"Regardless, why am I stuck here until some escort comes? That wasn't part of the itinerary the program gave me."
The flight attendant shrugged again.
"Apparently it's against the law for humans who have just arrived on Uoria to travel from their ship unaccompanied. Everyone who visits has to be escorted to the meeting hall where they will meet the king and queen before they are allowed to stay."
I sighed again.
"So who are these escorts?" I asked, "Other academics? Law enforcement?"
"I think they are warriors."
"Fantastic. So between the leading university research department for interplanetary exploration and cooperation and a group of warriors, they couldn't coordinate one meeting. That bodes terrifically for the future of the success of this program."
I was usually calmer and more pleasant than this, but it seemed space travel was pulling the worst out of me. Always described by everyone who met me as headstrong and fiercely independent, I have a very low tolerance for anything that I saw as incompetence, which this level of disorganization and improper handling of a situation definitely was in my mind.
Finally the pilot's voice came over the speaker in the chamber, announcing that the escort had arrived and I was welcome to come to the exit door. The flight attendant looked even more relieved than I felt.
"Oh, good. I was getting worried we were going to have to stay here for even longer. Is there anything I can help you with before I go upstairs for my break?"
I shook my head, reaching out to squeeze the girl's hand comfortingly. No matter what the origins of the fears she was experiencing, they were obviously very real and I suddenly felt bad for her. I hated to see a person feel so limited by their own minds that they were unable to face any changes in their normal situation or confront anything that may alter their point of voice because it was too uncomfortable for them.
"No, I'm fine. You go on ahead. Maybe I'll see you on my trip back in a few months."
The attendant smiled and returned the squeeze with her hand.
"Thanks. I'd like that. They'll have your bags for you at the door."
Without saying another word, the flight attendant scurried across the room and disappeared through the hatch that led to the small chamber where the attendants spent much of their time during the flight and where, I presumed, there was a set of stairs or an elevator that would bring her up into the staff sleeping quarters overhead. Taking a final glance around the chamber, I walked toward the front of the chamber and through a sliding door to the exit hatch.
The other flight attendant stood at the door, holding my bags in each hand and looking like he was still seeing the images from his beloved game flashing on the backs of his eyes. I reached for the bags and took firm hold of them by their handles.
"I can get these. Thanks," I said.
The attendant relinquished the bags, but I had only taken one step down from the ship onto the landing platform when I felt hands grab at them again.
"I'll help you," a male voice said and I looked down at the platform to see a man reaching up to hold onto my luggage.
He was certainly attractive, but if this was one of the famed warriors of the Denynso people, I found myself a touch disappointed and a bit confused. I had heard tales of enormous, powerful men so breathtakingly beautiful that women couldn't control themselves around them, which, I will have to admit, is one of the influencing factors for signing up for the program. The man in front of me was lovely, but at only around six feet tall and quite slender, he was decidedly not enormous and looked less fearsome that many of the professors who walked the halls of the university back on Earth. I pulled the bags back toward me.
"No, thank you, I can do it myself."
"I'm happy to help."
I gave a final tug, yanking the bags out of his hands.
"I have them."
I stepped down from the platform and when I straightened in front of him I saw the escort's eyes travel over my body in a way that I didn't really like. His gaze stayed on me for just a bit too long and I couldn't quite interpret the look on his face. It was somewhere between shock and an emotion that I couldn't define. Finally he lifted his eyes to mine.
"You definitely don't look like the other human women that have come here," he said.
I shot him a scathing look.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The man stammered for a minute, obviously trying to come up with an explanation.
"I just mean your hair. The other women have dark hair, except for Eden, but her hair is more red. Yours is…golden."
I wasn't convinced that that was actually what he was thinking. Leaving him still muttering, I pushed past and started down the steps of the landing platform.
"What's your name?" he called after me and I heard his footsteps follow me down the stairs.
"Zuri Hase. Didn't they tell you?"
"No. I'm not the original escort you were supposed to have."
"Oh," I said, some of the bitterness leaving my voice.
Maybe something bad happened and that's what caused the delay. I didn't want to be mean to him if his schedule for the day was thrown off just as much as mine was.
"I'm Ero," he told her as he caught up to her, "It's nice to meet you."
Chapter Four
What the hell was wrong with him?
The one time in his entire life when he had actually been trusted to do something important, and he was already screwing it up. Pyra was supposed to escort the new professor from the ship just like he had with the other women, but at the last minute he asked Ero to step in for him. Ero didn't know if there was something wrong with Eden and the baby requiring his attention, or if something else happened that took him away from his responsibilities, but he hadn't really cared in the moment. He had just been excited to have been the one that the older and more respected warrior had chosen to take his place.
Not only had he managed to be almost an hour late for the set time that he was supposed to meet her because he tore the lacing on his pants and had to go all the way back to his house to change them so that he didn't greet her with the intense erection that he was still sporting everywhere he went, but he had also offended the woman almost as soon as she stepped out of the ship. He couldn't really help it, though. He was expecting the same type of woman as Eden, Elianna, or Leia. What stepped out of the ship, however, was a shock. Instead of tiny and fragile-looking, Zuri rivaled some of the females of his species in size. She was only a few inches shorter than him and had a body that was lush, full, and curvy. The effect was bewildering. He had become accustomed to the small human women and was startled by someone who looked so different, but at the same time, he was drawn to all of the soft curves and swells. They seemed to have a powerful effect on his body as well, making him twitch and harden even further as the intense, almost animal feelings that built in his chest.
As she took long strides to pull out in front of him so that she walked ahead of him by several feet, Ero got an even fuller view of her body. Wide hips shifted beneath her long, loose skirt, accentuating the deep curve of her waist beneath her tight shirt. Something about her size made him uncomfortable, reminding him of his own size concerns and how small he felt compared to the other warriors. He jogged forward again to catch up with her.
"Tell me about your program," he said.
It came out more as an aggressive, almost violent, demand than an actual request inviting conversation and he saw her look sideways at him.
"What do you want to know about it? Are you going to be a student?"
It sounded like she was teasing him and he didn't like how that taunting made him feel. It was worse than when it came from the warriors. Hearing this woman making fun of him, even as subtle as it was, made a sharp pain go through his chest and he felt defensiveness building through him. Who did she think she was making fun of him?
"No," he said, "I'm a warrior. I have no reason to go to school."
"Oh,
really? So you know everything that you need to know and never need to learn anything else?"
Well, shit. This conversation was just going downhill as fast as she could get the words out of his mouth. What was it about this woman that made him completely out of control. She was cute, but definitely not so beautiful that he should be stumbling over his words and humiliating himself every time he opened his mouth. So why was he getting harder every time she talked to him, and why did he want to keep talking to her no matter what came out?
"That's not what I said," he said, "I just…I don't really need to know about Earth."
"So you know about the program. Why did you ask?"
"I know that you're here to teach about Earth. I don't know any more than that."
He was getting more and more frustrated, while also feeling worse every time he spoke and he saw the darkening across her wide blue eyes. It was a confusing feeling that he was really starting to hate.
"Well, to be completely honest, I don't really know a whole lot more than that, either. I just signed up to be the professor for the exchange program one day before my flight. I didn't really get much of a chance to figure out what I was going to teach."
There was laughter in her voice and he felt some of the tension ease out of his body. She glanced over at him and he noticed that her soft, rounded face really was pretty. Her skin was pale and smooth, not sprinkled with freckles the way that Eden's was, and her golden blond hair framed it as it flowed around her shoulders. Her mouth was wide, with full, soft lips slicked with lipstick that made them shine in a way that was undeniably alluring.
"Why did you want to come?"
He was honestly curious about why she decided to come to the planet to teach. If she had only signed up right before she left to be a part of the program, she obviously hadn't spent much time planning and getting herself invested in the concept of teaching on Uoria. There was a period of silence and Ero was worried for a minute that he had made her angry again and broken the brief moment of pleasantness between them. Finally she sighed, but it wasn't a sigh of exasperation. Instead, it sounded like she was trying to figure it out herself.
"I'm a professor at home, obviously, and I love teaching, so that's the main appeal. I'm excited about getting the chance to teach Earth customs, and I think I’m even more excited about getting to experience some new things."
"Is Uoria very different from Earth?"
She gave a short laugh.
"I've only been out here for about five minutes. I'm not really sure. So far, it doesn't look too far off. Not as many buildings."
They fell silent as they walked. They reached the center of the village and Zuri hesitated, no longer knowing where to go now that she had more options than just going straight ahead. He subtly stepped around her so that she could see him and guided her through the village and to the meeting hall.
"We'll go inside and meet the king and queen, and then I can show you around more if you'd like."
Zuri stopped right before the door to the meeting hall and looked at him.
"Thanks, Ero, but now that I have been successfully escorted from the ship, I think I can take it from here. I appreciate your help."
His stomach dropped and a sick feeling rolled through him. She had already grabbed onto the latch of the door and was pulling it open when he started toward her.
"No. I actually have to come with you. My job isn't finished until I get you to the king and queen. That means I have to bring you all the way to them."
Zuri sighed as if it was the biggest burden in the world for her to deal with him any longer.
"Fine."
She wrenched the door open and stepped inside, not bothering to hold the door open for him but letting it swing shut behind her so that he had to slam his hand against it to stop it from actually hitting him. She paused just inside to let him walk past her and guide her to the reception room. He stormed through the hall, his fingers tingling with anger. He was sure that if it had been Pyra or even Gyyx who had met her at the ship, she would be more than happy to go along with them for anything that they wanted her to do. She was only being so resistant because it was him. He was just too small and slim to be appealing to her. He didn't have enough muscles and wasn't tall enough to keep her attention. She was just like everyone else.
Chapter Five
"We're so glad that you came."
I was still a bit startled by the woman talking to me and it took a moment for me to be able to respond to her.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be here."
The woman, who I was taken to meet was the queen, she was so large she even made me feel small, which is quite a feat most of the time. I was not used to having women be taller than me, and her shoulders were broad and strong. She was beautiful in a dignified way that I had always admired about the older professors at home and she looked at me with tenderness in her eyes that made me feel like it was my mother looking at me. She strode forward toward me and reached for my hand with both of hers.
"I'm Theia, Queen of Uoria. This is my husband, Creia."
Her hands nearly engulfed mine and she held them warmly as a massive man came up behind her, smiling at me kindly. I wasn't sure what to expect from the royal couple, but this certainly wasn't it. As I stood there in the huge meeting hall with Theia's hands grasping mine and a row of warriors standing behind me, I started feeling like I should have done more research about the planet before I made the decision to suddenly come here for six months to teach. I felt even less like I understood the culture now that I had seen Ero, compared him to the truly huge warriors who joined us in the meeting hall, and met the monarchs.
"It's very nice to meet you," I said, really meaning it.
Being near the king and queen made me feel somewhat more at home and I was starting to feel much more confident about my role, even as I wondered how much studying I was going to be able to shove in the brief amount of time I had before I started teaching. I wanted to have a little bit of a grasp of the culture before I tried to interact with them on a regular basis.
"We have loved having Leia here with us, and we are very excited to do more with the exchange program."
The statement struck me as strange. Leia had only been here for two months and from my understanding, she had been alone on an artist's retreat for most of that time. I supposed she just meant that they loved the idea that she was there and that the idea of the people of Uoria and Earth interacting and cooperating.
"I hope that I can be a positive influence on the program. I'm excited for the opportunity to share our customs and history with you."
I heard snickering from behind me and I glanced over my shoulder. A couple of the warriors were trying to maintain straight faces and I looked back at the king and queen.
"Did I say something funny?" I asked.
The royals looked faintly uncomfortable and the king shot a glare at the warriors, who immediately fell silent.
"You'll have to forgive our warriors. They aren't accustomed to such formality."
"It's quite alright," I said, looking back toward the warriors, "I don't think of it as formality so much as intelligence."
At the end of the row of warriors I could see a dark look roll over Ero's face. There was something about him that both drew me to him and repelled me. I could see the hint of disdain in his eyes when he looked at me, and I knew it was because I am not like the more delicate women who had already come. I was accustomed to that look, but somehow it coming from him made me angry.
"Well, it has been a long trip. We would love for you to join us for dinner if you're hungry."
Theia had released my hand, only to loop her arm through mine and start leading me gently through the room toward a large arched door at the far end. As we passed by the row of warriors, I heard Ero's voice.
"I'm sure she's hungry."
I stopped and looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
He looked back at me with an expression that said he didn't thi
nk I was going to hear him.
"Like she said, it was a long trip and I've heard that the food on the ships isn't very good. I just meant that it's time for dinner and I'm sure you'd like to join us."
I didn't bother responding. Instead, I let Theia lead me the rest of the way across the room and through the doorway into a large banquet room. The space glowed with firelight and was filled with delicious smells coming from platters of food lined down the long tables positioned in a squared U-shape around the edge of the room. Most of the chairs were filled and I noticed the distinct difference between the Denynso and the three human women sitting close to me.
"Everyone," Theia said and immediately everyone in the room quieted and turned to me, "This is Zuri Hase. She has joined us from the university to be a part of our exchange program. We are thrilled to have her here to help us understand the people of Earth more and hopefully get us closer to our goals of cooperation and eventual integration. Please make her feel welcome."
I saw several of the warriors tense when the queen mentioned integration, but most of the people in the room smiled welcomingly at me. I saw a very thin woman coming toward me, her arms open as if to hug me. It took me until she was almost at me to realize that it was Leia. I gathered her into a hug, disturbed by how fragile and bony she felt in my arms. She had never been a large girl, but she seemed even thinner now than I had seen her.
"It's so good to see you!" Leia exclaimed and I smiled down at her.
"It's wonderful to see you, too. Are you well?"
Leia laughed and nodded. I'm sure she knew what I was thinking, but she wasn’t volunteering any information.
"I'm better than I've ever been. Come meet the other women."
Theia smiled at me and released my arm, allowing Leia to pull me toward the table where I saw two other human women sitting beside each other. She introduced me to Eden, who had her hands rested over her belly in the nurturing, protective way of an expectant mother even though it was only a slight swell, and Elianna who was tiny and delicate looking with dark hair that hung around her face and brought out her piercing green eyes. I was happy to have other human women with me and immediately felt a connection with them. We had been talking and eating for several minutes when I heard Ero's voice come over the rumble of the other voices around me.
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