by Rosette Lex
When the day of the coronation itself dawned, though, it was surprisingly all right. She got to sleep in until breakfast, and afterwards she was positively pampered as her hair and her makeup were done. The makeup artists were so excited; they had never worked with anyone with skin as pale as hers, and apparently they looked at it as a fantastic challenge.
When at last they let her look into the mirror, her hair was braided back into the very beginnings of a braid, before the majority of her hair was gathered into a tail, with a strand of hair wrapped around it to hide the tie. The tail, then, was curled so that it fell down her neck and back in long, loose ringlets. Her make up was done in purples and silvers so that her eyes stood out like a pair of beacons, and her nails were long, perfectly filed, and painted purple with silver tips.
Once she saw her clothing for the coronation, she understood the color scheme. The dress was made of light, thin fabric. It was low cut in the front and almost entirely backless, and the skirt was above her knees in the front but trailed along the ground in the back, even in her heels. The heels in question were four inches tall, and were actually open-toed boots made of light, petal-soft leather.
The dress was a pale and yet vibrant shade of purple, and the boots, the braid of chains around her neck, the belt of thin chains around her waist, and the cuffs around her wrists were all silver. Crystal was mesmerized just looking at it, and once she was wearing it, she felt like she could take on the entire world and win.
Once she was dressed and ready, she was hustled to the doors just outside the throne room, and it was almost eerie how empty the corridors were as she walked.
She could hear someone speaking from within the throne room, though she couldn’t make out the actual words. She imagined it was all rather grand and noble, though she couldn’t help but think whatever the message was wouldn’t fit her. She didn’t have long to dwell on it, though. Soon enough, the speaking ceased, and the doors opened.
The women who had escorted her to the throne room ushered her through the doors, and Crystal stood tall, lifted her chin, and walked towards the two thrones at the end of the long, dark red carpet. In that moment, the carpet seemed almost endless, but Crystal kept her steps calm and purposeful.
Only when she was standing beside Gerralt at the thrones could she truly take in what the throne room had become for the day. There were banners hung on the walls, all in deep red and depicting the Trevelyan clan’s crest.
The endless benches were draped in garlands and wreaths of the brilliantly colored flowers—every shade of the rainbow and every variation therein—that Crystal had chosen, and every seat was filled. The thrones as well had been draped in banners and flowers, and it looked as if some sort of playful nature deity had swept through and left an endless amount of petals on the floor.
Gerralt smiled at her calmly and held his hands out expectantly, and Kelso handed him Crystal’s crown. It had to be hers; he was already wearing his own. And Crystal’s crown was beautiful. It matched Gerralt’s, true, but where his was mostly a gemmed band, Crystal’s had fine chains and jewels dangling from it, turning it from a simple circlet into an elegant headpiece.
“Crystal Cavanaugh,” Gerralt started. “You are my mate, and I could not be happier. As such, do you swear to remain by my side and help govern our kingdom to the best of your abilities?”
“I swear,” she intoned in reply.
“Do you swear to stand strong in the face of adversity and to be fair and just in the face of a crisis?” he asked.
“I swear,” she replied.
The crown was settled on her head, the chains sweeping across her hair and forehead. Gerralt looked out over the crowd, and it seemed like his voice could have shaken every bench as he said, “Arise for your queen.”
There was cheering and applause, and flowers and petals were being thrown, and Mellia was laughing like every dream she had ever had was coming true, but Crystal paid no attention to it.
She paid attention to Gerralt as he reeled her in close and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. He kissed her as if he was drowning and she was air, trying to breathe her in, and Crystal kissed him just as desperately in return.
With the crown sitting on her head like a symbol of all that had happened, with her people cheering, and with Gerralt holding onto her like a life line, Crystal had something of an epiphany.
She would be okay. Everything would turn out okay.
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Stranded With The Alien
Rosette Lex
Copyright 2015 by Rosette Lex
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
in any way whatsoever, without written permission
from the author, except in case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews
and articles.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any
person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
First edition, 2015
Chapter 1
Gloria ran sobbing through the forest. Things had been miserable before, but at least she understood them. In their own broken way, they made sense.
The force of her emotions shook her body as she ran, her footsteps unsteady.
For years she had worked in her stepfather’s bar, suffering the insults and the low wages. Almost everyone in her small town feared her stepfather. Despite Gloria trying to find another job that actually paid at least minimum wage, no one would hire her.
When one of the employers that rejected her later went and told her stepfather that she was looking for another job, things became even worse.
“When your mother died, didn’t I take you in?” he shouted.
“Didn’t I give you a roof over your head and food on your plate? I gave you a job! It’s your fault, fatty, that you’re too lazy to work hard enough to earn a decent wage.”
But she did work! She worked harder than anyone else in that place. Everyone always complimented her on how pretty he was, but all her stepfather ever brought up was that she was a heavy girl.
After he heard she was looking for other work, he started making her do more around the house before and after work. She suspected it was to keep her too tired to try and look for another job. Well, it worked.
With nowhere else to go, she had no choice but to do what he told her to. For a time things settled into an exhausting but steady routine. She had almost gotten used to it. But that night things had gone too far.
The bar had closed early due to a drunken brawl. After the police had come, the manager insisted everyone just head home for fear of any kind of retaliation. Like she always did, Gloria came in through the backdoor as it was closest to her room.
Her stepfather had plans that night, so she was looking forward to an early bedtime. Voices from the living room ripped away that hope.
If her stepfather was home, and he knew she was off of work early, he’d certainly make her do chores. When she heard someone else’s voice, she knew he’d likely make her cook for them.
For a moment she thought about just sneaking out again, but he owned the bar. Certainly the manager would tell him he’d sent everyone home, and if she wasn’t there, he’d drill her about where she was and why she hadn’t come home.
Rather than suffer through that, she’d just lowered her head and made her way through the house to the living room.
“I don’t know, you owe me a lot of money.”
“I know,” her stepfather said.
“We’re talking thousands here. I doubt one fat girl is worth that much.”
Fat girl? What? Were they talking about… her?
“Look, she cooks good, cleans. Hard worker, that one. You can do whatever you want with her, she’s too stupid to say no.”
Too stupid? That little bastard!
; “I still say there’s gotta be a catch.”
“No catch. I’m selling her to you.”
“And in exchange we wipe your debt to me.”
“Yup. She’s no good to me anymore anyway. Not into fat chicks. Not like her mom, wooo. Lemme tell you somethin’ about her mom.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
Gloria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her stepfather was selling her to his old friend.
This couldn’t be legal, could it? Then again, could she do anything about it? Where would she go? No, maybe she was wrong.
Gloria pressed her back against the wall as she tried to convince herself that they were talking about someone else. Anyone else.
“So how’re we going to do this?” the friend asked.
“She’s a heavy sleeper. Tonight I’ll go in, drug her, and we can take her over to your place.”
“What if she doesn’t go along with it?”
“I dunno. Kill her, I s’pose. No one would miss her anyway. I’m the only family she has to speak of. Don’t got no friends.”
That was all she needed to hear. Gloria was out the door running through the forest her house was nestled against.
As she cried, she realized that no matter how offended she was, it was true. No friends, nowhere to go.
The desolation of her situation weighed so heavily on her that just putting one foot in front of the other was almost asking too much. All she wanted to do was fall to the ground and cry.
There was no hope for her, no options. No way out. Even now they were probably chasing her. They’d find her, take her back, and drug her.
A wolf’s cry cut through the night, banishing all other thoughts in that moment. No, that couldn’t be right. Now, of all times? Was the cry meant for her, to announce it’d found a meal?
Gloria stopped to listen. The air was frozen in terrified silence following the wolf howl. Scared to move but scared to stay still, Gloria convinced herself to take a step. Then another.
A sound in the distance startled her. She was so ramped up in fear that she didn’t even realize she was running. Branches brushed by her, scraping against her arms.
Her heavy footsteps pounded along the soft forest floor as she ran for her life. The light patter of paws beat a deceptively gentle song along the leaves.
The growl gave away the wolf’s position before she could see it. When she turned her head to look behind her, the dark form of the wolf was charging her.
Something took her hand, warm firm fingers wrapping around her own, and she startled. At first she thought it was her stepfather or his friend, but when she looked beside her, a tall form was running beside her.
The wolf snarled before leaping.
Chapter 2
Gloria turned to see, and threw up her free arm in front of her in defense. Suddenly, the wolf was gone.
The forest, her house—gone.
A wind blew her hair into her face, the smell of salt flowing into her nostrils. She took a step and her foot sank an inch. Startled, she jumped and looked down. Sand. She was standing in sand.
All her life she’d spent in that house. She knew that forest better than anywhere. There wasn’t any sand.
Turning her head up to the night sky, she’d never seen so many stars. It was as though someone had taken a black sheet and poked millions of holes in it before holding it up against the lamp.
A sound she’d been hearing clicked in her brain. Waves. Those were the crashing waves of the ocean.
Gloria turned around and saw the vastness of the ocean spread out before her. In all her life, she’d never seen the ocean.
“Do you like it?” the mysterious man asked.
She nodded, and then felt him squeeze her hand. They were still holding hands?
“Where are we?”
“The loneliest island on your planet. I’ve chosen this location as my base while I research your planet.”
“My planet?” she asked, looking up at him. Already she’d forgotten all about her stepfather and his terrible plan. Now her mind was awash in the magic of what was taking place.
“I’ve come for you. Your voice called to me from across the galaxy.”
“The galaxy?”
This was a dream, she realized. Aliens didn’t exist. Sure, the scientists and movies all talked about them, but everyone knew that was all just fiction or speculation. The man standing next to her was a man. Gorgeous and strong, but a man all the same.
“Where I come from, the one you’re meant to be with is destined. There is no choice. When I heard your heart cry out, I knew you were my destiny. I’ve come and studied your people to understand you. When you were in danger tonight, I knew it was my time to fetch you. We’re to be together.”
The certainty in his tone was what did it. Her system had had too much excitement for one night, and this last piece of information was the last straw. Black crawled in from the edges of her vision seconds before it all went dark.
Chapter 3
The next thing she knew, her eyes were fluttering open. All around her were metal walls. She was on a surprisingly comfortable bed, the man knelt beside her.
“I fainted?” she asked him, a little confused.
He gave a single nod of his head and offered her some water.
“You cannot fight it.”
“Fight it?” she asked after taking a sip of water. Already the coolness of the liquid helped clear her head and she sat up.
“We’re destined. You have no choice in the matter. Nor do I. I came all this way to be with you. There is no threat that can ever reach you while I draw breath. I will protect you.”
“That’s very sweet, but—“
“In studying your planet, I’ve learned of this emotion you call love. It is a strong feeling of attraction and connection. This is what I feel. I have this love.”
Gloria studied his face, once more drawn in by his intense features.
“You love me?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t know me.”
“It does not matter. You are my soulmate.”
Gloria was absolutely taken by how insanely gorgeous he was, and as much as she wanted to be into this, she just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he was an alien. Hot, for sure, but still an alien.
Now he was going off about being in love with her. No matter how much she wanted to feel the same, it just wasn’t there.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said.
“Is that important?”
“If two people are destined to be together? Yeah. I’d say it’s kind of important.”
“You may call me Rock.”
“Rock? You want me to call you Rock?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Your stone here is solid, trustworthy. At times beautiful and precious. The grains of sand on the beach make it soft and inviting, while your great mountains and volcanos spew rage into the sky inspiring songs and religions all throughout your history.”
“All fair points,” she said.
“All right, Rock it is. Rock, my name is Gloria. It is nice to meet you.”
“Yes,” he said and moved closer to her.
“What’re you doing?” she asked pulling away as he advanced.
“Now we will become one.”
“What?” she asked, shocked.
“Look, I appreciate you rescuing me, but I just met you. You talk about soulmates, but you can’t expect me to decide this in a day.”
“Decide? There is no decision. There is no choice. Now we will become one.”
“You can’t,” she shouted, pushing at his chest. Even as she pressed, however, he moved in closer, grabbing at her waist and pulling her close to him.
“We have met. I have brought you here. We will be together. I’ve no time for your human emotions to realize what must be. The urge to mate is too strong. It cannot wait. It will not.”
“No,” she screamed, the slight amount of excitement
she’d felt when meeting this man fleeing in that instant. Was she really rescued from her tyrannical stepfather just to be brought here and forced?
His hands moved like lightning as he undid the fastener on her pants and began sliding them down her hips.
“No, you can’t!”
She tried to twist her body to get his hands off of her pants and pushed at him to get him off of her. In just that short time he’d worked her pants to her mid-thigh.
And then, he stopped.
“Where I come from,” he said slowly, “this is not a question. Yet, here, it feels as though if I were to continue this, it would cause you to not trust me.”
“You’re damn right I wouldn’t. Get off of me!”
“This is not what I want,” he said and pushed her pants back up to her waist.
“I love you. I am here to protect you. I wish for you to trust and love me as well.”
Gloria redid the button on her pants and pushed herself away from him on the bed.
“You can start by not forcing me to have sex with you. That’s a big no-no here, you ass.”
“Yes, I realize this now. I will swear to you that I will not touch you until you are willing too and desire it.”
Gloria panted through her nose as she tried to regain her breath. The confusion in his eyes was what struck her the most about all of this.
She wanted to be upset with him, offended, violated, but something in the way he held himself told her it wasn’t intentional.
He had been acting out of what he was used to, and now tried to adapt to what she needed. Of course, this was all just speculation, but she was willing to at least give the alien Rock a chance to prove his word.
“You get one chance, Rock. If you try this again, I will never trust you. Do you hear me? Ever.”
“I understand. Do you wish me to take you back to your home?”