Alien Perfection

by Megan Edwards

  Archon didn’t like that Naelia left without telling him, but he knew she’d been struggling. A day of meditating was probably a good thing. That was after all the reason they moved down here So, if she need more time to make things right, then Archon was going to make sure she had it. He was glad that Qyrlyn would be able to help with the little ones.

  “Just give me a little time to get dressed. Thank you so much for your help.”

  Archon dressed quickly, even though it was kind of difficult with Bryson still in his arms especially since Bryson didn’t want to give up Archon’s pinky.

  “All set, come on in.” Archon called Qyrlyn

  She came in and immediately extended her arms for Bryson. She looked around the room and Archon could see that she was getting ready to sit on the floor. He stopped her by saying

  “Qyrlyn, please sit on the bed to nurse the baby. It will be much more comfortable. I'm going to go out and wash up. Take your time. I’ll be back soon.” Then he walked out and went straight to the lake.

  Archon washed up quickly and sat on the bank and just absorbed the beauty around him. This was a beautiful place to live. Surrounded by so much nature you could forget civilization entirely if you wanted. Then again, it was still close enough that if you needed or wanted something modern, it would be easy to secure.

  The more Archon sat the more he wonder if Naelia would want to remain here in Rhellia’s camp. The camp offered everything they could possibly want and more. It was both civilized and uncivilized it was probably the perfect place to raise their children.

  Archon stood and brushed himself off and headed back to his room. Qyrlyn was nursing Brielle when he came in and Bryson was beside her on the bed playing with his feet. Archon smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. It was amazing how much the children had grown in such a short time. Hell, they were nearly as large as a three year old Earthling. As soon as Archon sat down Qyrlyn started talking.

  “Archon…I need to tell you why Naelia took off this morning. Umm, well… I think, that she thinks… well, we think that maybe you went to see a woman last night to take care of your manly needs. See me we talked last night. Some of our talk was about how people can be needy for love. Some of our talk was about how even an Earthling man needs it more than a woman. And how if a man doesn’t get his need relieved, well that it will be painful for him.

  And well… it doesn’t take a Venusian to see that Naelia hasn’t had sex with you. I mean, we all got eyes. You know, because you are all walking around here with your soldier at full attention. I wanted to warn her. I wanted her to know she could take care of you. I know her story and figured she probably had some reservations. I think Naelia was thinking about trying to do it for you. Now, however, she seemed really upset that you went to someone else.”

  Archon heard her words, but couldn’t do more than shake his head. How that woman, or anyone for that matter could actually believe that Archon would be intimate with another? Naelia was the only woman he ever wanted. He would wait forever if that’s what it took. Clearly, Venusians didn’t understand what it meant to be the lifemate of an Earthling. He could and would never look at anyone but Naelia that way. Archon’s insides clenched in fear and anger at the same time. He knew, he needed to find Naelia and make sure that she never worried about something like that again. He looked at Qyrlyn and said as calmly as he could

  “Thank you for telling me, Qyrlyn. I was, however, not with any other women last night. For that matter, I will never be with any other woman. No matter how long my soldier as you called him… stands at full attention. Now, can you please take care of the babies for me and Naelia today? You won’t need to be alone all day. Captain James and Odelin should be by a little later. I'm going to find Naelia and make sure she understands that she is the only woman in the world for me, and always will be.”

  Qyrlyn’s head bobbed up and down and Archon headed out of the room.

  Chapter 19

  Naelia spent the day in silence meditating to Ewmjir. It was so peaceful. She was filled with serenity and acceptance and by the time she headed back to her room. Walking back to the main camp was quiet and generally uneventful with one minor exception. Naelia had strange brief moment where she was suddenly overcome by this feeling of fear and immense anguish. Then as soon as the feeling had come over her it left. She arrived at camp only seconds later.

  She stepped into the middle of the camp and knew that something changed. She drew air through her nostrils and pickup up mine and Odelin’s scent. Still, without thinking too much about it, she plodded into her room. Qyrlyn sat in bed nursing Brielle. I was holding Bryson with my index finger in his mouth while Odelin huddled close and played with Bryson’s feet.

  We all stopped moving the moment we heard Naelia’s clear her throat. Everyone stared at her expectantly as she entered. We were of course expecting Archon to follow behind her. Our eyes lingered on the door long after she made her way in. After a few moments we looked at each other with a look confusion on our faces.

  Naelia too started wondering where Archon was. Then she started to think maybe he was with another woman again. Her mind took off with thoughts of him touching another woman. She got angrier as time passed and she became visibly angrier. Odelin immediately moved to her side to comfort her.

  “Hey, Naelia. We love your room. Archon told us you two were going to live down here from now on instead of the barracks in the outer-ring.”

  Naelia’s face turned red in embarrassment, but she bounced her head up and down. The she realized she was completely naked standing in front of two men. She let out a shocked gasp followed by a high pitched squeal followed by her saying

  “Dear God, please step out. Close your eyes! Get out! For God sake I’m not dressed!”

  Then she began to slap Odelin’s back until he made a movement towards the cloth covering door. He coughed nervously in his closed hand as he passed me and exited the room. Then he tugged me to him. When were safely on the other side, he said in a quiet voice

  “We’ll be right outside if you needs us. Take your time dressing Naelia. Umm... You know James and I are gay right? We have no interest in you or umm... Any female right?”

  Naelia changed clothes quickly and we re-entered the room. Naelia could tell that we wanted to talk about Archon, even though she wasn’t ready. The moment she thought about Archon being with another woman she grew angry all over again. She wasn’t even sure why it bothered her so much to think of him with another woman, but it did. Before Naelia could stop herself, or even temper her words Naelia growled out

  “Where is Archon and how do I stop him from wanting to be with another woman again?”

  Naelia watched both mine and Odelin’s face turn several shades of red. We looked at each other, then back at Naelia. We had to look confused and somewhat embarrassed. Neither of us said anything. Naelia looked expectantly me and finally she opened her mouth as if she was going to say something. Then she closed again.

  Then Odelin did the same. He opened and closed his mouth. Then Qyrlyn suddenly found her own hands incredibly important. Finally, actual words came out of Odelin’s mouth when he asked Qyrlyn and me to go for a walk so that he and Naelia could talk alone. We agreed and Qyrlyn rushed over to make sure Brielle and Bryson were asleep in their bassinets before turning to leave. As soon as they were alone Odelin turned to face Naelia and said

  “Naelia, Archon asked me and James, to come here to help out with the children. Anyhow, Archon told me this morning that you and Qyrlyn had a conversation that might have given you some ideas about being sexually intimate that wasn’t exactly right. See Qyrlyn doesn’t understand what it means being and Earthlings lifemate.

  You see Naelia, Archon could never be with another woman. For him, there is only ever one woman he will love and want to be with. That one person is you. Since the moment he met you, he lost all interest in anyone else in the world. It doesn’t matter if you are sexual with him or not. You're like the air in his lu
ngs. He cannot live without you and he would never be with someone else. He will never again even look at another woman with interest.

  Trust me when Naelia, when I tell you that as the lifemate of an Earthling UFE soldier there are many things you can be afraid. Having him cheat on you, is not one of them. Archon asked me to come here so he could go to find you and explain this to you himself. Honestly, I am a little confused how come you came home and he didn’t find you. The tubes are not that long. He should have had no problem finding you. Did you feel him when you were out there? Did you intentionally avoid him dear?”

  Archon jogged through the lava tubes making sure to make as much noise as humanly possible. He hoped to cause so much noise that if might draw her attention to him. Archon had been jogging through the tubes for nearly two hours. He was starting to think Naelia might have gone topside or towards the volcano.

  The further he descended down the hotter it got. Some of the metal in his robotics were starting to malfunction from the heat. Then he shrugged shoulders and thought, Oh well, I am old and will survive it, besides Naelia is worth it. He didn’t want her to be in any kind of pain, even if it is just the emotional pain a moment longer than necessary. He needed to find her and assure her that he had not, nor will he ever be with anyone but her. She is his lifemate. She is the only woman he would ever love. He’s know from the moment he set eyes on her that she was the last woman he would ever be with.

  Archon burst powerfully through one tube and into another. Magma poured out directly in front of him and splashed his unprotected skin on his face and arms. Within seconds he felt his flesh start to swell and erupt with large blisters. The pain was tolerable and Archon wasn’t too worried initially, his concern for Naelia overriding concern for himself. He skirted around the magma as best he could to get to another tube. That tube like the one before this one had lava dripping haphazardly form the ceiling. Every now and then drops would land on him causing him enormous pain. Still he pressed on.

  The magma seemed determined to cause Archon pain and injury. Suddenly it seemed to pour out from every direction until it had him backed into a corner. He could no longer go forward and the way back seemed to be gone. Archon took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves as he looked for a potential asylum that would keep him out of the deadly lava. He glanced up around looking for a direction to move in. Going back the way he came would be essentially signing his own death warrant.

  Chapter 20 ~*~ December 30, 3208 Earth

  Naelia heard Odelin’s words and realized what he was saying about being a lifemate made sense. Archon was always so kind and honest with her. Qyrlyn’s information confused her a bit, but Naelia should have talked to Archon before just assuming.

  It was difficult for her because she’d never had any relationships before now. Everything Naelia did was because she was trying to connect it to her life experiences. Nothing in her life, or even the things she learned from her own people could prepare her for the feelings she was having now that she was in a relationship. It seemed Naelia was always wrong or misunderstanding something.

  She found herself thinking about all the times that Archon was patient and loving with her. She was even reminded of the times he protected her even when she was unable to protect herself. How he always put her needs before his own. Her heart swelled with love and she realized at that very moment that she didn’t just have warm feelings for Archon, she loved him.

  She knew she needed to learn to trust him, and their love and stop trying to figure it out on her own. Pride and fear was holding her and Archon apart and now Naelia wanted to be with him more than anything else in the world. She started worrying about what was keeping him when she briefly remembered the moment of despair she felt as she walked back to camp. She wondered if they could have been Archon's feelings. Archon once told her that they could share each other’s feelings. What if something was wrong and he was hurt and Naelia had ignored it? Her heart slammed against her rib cage and her stomach flipped.

  The more Naelia thought of the feelings she’d experienced, the more she sweated profusely and could hardly breathe. Her concern grew more and more as she considered that it had been Archon's feelings. He was such a strong, calm man that it probably meant he wasn’t just hurt… he was dying. Naelia cried out and looked at Odelin and said

  “Oh god, he could is probably hurt. I felt something on the way home. Then it disappeared and I… well, I ignored it. I have to go… I have to go find him!”

  Naelia moved like a blur out of Rhellia’s camp and back into the lava tubes. She ran full speed without ever slowing down. By the time she reached the location she’d felt the disturbing emotions she had fully given herself over to her fear. No trace of her upper brain functions were present. She was running on instincts and totally overcome with fear that Archon was dead or dying.

  Naelia approached the area and was overcome by the smell of sulfur, lava and burning flesh. Her instincts told her that it was Archon. Her soul agreed and she dropped to the ground screaming and writhing in emotional pain and agony. Odelin and I burst through the tunnel mere seconds behind Naelia. Like her, we saw the lava and smelled the scent of burning flesh and bones. It looked as if the magma had recently burst through the tunnel wall and consumed everything in its path. We knew someone recently died on this very spot. Like Naelia we immediately assumed it was Archon.

  The next few days were difficult for everyone but especially difficult for Naelia. My heart hurt but she struggled to get out of bed. Yesterday we buried what was left of one of my oldest friends. It had been a sad day and today wasn’t going to be much better. Today would have been his wedding day… But, instead of his friends and family coming together to celebrate his and Naelia’s union, we would be together having a memorial and remembrance of his life.

  I felt tears running down my cheeks as Odelin’s arms wrapped around me. I had always hated burying loved ones. More recently however, every time someone died, I was transported back to the death of my own children. That had been the single worst day of my life. Nothing could compare, yet it was still so hard to say goodbye to loved ones. At least when my UFE friends passed, it was anticipated. Earthlings were mortal and being a UFE fighter was dangerous. We expected to die in battle. It was a good ending. No matter what even if we lived a long loving life someday it had to end.

  Archon however, died a senseless death. He never even had a fighting chance. He deserved years of peace and joy with his lifemate Naelia. He’d waited and suffered for so very long. He should have been able to raise Naelia’s babies together and be a big happy family for many many years.

  I continued to allow my tears to flow unchecked despite being the commander of the highest, most elite group of UFE soldiers until I could cry no more. I felt Odelin’s hand pat me gently on the back as he tried to comfort me. His heart ached with pain like mine and he also worried about how Naelia would suffer even worse than we did. There was a knock at the door and I knew, it was time to head down and finish preparing for the ceremony today.

  Naelia’s body and soul ached. She couldn’t seem to get Archon out of her mind, even for a minute. Every second of the day, different moments they spent together would take over her conscious mind. She was unable to care of herself or her babies. Lots of people were trying to help her. That however only seemed to make it worse.

  Naelia had been sitting in a room full of people she didn’t really even know when her mother and father shuffled her quietly out of the room and outside. I didn’t know it at the time, but, Sylvie and Kazu were standing outside waiting for her. Kazu was trying to talk to her but for some reason even though Naelia heard his voice she just couldn’t understand what he was saying. Naelia tried but she couldn’t separate herself from the dreams she was having.

  Naelia thought of them as waking dreams. They seemed to play like movies in front of her eyes. They were so vivid that they kept mind as busy as it could be. They made her feel like Archon was alive and that she was still
experiencing life with him and through him. They were the same kind of dreams she had of Archon before he rescued her from the Reptilians. She felt like she was stuck between two worlds. The real world and the waking dream world Naelia was still sharing with Archon. Kazu was looking intently at Naelia as if she expected some kind of response. Naelia instinctively started nodding in the hope that the appropriate response.

  Kazu smiled and seemed satisfied with Naelia’s nod. Naelia too smiled as she turned away from Kazu and the others in an attempted to re-enter the memorial ceremony. Sylvie blocked her way however and seconds later all four of them stood in front of her.

  Naelia could tell they were all shouting and they were becoming visibly agitated and was desperately trying to get through to her clouded mind. Sylvie’s hands were moving up and down and her body was visibly shaking while her mouth just kept moving. Finally she moved out of the way and Kazu made direct eye contact with her. Naelia was forced from her dream and was able to concenter on his words.

  “Naelia, you need to relax so I can help you to have an OBE. An outer body experience, we believe if you just set your soul free we can follow you and find Archon. Please, he is alive but he probably doesn’t have much time. It wasn’t Archon’s body we found. Naelia, push him out of your head. We need you here with us of we have any chance of finding him before he really is gone. Please Naelia doing this for Archon.”

  Naelia kind of knew what he was asking, but she’d never attempted an OBE spell before and honestly she had no idea how it worked. Oh, she knew many Venusians like Sirians had the ability but she’d never done it. For that matter she’d never seen anyone do it.

  “I don’t know how?” she murmured almost silently