by Kylie Gold
Amelia's crystal eyes were washed with relief; the lock clearly had been causing her a great deal of pain. My eyes wandered back to the deep cuts and black bruising on the exposed parts of her arms. I would need to get her some healing balm to make sure that those cuts didn't get infected. As soon as the thought passed through my mind, my eyes widened a bit. It was going beyond attraction if I wanted to help medicate and heal her. These feelings were beyond my control, almost as if they were instinctive, programmed into my DNA. I needed answers, but I had no idea where to even begin looking for them. "Thank you," she said in such a dulcet voice.
I looked up to her eyes and for the first time, we actually held eye contact. It felt almost as though that was the first time we were truly looking at one another. A small smile pulled at the corners of my lips, glad to have reached some sort of middle ground with the girl. I gave her a nod in reply before standing. This whole situation was going to be a tricky one…
And I needed to find a solution of some kind and fast before I had a full-fledged mutiny on my hands.
9
Amelia
I stared at the back of his head in bewilderment as he tinkered with what looked like a human map. I wasn’t shocked that he had a map, that was easy to get considering most humans carried maps in the colonies for their home colony; so it would have been easy to pluck one off of one of the dead colonists. It was his… lack of hostility towards me when he was at war with the humans on Shaviro. For being held captive and going to be perhaps used to make some sort political point, the treatment wasn’t actually that bad. While yes, being held against your will was terrible and I wanted to be free, considering the circumstances I had expected a much higher level of volatility. There were no beatings, rounds of torture, or even hunger or dehydrated. Granted that chair was really starting to kill my back, it was far better than some of the alternatives could have been. For the most part, he was strangely… gentle. Condescending and cocky, but gentle. He asked me quite a few times if the lock was getting too tight, if I was hungry, things of that nature. It struck me as odd, but it wasn’t like I was going to complain.
Dracon moved to sit down as he looked at the map, his thumb stroking his chin as he studied it in deep thought with the green glow of the map showing on his face. He was strangely… attractive. It was a weird thought to even have, I had never had any interests in another species. Quite frankly, I had always found the thought weird. But Dracon was kind of sexy, to be an alien. He had such strong bone structure with a strong jaw and high cheekbones, and his umber skin was flawlessly wrapped around it. Well, he had scars on his knuckles and one rather deep looking one across his chest. It was clear to tell they were from the war. Tribal tattoos also covered the majority of his arms, shoulders, chest, and back. It wasn't the traditional tribal like humans had with thick lines, but were actually composed of perhaps quarter-inch thick lines with geometric lines rather than edges and swirls. His head was shaved on both sides, but long black hair remained down the middle and he had kept back in a ponytail. What stood out the most, though, over the red skin and tattoos and chiseled muscles, was his lilac eyes. They were vibrant and intense, and just so strangely beautiful that my eyes had a hard time looking away from them when he did look in my direction.
Dracon studied the map for another couple of minutes before huffing and standing up. He headed straight for me, and yet again he stood behind the chair and picked it up from the legs. While there was probably no way I could have fallen unless he purposefully dumped me from the chair because of the lock, it was still stressful to be picked up into the air against your will; my muscles tensed and so did the lock, making me inwardly groan. I was really paying for my attempt to escape the previous night, with ridiculously sore arms and legs. The chair was placed back on the floor in front of the map. Lifting a hand and gesturing to the hologram display, it rotated to me so I could see what he had been looking at. It was focused in on a jungle area with a couple of scattered buildings among the trees with a symbol on each to indicate what they were. “What does this symbol mean?” he asked, pointing to the one with a caduceus on it.
I looked up to him, his lilac eyes solely focused on that building on the map. I hedged for a moment. It looked like the colony was setting up a base in the jungle between Harp and the Navani tribe. Should I tell him? I didn’t want to give him information and lives be lost because of me, especially not at a medical tent. I looked from the map back up to him and that time his lilac eyes were burning into mine. “Why would I tell you anything?” I questioned with a raised brow. “If I’m being held captive just to be killed for any reason, I don’t see the point in indulging you with information about the humans.”
His lilac eyes narrowed at me, “And why do you keep assuming I’m going to kill you?”
“Don’t prisoners of war end up being slaughtered for political gain at some point?”
Dracon then raised a brow, “And some are held to be extracted for information. See, you’re mixing this all up. You’re not supposed to think I’m going to kill you right away. I’m supposed to demand you to give me information and use threatening to kill you as a motivation for you to give me an answer.”
“I’m so sorry to have messed up your plan, but I’m not going to give you information when I’m one hundred percent sure I’m going to end up dying by the end of all this,” I retorted, glaring at him then.
"Don't worry, you didn't mess anything up," he said in a mock-soothing voice. He reached behind him and pulled a metal shaft from a sheath. As he lowered it, a blue light switch on and at the top of the shaft, two blue light segments came from a circular shape—giving the weapon the shape of a battle ax. "Let's try it again. What does that symbol mean?"
My eyes were sort of locked on the weapon for the time being, the realization of just how defenseless I actually was, was finally sinking in. While I was pretty sure he was just trying to make a point, I had no idea if he was seriously threatening me. And I didn’t want to die… My eyes finally tore away from the weapon and looked back to the map with a sigh, “It’s called a caduceus. It’s a symbol meaning medic. It looks like they have an off-base medical tent or something." I gazed over the map in silence for a minute, realizing that for some people and some aliens, one place really is considered a home. I had spent my few adult years hopping around planet to planet to find somewhere to belong. These natives and colonists were both trying to call a small planet home, calling for war on each side. It was sad really, but also kind of honorable in a way. I didn't love any planet enough to fight for it. "How did this all start anyway, the war?" I asked him. "Or did you hate them from the beginning because of them landing here?" I couldn't help the curiosity; I had never heard how it all started but only that it was happening. Colonists on other planets had begun to deem Shaviro a loss cause with it not having enough valuable exports, but Lyle Grain seemed hell bent on exploring to find one.
Dracon’s eyes averted, looking just at the map as he sat down. He leaned back in the chair, arms folding behind his head. “You probably know better than I do. My father was alive at the time and wanted my mother, sisters, and I to stay out of the human affairs. Saying that if anything happened he wanted us out of harm’s way. He went for a meeting with the humans with a small group of a couple of elders and some warriors. None of them ever returned, so none of our people know what happened. Humans started the war before we even knew we were at war.”
Wait, what? So none of the Navani knew what they were at war about? That didn't seem logical to me. Why fight if you don't even know what you are fighting for? "Well, I have no idea what happened, seeing as I don't belong to that colony."
Then Dracon looked perplexed, looking at me as though I just said something totally left-field. “What are you talking about? Of course you are from the same colony as the others. You are human, aren’t you?” he challenged.
“Well I’m human, but I don’t belong to those humans. I’m from another colony, one that lives on the p
lanet called Cycle. I have nothing to do with the humans here on Shaviro,” I tried to explain.
The perplex looked stayed on Dracon’s face for another few long moments, his eyes distant as if in deep thought. But then he abruptly shook his head and then moved on, I suppose not believing me or not caring. “Anyways, the humans killed my father and his band of people. When a day had gone by and my father and his men didn’t return, I rallied a group of scouts to go with me to find them. We were half way to the human’s base when we were ambushed by a militia of humans. Shan and I barely escaped, and we retreated back to the village only to find out that another, bigger militia had come to the village and raided my family home. They killed my mother and my three sisters, and burned the hut to the ground to send a message of war.”
My breath caught in my throat. Lyle had really made his men do that? Why? What had it all started over? All the rumors about Shaviro just made the Navani sound like natives who were being territorial… If anything, the colonists sounded like the beasts. At that point, I had no idea what to say. There was no way for me to relate to his loss seeing as my home planet had never been invaded and family slaughtered. It wasn’t Dracon’s fault for the war, nor did it sound like the Navani had anything to do with why the war started. My chest ached for his lost, just unable to imagine.
Dracon’s eyes weren't on me then but fixated somewhere in the distance with a pained look in his eye. And it was as though suddenly his face seemed to age from stress, looking years older from letting the stress sit on his head. "The colonists have killed my entire family and more friends than I can count. I do not know what the humans are fighting for, but we are fighting for survival, and to take some of our planet back. The humans are drilling and fracking in such large quantities, far much more than is needed for their survival. They are destroying Shaviro to the point where even if our species was to survive the war, I don’t know how many generations would be able to last after the fact.”
I was still at a loss for words, unable to make him feel any better or provide him with any information about the colony there and the Navani. At that point, I wished I would have asked more questions while in Harp, gotten some sort of knowledge about the war. Maybe it would have been able to help him. It felt almost like treason to think, but I was beginning to think the Navani were the ones who should win the war. While I by no means want humans to die, I could understand the Navanis’ disdain for the humans… And it was the Navanis' planet. It was overwhelming to think, and something made me question why I even cared. I didn't belong to that planet and I wasn't in their colony. All I should have cared about was getting free, boarding a ship to Cycle and getting paid, and going home. But… something about the look of stress on Dracon’s face, made me stress for him. “I’m so sorry, Dracon…” I murmured, not knowing what else to say. I was sorry that it was happening to him and his people. They didn’t deserve the bloodshed.
Dracon frowned deeply as he still stared into the distance. I wanted so badly just to know what he was thinking, as though I could help him in some way. Not a sole being should have the weight of his entire species on his shoulders. He said nothing, though, just sitting in silence for a couple of minutes, lost in thought before he walked over to me. I looked to him, but he didn't make eye contact at first. Dracon kneeled in front of me and once again opened the lock. Just as I opened my mouth to thank him for loosening it, he pulled it more until the black metal thing suddenly fell completely limp causing it to fall to the floor. I stayed in place, looking to his face for some kind of explanation or instruction. He stood with the lock in his hand. "Don't try to escape. You're much safer in here than out there. Out there, my people will kill you on the spot. They have all experienced the hurt I have in one way or another. They will not hesitate to seek revenge,” his voice was stern but soft, pain still in his vibrant purple eyes.
He moved to drape the lock over a hook on the wall before turning back to me. He stood right in front of the chair and just waited for me to move. Slowly, I began to stand, my joints locked up a bit from sitting in the exact same position for so long. I wobbled a bit for a split second, but regained my balance and glanced upward to find his eyes already gazing down into mine. Dracon’s expression was somber. “Do you understand?” he questioned, his hand gripping my arm gently.
Dracon’s eyes seemed to search mine as I looked to him. For a moment, it seemed almost as though his intent was based upon admiration for me with his eyes seeming soft and penitent—yet he still seemed parlous. And even though being free of the bounds made me even more eager to run to Harp to find a way home… Dracon was right. After what the humans did to that tribe, I didn’t blame them at all for wanting revenge. Hell, humans would have wanted revenge. So, I wasn’t going to be going anywhere. At least I wouldn’t be bound to that chair anymore. “I won’t try to escape,” I assured him.
A big sigh escaped his lips and he nodded as he sat back down at the map, lifting a hand and began scanning through it. While I was sure I needed to stay close, after sitting I needed to walk around. The temptation to go through the hut was pretty high, but I didn’t want to be rude or make him feel as though he had to babysit me. So instead, I just walked the length of the front half of the hut to help my knees stretch.
10
Dracon
As I sat at the table, distracting myself from Amelia like I had the majority of the afternoon, there was once again a knock on the door. Ugh, I did not want any visitors or additional drama right then. But, there was nothing I could do. With a huff, I stood from my chair and walked towards the door. Before opening, I paused and turned to Amelia and motioned for her to sit down. Which she did so without hesitation—hm, I suppose my warning got through to her. Opening the door, Shan was again standing before me. This time, though, he wore a look of trepidation. “I’m sorry, Dracon. I tried to stop them from coming here…” he spoke with a grimace. “But they weren’t pleased when I gave them your response about the human.”
My face fell flat with eyes narrowed. A hand lifting to gesture for him to step aside, I walked out of the hut and closing the door behind me, to find about fifteen men gathered on the path in front of my hut. They all carried their weapons with them, each wore a look of anger. “Where is she!” One Navani yelled.
“Yeah and why isn’t she dead!” another called out.
I looked at them, my face twisting into a grimace. "She is no concern to you. She does not impose a threat to our people," I replied to them, not wanting to lie but also not telling the truth when really I had no idea what I was doing with keeping her in the village.
“How do you know? She could be a spy!”
“Yeah, she is one of them!”
I could feel my forehead begin to sweat as I tried to find a logical answer to their concerns. Of course, I was at a loss. What was I supposed to tell them? That I found the human attractive? They would have me executed for going mental. But before there was too long of a pause, there was a yell from further away, “Chief Dracon!”
Within mere seconds, two Navani scouts appeared through the crowd. Both looked frantic. “We spotted a human militia just outside the village. They are carrying large weapons, it looks like an attack party,” one informed me. While I didn’t want a war with the humans, the militia couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Go gather the others!” I demanded the men in front of my hut.
Some began to disperse, though others hesitated. I turned to speak to Shan when the door creaked open and Amelia’s petite form slid through and stepped to me. “Are you guys going to fight?” she asked in English in a quiet voice; she couldn’t have understood what we were speaking of in Navanian so she must have been watching. “I could help you.”
The attention was immediate, the Navani men immediately swarming to her and drawing their weapons. I stepped in front of her and held my arms out on each side to block them. “Enough! There is an attack squad just out the village and you are willing to waste time on a human not a
ttacking us?!” he barked at them in our native tongue. They all stopped, but each held a heavy glare. I quickly turned back to Amelia and switched back to English, “How could you help?”
“I have never been in a militia or anything, but I know how they fight. Their strategies and what they will do to trick you,” she spoke confidently. “I could even talk to you for them if you wanted.” My eyes widened a bit in surprise but didn’t give it a second thought. We could honestly use all the help we could get, and if she could provide information about their tactics that would certainly be helping them out.
So, I gave a sharp nod, “Alright. You can come along.” Turning back to the men, I held onto her arm and walked through the crowd with her—challenging any who may protest me. They all gave Amelia growls, snarls, and dark looks but didn’t move to touch her. I was the strongest Navani warrior, and it was idiotic for a single Navani, or really even a small group, to come after me. So they all stayed silent as I led them all towards the jungle to meet the scouts.
11
Amelia
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and why I even said anything in the first place. My knowledge on military fighting styles was by no means comprehensive at all, but more rudimentary. I suppose I just… I felt like I needed to help in any way I could. The guilt left behind from being a part of an attack on the Navani was overwhelming. The way the guys just opened fired on these aliens, on these—from the lack of a better word—people. It hadn’t mattered to the locals if it was a child or a man or woman. Hell, I didn’t even think they viewed them as humanoid creatures from the way they spoke of them and then could be so cruel as to just attack these people and for what reason? I needed to right my wrong, and I wanted to prove to Dracon and the Navanis that I could help and meant them no harm so that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t kill me.