he had planned in his yard and had just enough time to get ready for supper at Romo’s. As he stepped out into the yard, he could scent Cretia, but the scent was a lingering one. It was annoying, but he needed to be gone. Taking off, he flew the short distance to Romo’s and had a perfect landing in his yard. His dragon was being frisky, he wanted his mate. Niku couldn’t blame him because he wanted her too.
The scent of cooking meat threaded its way through the air and his mouth watered. Dori did most of the cooking as far as the meat went and she was one hell of a cook. The scent drew him around the back where there was now a pit with a large animal similar to a pig on a spit. It had a piece of fruit in its mouth. It was a sky balls, which were like apples, but so named because they only grew high in the trees.
It amazed Niku how similar the plants and animals of Draconis were to those of Earth. Even some of their mythology was similar. Earth even had stories of dragons, but the humans killed them off. It was hard to believe that part of the story could be true. In the stories the dragons often spoke. He wondered if that was because they were shifters.
Romo was out back turning the spit every once in a while and spraying water on the fire. He dropped into a chair next to Romo and assumed the ladies were inside cooking the rest of the food.
Dori came out and pushed a drink in his hands. That lady was one hell of a hostess. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. How are you doing?”
“Ha, no one would dare bother me. We never get unwanted visitors twice.”
“It’s harder for a male to hurt a females feelings, Dori.”
“Only some. I’m glad you’re a gentle giant. My Betty needs love and kindness to help her heal. Just stick with her, she’ll come around.” Niku nodded although he wasn’t sure she was right. He still held out hope.
“What are you ladies fixing for supper?”
“Lots of different salads, breads, and desserts will be on the table. We’ll have so many leftovers, we won’t have to cook for a week.” Dori declared.
“You wish. Niku and I will work through the food like dragons.” Romo bragged.
“We’ll still have some leftovers. You guys go easy on the salads.”
“No, we just have to eat a lot of meat. That means we eat more normal amounts of salad.” Niku explained.
“Don’t worry. We’ll adjust the amounts we cook once we figure out what you like and how much to fix.” Dori promised. She hurried back in to help her daughters who were carrying out covered dishes to set on the long outdoor table.
“This is nice.” Niku commented.
“Yeah, it feels like family. When is your family going to be around?”
“I got an email from Dad and he said they would be visiting around festival time.”
“Combining pleasure with responsibility?” Romo growled.
“Hey, it’s alright. I’m used to it.”
“I suppose the wicked step mother is coming too?”
“That’s why they chose festival time. She likes to think she’s a player. Maybe she wants to meet the king or even the emperor.”
“Doesn’t Mabest know you won’t introduce her?”
“I guess she’s holding out hope I will or she hopes to bump into them accidently.” Niku’s father had remarried a much younger and greedier female. Since his parents had been fated mates, his dad settled for the first one that came along.
“I don’t even want to be around for any events she goes to. Even though I’ll admit it has been entertaining in the past.”
“Only because you’re not related to her. Has your family come by yet?”
“Ma came the first day and helped out because I was called in. Since then they’ve been here three, make that four times. Dori and Ma get on well. They have a lot in common and I’m happy to see them enjoying each other.”
“I should have known Ma would do everything exactly right. My mother was a lot like her. Damn I miss her.”
“Yeah, me too. It was like we both had two moms and two dads. Now everything is different.”
“Things are continuing to change and I’m happy for you and Bree. Now wish me luck with Betty and this time around our kids will feel like they have two sets of parents.”
“No one wishes you luck more than I do. It’s not just for you either, Betty couldn’t do better if she searched the whole planet. You two are made to be together, I can just feel it.”
“Have you been hitting the fermented juice?”
“No, why would you ask me that?”
“You’re getting awful sentimental and emotional.”
“Fuck you, Niku!”
“There you are. My boy is back.”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“Yeah, but I’m the perfect asshole for your sister in law.”
“Very funny. She’ll figure it out. I hope it’s soon enough that our kids can play together.”
“No pressure, huh?”
“Hey. I don’t understand what’s taking you so long.”
“I’m ready. Cretia is still lurking around. Nothing seems to get her to stay away. It’s getting creepy.” Romo laughed so hard he couldn’t catch his breath for a second. “It’s not funny. What do I do? I told her Betty was my mate and she won’t accept it.”