A trial is set for me, not even an hour later. I am hassled to a room that looks much like a lavish courtroom and made to kneel before the Royal family; Erien is present, looking as aloof as the rest. Elertria is slightly flush. She knows what she’s been doing down by the hot pools. Sasha looks as innocent as she is beautiful, sitting comfortably next to her husband Kravis; even he has judgment in his eyes. I swallow hard. I am still in my torn clothes and disheveled hair.
Erien speaks first. “Let’s get on with this, I don’t have all day,” he says.
His mother nods. Kravis asks, “What is your accusation, Erien?”
“First, my brother and now my father, who else are you going to fuck, my mother?” Erien is angry.
“I didn’t do it, I swear it,” I say. I am battling within myself whether to tell of what the Queen did or not. The way she is sitting so uptight, I can tell that she fears that.
“What do you have to say?” Kravis asks me.
“Ask your wife, she was there. Or maybe your mother, who summoned me earlier.” I decide that keeping quiet won’t save my skin. I am wrong.
The Queen scoffs. “I am bored of prattling with hell girl. She has obviously brought scum from her lowly planet and I won’t have it. Punish her, Erien or I would have to do it for you.”
I shudder. I am tired of being punished. I am tired of being wrong. I am extremely tired.
Kravis speaks up. “You accused her Erien, you pass the punishment,” he declares.
Erien is quiet for a while. Elertria is impatient. “Send her to Mother tree.”
“And send her to her death, we all well know that no ordinary person who approaches mother trees lair lives to see another day?”
“That is our point,” Elertria says.
Erien shifts his gaze from me to his mother and back.
“Erien, please believe me. It is Sasha who should be on this side of the room, your mother--”
He can’t even stand the sound of my voice. He looks away from me.
Elertria’s shrill voice answers, “Send her to Mother tree. Say it. Say it.”
Kravis prods him. “Why do you hesitate, Erien? Are you afraid that Mother tree will tell your dear Alice that she’s not the only one who’s been unfaithful?”
“Shut up!” Erien growls.
Kravis laughs. “Oh, did I just let it slip that you slept with the crone, Mother tree?”
Everyone gasps. It is my first time seeing Elertria surprised but the emotion passes quickly. It takes me a moment to register what Kravis just said. My face grows pale when my mind makes sense of it. Did Erien sleep with someone else already? I am shocked.
“Yeah, who does that?” Kravis adds.
“I did it for you, Alice,” he says, striding off. He can’t sit there anymore.
“What do we do with her?” Kravis asks after his brother.
“Just send me home. Send me home!” I scream.
Elertria gives me a cold glare. “And have you tell your poor planet about the treasures of Solasis?”
“Who would believe a girl like me anyway? Just send me back to Earth,” I beg.
“Erien, this is your call… what is the punishment for her crime,” Kravis bellows.
“Send her to mother tree!” Elertria says. “Erien?”
Before Erien can leave, he pauses, gives me a side glance and says, “Send her to the Mother tree.”
I feel cold. I hate Erien. I hate him so much. How dare he? Kravis looks at me with a bit of pity and then snaps his fingers. At once, two guards come up from behind me and take me away for my final punishment. What else is there to live for anyway?
Chapter Nineteen
Alice
I thought I wouldn’t be scared but I was. Mother tree’s abode lies at the center of the castle. When I walk nearer to it, I feel a horrible sense of foreboding. The shrill laughs and moaning coming from nowhere and everywhere do not help either. I bite my lip until it bleeds. All I can think of is that Erien slept with Mother tree. I slept with no one and yet I am the one being punished. I hope, at least, that I will be able to see the crone’s face before I die.
Only a true royal can get near Mother tree’s lair and not die. I am not a royal. And before I get any nearer, I pass out.
Horrible voices laugh in my head. I toss and turn for them to go away. It is only an excruciating muscle pull that wakes me up. I wake up screaming.
“Where am I? Am I dead?” I ask even before I can see who is seated at the bedside.
It is Kravis. I fall quiet at once when I see that I am also in a strange room. It is a considerable size, the style is simple and a great deal of fresh air enters from the open balcony. I can see the balcony of Erien’s room at an angle.
“Where am I, Kravis?” I wanted to know.
He doesn’t answer me. He just asks. “Is it true what you said about Sasha?”
“How long have I been out?”
“A week or so… you should be dead,” he smiles.
I manage a tight smile. My lips are cracked. “I should, shouldn’t I?”
“Sasha and my father,” he scoffs.
I can see that his thoughts are far away. I also start to wonder why he is the one by my side and not Erien. Well, I don’t want to see Erien but I can’t get him off my mind either. Kravis hands me a Melon fruit. I bite from it to suck its placid juice.
“You believe me?” I say.
“I do.”
“Why?” I am curious. After all, Erien didn’t.
“Even a promiscuous woman will seem more viable before taking the weakest,” he says of his father.
“I don’t understand.”
“You can’t. You are not from Solasis, let alone Royal.”
“You know that too?” I am surprised.
“You don’t walk with your back straight and you hold your head a little bend.”
I snigger. “Can you send me back home?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Only a royal soleroid can transcend space and time. And I don’t think any of us is willing to go to hell for your sake.”
I bite my sore lip again, disappointed. “So you’re like gods?”
“If that’s what you like to call it, Alice. Rest well.”
I watch Kravis stride across the room.
“What will happen to me now?” I ask him before he leaves.
“You marry Erien,” he says curtly.
“What?”
“The whole realm saw you. They want your non-existent treasure. You will marry him!” Kravis tells me.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“What else can you do? if you don’t marry him, who will you be?”
“He’s not the man I knew.”
Kravis grimaces. “Erien would never go out of his way to deceive anyone so if you think he’s strange, you never knew him at all.”
With that, he takes his exit. I scowl, pondering hard on his words. I decide to go back to sleep when I remember the horrible voices in my head while I slept. I never want to hear that again. Suddenly, I know what to do.
Chapter Twenty
Erien
I knew she would come. I have waited for days for her to come. And when she finally came, I don’t know what to say to her. Alice stands at my doorway. She is all ribs and skin now, but her hair and eyes are still radiant.
“You are awfully skinny now,” I say. It is not what I have been planning to say. My mind is scrambled at the sight of her.
“Spare me, Erien. You wanted me dead.” Her tone is cold. This breaks my heart. She hates me now.
“If I won’t have you, no one will!” I tell her.
“I shouldn’t have come,” she says, turning to go.
“Running back to my brother, are you?”
“At least he was there when I finally woke up from my sweet dreams to this horrible nightmare.”
I grit my teeth. Of course, there is no way she can know that I am the one who saved her when she fainted.
I made an error by sending her to Mother tree and I made up for it. I made sure she was okay. If only my mother hadn’t interfered and had her recover in Kravis’s former bedroom which he vacated when he wed. It would be me she would wake up to and not him, that slimy bastard.
“What, you’re going out with him now?” I feel blood pump through my temples.
“Our engagement is over! If you didn’t keep me here as a prisoner, maybe I wouldn’t fall for your brother!” Alice yells.
“Are you mad?” How could another lover of mine fall for Kravis?
“Are you?” she echoes me.
“You dare! I’d send you back to Earth if I didn’t know that you would sell out all secrets of Solasis!” I say. The real truth is I don’t want her to ever leave me. I love her more than I knew.
I can see that Alice wants to cry and hit me at the same time. Instead, she says, “I thought you knew me better than that.”
I turn on my heels to go. I don’t want her to leave with an upper hand, so I tell her, “I never knew you at all.”
The truth is that I know Alice. I know her so well. I have just been too selfish to pay attention to her needs. I have just been too much of a Soleroid. I hear her footsteps fade as she runs back to my brother.
Chapter Twenty One
Alice
How did I end up here? I ask myself again and again. How? The ground is far below me. I only have to let go of the barrier on the terrace and the end will come swiftly. I’d rather die than live like this. It’s not like anyone will remember me.
My bony fingers tremble and my feet shake. I don’t know whether to say a prayer or not before I take my final plunge.
“God, forgive me,” is all I can think to say.
I let go.
The open air receives me. I shut my eyes, sure that the end will come quickly. It doesn’t. Someone grabs my hand just in time. I dangle over the balcony and look up, hoping to see Erien. It’s only Kravis.
“If you intended to break your legs, I could have done it for you,” he says.
I look into his copper eyes. “I intend to do more than that. Let go of me.” He does and I scream. He is only playing. He pulls me up to the balcony.
“It’s not worth it,” he says, leading me back into his room.
“If I die, will I awake on earth?”
He jeers. “You really are a foolish worm, aren’t you? Don’t be silly. Your brains will splatter and you will be gone for good.”
I sit down on the bed next to him.
“I just can’t live like this anymore,” I confess. “I am just a maid in nice clothes.”
“No, you are simply a maiden in clothes that don’t fit, and sometimes, that’s okay,” Kravis tells me.
I am taken aback. It is the nicest thing anyone has told me in a long time.
Kravis inches closer to me and despite myself, I part my lips for him. He kisses me deeply, his strong hands supporting my frail neck. I stare into his copper eyes.
“What do you want from me?” I ask, softly.
“I don’t know. You are different.”
“Yes, I am hell girl.”
He laughs. “That and you listen, not only with your ears but with your heart. I may be the eldest son but no one listens to me. It is always Erien who is the loudest, boldest and got all the girls.”
I find myself laughing at that. Kravis continues. “My interest in literature was ignored. I am ignored even if I am rightful king.”
“I am sorry,” I say.
He blushes. “Now you see why I like you.”
“It’s Erien I love,” I tell him, no matter how much I hate it. I still love Erien; I love and hate him.
Kravis nods. “I reckon he loves you too.”
“You think?” I want assurance.
“He put you through all this, didn’t he? I’ll tell you, he has never held on to a woman before... even Sasha, he simply liked her body.”
I remember Sasha. “Did you confront Sasha?”
“For what? She was sleeping with your Erien before she jumped in my father’s bed. She is an opportunist, her.” He doesn’t seem to care.
“Do you love her?” I am incredulous.
He shrugs. “Love is a weakness. Sasha is a strong young woman. She will give me a strong beautiful son.”
Just then, two maids come in bearing food. I smell fresh noodles and shrimp. My mouth waters at the familiar smell. The food is set on the floor. Kravis doesn’t hesitate to go down, cross-legged over the food. I am hesitant. What if this is a trap. Still, I drop from the bed and sit cross-legged opposite him.
“I had hell food made for you,” Kravis says, and whispers, “Erien told me.”
I sigh. If this is a trap, I am failing all over again. I take my chopsticks and start to eat. It is delicious. Kravis doesn’t like the taste so I get to eat his share as well. He watches me with fascination.
Once I am sure the food is not going away, I ask him, “Why did you kiss me?”
“You looked like you needed it.”
“I... I don’t think I did,” I lie. The kiss made me feel a bit worthy.
“Well, someone has to, you are a very attractive women.”
“I don’t feel like that right now.”
“Of course, you don’t. If you compare yourself to Soleroid standards, no matter what you do will never match; your hair is too wavy, your skin too smooth, your tongue too short, your eyes too plain…” I bat my eyelids. My eyes are always said to be gorgeous but he calls them plain. He adds, “You will never fit in or ever be like Sasha, so why try?”
I find his words difficult. I contemplate them a moment.
“Do... Do you love me?” I can see myself being with Kravis, he is so simple but oh what a scandal that would be. And no matter how comfortable I may be with him, it is Erien that I truly love.
“You are interesting, yes. Erien is good for you, he has been to your land and you share common interests.”
“Common?” I don’t think so.
“You both put loyalty before gain.”
“I see…” I am about to ask him a question when the door opens. It is Erien. I stare up. I am afraid that he wants to start a fight, instead, he just stands there.
Kravis rises, kissing me softly on the head. He leaves. Silence follows. The door closes and I am left alone with Erien.
Chapter Twenty Two
Erien
I watch my bride, knowing full well that she hates me. I have wronged her in more ways than one, yet only because I love her in more ways than one. I don’t know where to start.
“The wedding guests will start to arrive on the morrow,” I say. I don’t want her to see how much I need her. She appraises me with her eyes.
“You think I will marry you? You hurt me. Your mother commanded it and you hurt me.”
“I know. This is not how I expected our first days of marriage to be,” I say.
She grits her teeth. “We are not married. We will not be, so don’t expect me to do that stupid voyeurism dance.” She crosses her arms.
“Is this why you want to throw yourself over the building? Is that it, because you can’t stand me?”
She stands up, fuming. I fear that our relationship may be doomed but I won’t give up. I can see her blush when she realizes I was watching her the whole time.
“No, I can’t stand you, Erien. And yes, I was going to jump – not like you were going to catch me anyway.”
“I was going to; right before you smash your head on the ground. Maybe you need some fear put in you,” I shout.
“Fear? Don’t you think I am scared enough as it is?”
“You will never be scared again, I promise.” I close the gap between us and hug her. It is a one-sided hug. “Alice… I am not the easiest man to live with, but I want you to know that I love you. I miss you.”
Alice removes herself from my grip.
“You won’t understand,” she says.
I study her face. It is true she is scared,
I can see it in her eyes. “What can’t I understand?”
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Heart Complete Series (Books 1-4): A SciFi (Science Fiction) Alien Warrior Abduction Invasion Romance Box Set Page 28