by R. E. Butler
Later that morning, she was called to the front because she had a delivery. A vase of the prettiest, most colorful roses she’d ever seen was waiting for her. She signed for them and smiled inwardly at the jealous looks from her coworkers as she took them back to her desk. Inside a small envelope was a beautiful necklace. Hanging from a delicate, white gold chain was a round emerald stone the size of a nickel. There was no card, and since she hadn’t had a steady boyfriend in quite some time, she wondered who had sent it.
In front of the mirror in the employee bathroom, she studied the stone as it hung on her neck. For just one moment, she thought she should take it off, because it seemed like such an extravagant gift and there had been no card to indicate who it was from. No one she had ever dated would have given her such a gift, and the thought of taking something from a stranger filled her with a little bit of dread. Ignoring the tickling warning in the back of her mind, she returned to work wearing the necklace. After work, she had just closed her front door when there was a knock, almost as if someone had been waiting for her. The same delivery man held a black box in his hands, and every warning signal in her body went on high alert, just moments before a cloud of blue gas made her pass out.
She had a lot of regrets – accepting the necklace, not getting to say goodbye to her parents, not getting to hug Boomer once more. But not being able to take care of her parents like she’d wanted to might burn the most.
She opened her eyes, not realizing that she’d even closed them, and stared at the firin. It was good that the necklace was going to be destroyed. Paoli stood silently next to her. He was so handsome, with a lush mouth and straight nose. His eyes were the prettiest caramel color, rimmed with dark lashes that no mascara could replicate. Most interesting was his hair, which was long enough to reach the middle of his back, and a beautiful mixture of blue colors, from bright aqua to pale powder blue. It was thick and shiny, and she wondered if it was as soft as it looked.
She reached for her own hair and could feel how greasy it was. She hadn’t been taking care of herself, it just hadn’t seemed like there was any point, but she knew she couldn’t keep going like this. Paoli was worried about her. She could see it in his eyes and the way he carefully watched everything she ate. He’d been so kind to her. He’d given up his own hopes and dreams to set her free and he was sharing a tiny room with her when he could have been living in a house that he bought for his family. He’d made a sacrifice for her and she could at least try not to look like a monster.
“Did you ever want to do a soul-walk?” she asked him.
He blinked in surprise. “I hadn’t really given it much thought. When Eden did his, it took him five years to save up the money to pay for Ashleigh’s abduction, set himself free, and buy his house. Males in the Bordelayz rarely go on soul-walks, because the cost is so high and they’re not usually known for being able to save money.”
As Kate had learned, the women of Norlan were unable to have children and the men were worried their people would go extinct, so they had begun to pair their men with physically compatible women from other worlds. They called the process a soul-walk, and it involved some psychedelic drugs and a machine that could travel through time and space. Dex hadn’t really wanted a wife; he’d been forced to take the soul-walk by the military. She wondered how many other women like her had been paired up with men who didn’t want anything but a sex toy and a maid. Ashleigh said all the women that had been on the ship from Earth were happy, but she wasn’t sure she really believed her.
Last night, when she’d climbed into bed and watched Paoli stretch out on the floor, she thought about her life back on Earth and what possibly lay in store for her here on Norlan. She missed her family and her tiny apartment with the fold-out couch. She missed her job. But if she couldn’t go home to Earth, then she really did need to make the best of things and move on with her life. Her family – they would miss her surely and always wonder what happened to her – but their lives would continue on as well. Her brother would get married and have babies. She realized, as the room darkened when the light went off, that she was holding onto her past as if she had nothing else to live for. If she couldn’t go home, then she had to make this place home.
This morning, taking off the necklace had been the first step. She didn’t want to be miserable any longer. She was going to really get to know Paoli and learn about her new home. Holding onto her anger at her kidnapping was slowly eating her alive and she couldn’t really bear it any longer. This was the hand she’d been dealt in her life, and she owed it to herself to at least make an effort.
But what would she do? She couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. Although she was grateful to be out of the community home, she wanted to be in a real home, to have a real yard and a place to call her own. And she owed it to Paoli to pull her own weight.
Her fingers touched the place on her neck where the necklace had rested. She was glad it was gone, but her neck felt empty now. She looked at Paoli again. She wouldn’t mind it if he gave her a necklace.
“I’m going to clean up,” she said, breaking the silence.
Paoli smiled down at her. “Of course.”
Her heart flipped when he smiled. “I don’t know if I ever really said thank you, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Surprise colored his features. “You have said thank you, Kate, but you’re very welcome.”
His smile deepened and her breath caught in her throat. She was tempted to rise up on her toes and close the distance between them so they could kiss, but she stopped herself. He’d never really touched her. After a month together, the most he’d done was put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She didn’t know if he was just being polite or if he really didn’t want to touch her. She’d never pursued a man romantically before. Back on Earth, she was the one who had been pursued, but the last year or so, she hadn’t had time for relationships, let alone dating. Like many other things she was regretting, she’d kept telling herself she had time for all of that...later.
If she were on Earth, and he were human, she wouldn’t be so shy. But she wasn’t on Earth and he wasn’t human. He’d spent many years being used as a sex slave. She just didn’t know how to move their relationship forward romantically or if he even wanted to.
She smiled at him and walked out of the room. The bathroom was plain and contained a toilet, sink, and glass-enclosed shower. Everything on Norlan was voice-activated. She used the toilet and stripped her pajamas off, opening the door to the shower and activating the water. After adjusting the temperature by voice, she stepped inside and let the water rush over her.
Paoli had brought toiletries with them and she used a sugary-scented shampoo three times before her hair felt clean, then picked up a sea sponge that came from one of their green-colored oceans and chose a soap capsule that smelled like mint. The soap capsules were the size of a ping pong ball and kept in a mesh container hanging from the showerhead. The scents differed, but Paoli seemed to prefer ones that smelled like herbs, and she liked them as well. Rubbing the capsule on the sponge until it foamed, she washed her body and rinsed off before ending the shower spray with the command, “water off.”
She grabbed what was called a raki towel from the cabinet under the sink and dried her body and hair. The towel dried her almost instantly, and she turned to the mirror over the sink to take a good look at herself. She’d lost weight. Several pounds at least. Dex hadn’t fed her very well once he figured out she wasn’t going to give into his demands, and the food in the Bordelayz and community home had been sparse and awful-tasting.
After brushing her hair, she put a slov tablet in her mouth and closed her lips tightly, allowing the Norlanian version of toothpaste to cleanse her teeth and the inside of her mouth. As she spit the foam into the sink and rinsed her mouth out, she ran her tongue along the front of her teeth, happy that they were now sparkling white and clean.
She dressed in clothes that Ashleigh had given to her – a la
vender calf-length skirt and a matching tank made of soft fabric.
When she was ready, she walked out of the bathroom and saw Paoli and Eden speaking quietly in the corner of the workshop. She smiled at them both and walked through the workshop and outside. The small backyard had a lush garden and thick-bladed grass. The sun felt so good on her skin that she decided to sit outside for a while and think, so she chose one of the loungers on the back patio. She felt her mood lightening as the warmth invaded her. Suddenly she had an idea for what to do with the melted metal from her necklace, and she stood up and walked briskly into the shop.
She didn’t consider herself an artist by any stretch, but she liked to doodle when she was talking on the phone and had drawn pictures for stories she wrote when she was a child. In high school, she’d imagined herself as a children’s book author, filling up the pages with not only captivating stories but also drawings. She’d traded in her childish hopes of writing for a real job and community college, but now she had time on her hands.
Sitting down at an easel in the shop, she pulled open a small drawer underneath the metal form and selected a pencil filled with soft, dark lead. Closing her eyes, she focused on the image in her mind, then opened her eyes and began to draw. The pencil made soft scratching sounds on the thick pad of paper attached by clips to the easel, and she lost herself in the moment. With a final swipe of the pencil, she looked at her drawing and smiled. A large sun with curving rays almost leapt off the page at her.
“Oh, Kate,” Paoli said behind her.
She looked over her shoulder and met his gaze. His face was soft with surprise, his lips parted slightly.
“I thought we could make a mold and pour the melted metal into it. The sun is a symbol on Earth for strength, the start of a new day, new beginnings.”
“I love it,” he said almost reverently.
“Do you really?” She felt happy tears gathering in her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she craved his approval until she had it.
He reached for her as if he would hug her but stopped himself, pulling his hands back and folding his arms over his chest. Disappointment clung to her and for a moment she wanted to crawl back into bed and hide from the world.
I’m stronger than this, she thought, and dropped the pencil into the drawer and stood up from her stool. She pulled his arms apart and stepped into the warmth of his body, sliding her hands around his back. A moment passed as she stood in a one-sided embrace and she nearly choked on the fear that rose inside her, but then his arms wrapped around her and held her close. His cheek rested on top of her head and he sighed happily.
“I love it, Kate. I had no idea you could draw so well.”
Being in his arms was heaven. He was taller than her by several inches, his lean, lightly muscled body firm under her hands.
She tipped her head up. He didn’t move, but his eyes darkened. She had just gone up onto her tiptoes to close the distance to his lush mouth when the door to the workshop opened and the sounds of the chattering, happy young men that Eden taught filled the room.
Cursing under her breath as Paoli pulled away, she tore off the top sheet of the paper and followed him to a long counter against the far wall, the mood all but gone. Eden joined them and said, “Oh, that’s lovely. It might be too bulky for a pendant, but it would make a lovely brooch.”
“What do you think, Kate?” Paoli asked, his eye alight with happiness.
She nodded, still trying to calm her pulse that was racing wildly from their almost-kiss. “I’d like that.”
“I’ll cast a mold based on the drawing and pour the metal into the pendant. It should be ready in a few hours,” Eden said, smiling reassuringly. He turned away and directed his class’s attention to the front, where he had set up a low bowl filled with clusters of tiny, bright red flowers that looked like forget-me-nots. The young men, who had been watching them with curiosity, pulled out paintbrushes and jars of watercolor paints and began to work.
Paoli looked down at her with a soft smile. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, he said, “What would you like to do today, sweetheart?”
She knew that he was planning to make money by selling clothing to the upscale clothiers in the capital of Kyvern City, but he hadn’t begun to make anything yet.
“Do you think you could fix this top so it fits better? And then we’ll see where the day takes us.”
After inspecting the top and deciding he could loosen it by adding a small panel of fabric to the front and securing it with ties like a fitted bodice, Kate exchange it for another top and sat in the sewing room with him while he worked. He was so talented, and she watched as he cut the center of the top open and selected a matching fabric in a dark pattern, then sewed the pieces together, finishing it with delicate lacing up the front.
When she tried it on and found that the fit was perfect, she hugged him again. “It’s wonderful.”
“You like it?”
“Very much. You took something plain and made it beautiful.”
He ran his finger along the fabric at the shoulder and she shivered at the light caress. “It’s beautiful because you are.”
She wondered if it was possible to pass out from being complimented.
“Would you like to go to the park? We can take a lunch and find a place to eat in the shade,” she said.
“I’d love that.”
He smiled broadly and looked as if she’d given him a huge gift. She wondered if he realized how great a gift he’d given her. She wouldn’t have thought that a person could put a price on freedom, but the Norlanian government had done just that. They put a price on her head because she hadn’t willingly married Dex, and had stripped her freedoms away as if she were an animal, not a person. She hated the government for what they’d done to her, what they’d taken from her, but in spite of all that she’d lost, she’d also met Paoli, who was possibly the most honorable man she’d ever known. In spite of it all, she was happy to have met him and she couldn’t think of a better man to spend the rest of her life with.
If that’s what he wanted, too.
Chapter 3
Later that morning, Paoli and Kate went to the park for a picnic. It was a perfect day for it – the sun was bright, the temperature was warm and the sky was a shade of purple just slightly darker than the outfit she wore. He loved seeing her in the top he’d altered. It had made him proud to walk through the streets of Polona with her next to him. He chose a spot next to the lake, the thick grass providing a soft cushion for them and a large tree providing shade. While they ate the lunch they had packed together, they talked.
“I’m worried about my parents,” she said. “No one can tell me exactly how long it’s been on Earth since I was taken. My parents could be dead, or they could still be alive and wondering where I am.” She lowered her eyes to the plate of food and picked at it with an eating utensil. “I wonder if they’re still looking for me or if they resigned themselves to never knowing what happened to me. It kills me not knowing what’s happened to them.”
Paoli knew he would be troubled if one of his siblings simply disappeared. “I hate that you worry for your family.”
She smiled sadly as she lifted her eyes to meet his. “Your family is here but you don’t see them much. At least you know where they are and that they’re okay. I’d give just about anything to know that for my own family.”
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “My mother is angry because I spent the deenars I’d saved for her to set you free. I don’t regret that, but I do regret not being able to give my family what I’d promised.”
“But you already did buy them a house,” she pointed out. “I think it’s unfair of your mother to ask you to continue to sell yourself in the brothel just so she could have a nicer house. I–” She dropped the fork and reached for his hand. “It bothers me that a mother could let her own child sell themselves as a sex slave. My mom would have gone in my place if the situations were similar, and I sure as hell wouldn’t let
someone take my child like that. I’d fight tooth and nail to save them from that.”
He touched her chin. “You’re the fiercest female I’ve ever known. I know I can’t replace your family, and I’m sorry that I can’t send you back to Earth.”
“Would you?” she asked, chewing on her bottom lip, something he realized she did whenever she was upset.
“Would I send you back?”
She nodded.
He swallowed hard. “I can’t answer that question.”
“Tell me,” she urged.
“I want to be honorable and tell you that I would, but the truth is, while I’m sorry you can’t go home, I’m a selfish bastard because I wouldn’t want to let you leave.”
“If I’m honest, I don’t know if I would leave even if I could. No one can tell me how many years have passed on Earth. My parents might be dead by now, I don’t know. I’d rather think of them being happy and going on with their lives than spend the rest of my days pining for a life I can’t have anymore.”
He tried to think what he would do if he were in her position. He would miss his family and his world, but he hoped he could find someone like Kate who would be there for him.
He stared at her, wondering if he could kiss her in this perfect place, while the water lapped at the bank and birds sang in the trees.
“Hey! Brokah! Stand up and put your hands in the air!” Paoli froze and Kate gasped in alarm as they were quickly surrounded by soldiers.
Paoli put his hand on Kate’s shoulder for a brief moment. “It’ll be okay, just do what they say, sweetheart.”
She nodded, her lower lip trembling as she watched him stand slowly and put his hands up. The soldiers jerked him away from her and her skin went white with fear as the soldiers accused him of escaping from the Bordelayz. Only after a call was made to the owner of the brothel, would they accept that he was free, and that Kate was free, too.
“You’re not wearing the mating bracelet and she’s not wearing a necklace,” a soldier with short, dark blue hair pointed out, looking at her with interest.