by Maia Starr
We didn't intend to become a sanctuary city; it happened slowly over time. At first only a few runaway human slaves would trickle in, and of course, we could not turn them away. But once we had signed an agreement to help Earth defend itself against the invading Waysaw, everything changed.
You see, a decade or so ago, we entered into an agreement with Earth. The Waysaw Zenkian had been invading Earth for many years to steal their resources and taking human females as slaves. The Waysaw planned to eventually conquer the humans and take over Earth. Because we were a rebel group against the Waysaw, this would not be good for us either. The stronger the Waysaw grew, the easier it would be for them to conquer us. We could not have that happen. Therefore, we joined up with the Earth soldiers to defend Earth from the Waysaw. We had Grantsions soldiers on bases on Earth teaching them how to fight against the Waysaw, but also fighting alongside Earth soldiers anytime a Waysaw invasion happened. It was becoming successful, and together, Earth and the Grantsions were able to fight back against the Waysaw. We were starting to deplete their armies. But the Waysaw was still a big threat.
Because of our agreement to fight alongside the Earth army, it also came to pass that we entered into an agreement to return human female slaves that ran away from the Waysaw city. If they made it to the village, or one of our scouts picked them up, we would take them in and offer them sanctuary. Then if the human females wished to return to Earth, they could do so on the next voyage, which happened every six months to a year.
I was all for this program. I didn't think the humans had any business being on our planet of Anvin. Having the human females using the Grantsions village as a sanctuary only brought us trouble. I wished that we would force all of them to return to Earth, but that wasn't the Grantsion way. Instead, we allowed those that wished to stay with us to stay as long as they wanted. I thought that was a crazy program and only made us a bigger target for the Waysaw.
But I didn't know then just how much humans being in our village was going to affect everything. How could I? I had never even seen her, that human female, until that day.
I walked with Rizim outside of the treatment rooms. We both went to see a doctor there after a very serious training session. We both hurt. Rizim had managed to get the blow of a club past my defenses, and it struck me in the rib just above my stomach. I had struck him on the arm. Now we were both paying for it and went to see the doctor to get some ointment.
“Here you are, Nykon. But I am scheduling you for a session tomorrow. I want you to apply this ointment tonight, and return tomorrow at your scheduled time. You will see and be treated by one of my assistants. That bruised area needs to be massaged daily, or it will grow a blood clot, and that will be more damaging. Is that understood?” the doctor said to me.
“Yes, I understand. I will return tomorrow,” I said, not wanting to waste any time in the treatment rooms, but I had no choice. I needed to get better quickly, and I had to follow the doctor's orders.
“Rizim, I want you to do the same,” he said handing him a bottle of the plant ointment.
“Yes, I will return tomorrow as well,” Rizim said to me.
We both walked out of the treatment rooms into the hallway. That's when I saw her. Two human females were walking toward us. But one of them caught my attention. I had never been with a human female before; it was forbidden among us Grantsions. But there were some that were able to get around this law for one reason or another. I was not one of them. I had been married to a Zenkian female, and I was only interested in Zenkian as far as romance went. But this female caught my attention in a very desirable way.
She was a petite female, shorter than the other female standing next to her. She had brown hair that was pulled up and braided and gave me an unobstructed view of her round face. Her big brown eyes locked onto me. Her pink bow mouth opened slightly. She was wearing the standard long dress that the Grantsions females wore, but it had been cut to fit her body. There was nothing striking about her; in fact, I would consider her plain. I had seen many human females, some of them stunning, but not this one. I think that was why I could not stop looking.
There was something different and mysterious about her, almost vulnerable even. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that I had to find out.
Chapter 3
Amber Lynne
I had not been able to stop thinking about that Zenkian soldier with the blue and black hair that I had seen earlier that day. There was something about the way he looked at me that caught me off guard. It wasn't just that he was extremely attractive, as Gina had pointed out. It was something else, and I did not know what that was.
Later that evening, I walked through the market filling my bag with herbs and foods in order to cook myself a dinner. There was the opportunity to join the communal dinner every night, but sometimes I liked my alone time. In fact, I liked my alone time a lot. I had always been this way, kind of a homebody. I liked to cook when I lived on Earth, and the chance to learn to cook exotic alien foods was too good to pass up. I took every opportunity to do it.
But I had gotten away with myself as far as the market went and before I knew it, I was lugging two very heavy burlap bags up the steep stairs that lined the outside of the mountain. I was going up to my dwelling, and I was out of breath.
“I can help you with that, human female,” I heard a deep voice say from behind me. I turned slightly to see the mysterious soldier that had been in the hallway of the treatment rooms earlier, the one with the blue and black hair.
“What?” I said confused and excited at the same time. I felt very nervous as he looked at me. He grabbed the bags from my arms and lifted them with ease.
“Allow me. You looked as if you were struggling. I can help you,” he said.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I was just taking these bags to my dwelling,” I said.
“I understand. Lead the way,” he said.
“Sure,” I said hesitantly. I began to walk up the stairs. I could feel him looking at my body as he walked behind me. There was something very seductive about climbing stairs, knowing that there was someone behind you, staring at your ass. I was growing nervous with each step.
Finally, I unlocked the door to my dwelling and walked in.
“This is your living quarters?” he asked.
“Yes, please set it down on the table. I got carried away in the market. I planned to make a small dinner for myself but became enchanted by the many food options today,” I said.
“Yes, the harvest has just come in for this month, and there are many things to choose from. This is a lot for one small human,” he said.
“Yes, it is. I always make too much food.”
We were quiet. It was awkward. I wanted to ask, but dare I say anything?
“Would you like to join me to eat this evening?” I asked, finally getting the words out.
“Thank you, but I shouldn't. I should be going now,” he said.
“I understand. My name is Amber, by the way,” I said.
“It is nice to meet you, Amber. I am Commander Nykon,” he said as he walked towards the door.
“I will be eating in an hour, if you change your mind. Just knock on the door,” I said.
He smiled. His brilliant white teeth were beautiful and were in stark contrast to his blue skin. Then he said, “I will keep that in mind.”
He walked out and closed the door behind him. It was only then that I realized I had been sort of holding my breath. I let out a long sigh. He left me breathless, literally.
I quickly got to work on making dinner. I was so nervous as I chopped and cooked. Would he show up? I wanted him to, but then I did not.
Forty-five minutes later, I was just about done cooking. I turned off the heat box; it was like an oven, only very different. The dish that I put in there would continue to cook for a couple of more minutes and then it would stay warm. I moved to the washroom and freshened up.
“Why are you so nervous, Amber?” I said as I looked in
the mirror. I knew he might not even show up. Nevertheless, I continued to brush the loose strands of my hair. I straightened up my dress and grab some flower-scented oil and dabbed a bit on. I probably smelled like food anyway.
I went back into the kitchen and took the food out of the heat box. Everything was ready. I looked at the clock; in five minutes, it would be an hour. I walked over to the window and looked out at the view. The market area was busy, teaming with Zenkian and some human females. It looked like a lively evening, as it usually was.
The knock at my door startled me. Even though I was sort of expecting it, I had gotten lost in looking out at the market below. I took a deep breath and walked toward the door. This was it. I was going to have a Grantsions Zenkian soldier in my living quarters for dinner. It was a big step for me. Before coming to the Grantsions village, I hated Zenkian aliens. I had every right to after what I had been through with the Waysaw Zenkian aliens. But I had slowly found the Grantsions Zenkian to be different. After many months in their company, I had grown fond of them.
I opened the door. But it was not Commander Nykon; it was my human female friend, Gina.
Chapter 4
Commander Nykon Reev
I could not stop thinking about the human after I saw her. I found myself waiting on the stairs that lead to the human living quarters area of the village. I knew that I should not be doing it, but I just wanted to get another glimpse of her. I wanted to prove myself wrong. I wanted to show myself that there was no reason for me to be thinking about her. I wanted to see her just so I could know that my mind had played a trick on me. I needed to satisfy that craving of seeing her so that I could get over it and move on. So I waited.
But when I saw her, there was nothing different. I still thought she was extraordinary, and my desire for her was still strong. She was struggling to carry heavy bags, and I couldn't allow her to. I had to help. But once I did, I regretted it because she opened the invitation to a friendship.
She had invited me to eat with her. It was strange that I had the same invitation offered to me earlier that same day by Jessica. But I had turned her down. Now, this human had played it smart. She left the offer open to me. She was playing a mind game; she had to be. How else would she know that I would go back to my living quarters and pace back and forth until I convinced myself that it was simply a meal with a human female, and I could have a meal?
So I found myself walking back to her living quarters. I must have lost my mind as a Zenkian soldier because this was dangerous territory. Yet I could not stop myself.
I knocked on her door.
“Hello, Commander Nykon,” she said. She looked at me nervously.
“Hello, Amber,” I said.
“Please, come in. You are just in time,” she said as she stepped away from the door. I followed her inside. There was another human female standing there. It was the same human female that I had seen her with in the hallway.
“This is my friend Gina,” Amber said.
“Hello, Gina,” I said. I did not know that there would be more company, but I suddenly felt relieved that we wouldn't be alone. I couldn't trust myself to be alone with her.
“Yes, nice to meet you. I was just leaving. I just came by to give Amber something,” Gina said as she looked at Amber with a big smile.
“Thank you for that, Gina. I will see you tomorrow,” Amber said. They exchanged looks, and Amber walked Gina to the door. They were whispering intensely to each other as they did so. I could not hear what they were saying.
“Have a nice meal,” Gina said with a big smile as she opened the door and then looked at both of us. Then she walked out, closing the door behind her.
“Sorry about that,” Amber said.
“She did not have to leave. Would she not join us for the meal?” I asked.
“No. I asked her to join, and she mentioned that she already ate and was very tired. She was retiring to her living quarters to sleep,” Amber said as she walked toward the table.
“I brought this,” I said, handing her a ceramic vessel of Inta.
“Oh, thank you. This is perfect for the meal,” she said as she grabbed it and put it on the table. When she grabbed it, our hands touched. I felt heat shoot throughout my entire body. I had never felt that sort of instant heat with any female before. She must've felt it too because she looked at me for a second, then she quickly looked away as though she was embarrassed.
“Please, sit down. I made plenty of food, and I hope that you were hungry.”
“I am famished,” I said. I sat down across the table from her. She took the covers off of several dishes. It smelled absolutely amazing. I was glad that I was not eating in the communal kitchens. This looked so much better than what they were offering that evening.
“Well, dig in,” she said.
We both served ourselves portions from each dish. I took the liberty to pour the Inta into our cups. We were quiet as we did this, and the only sound was the sound of plates and utensils clattering together as we served ourselves. It was unusual for me. I wasn't the quiet type. I was confident around the female sex. But for some reason she made me nervous; I realized this, and I wasn't having it.
“Tell me about where you are from on Earth,” I asked her.
“All right. I am from a place known as Charlotte, North Carolina. I live along the sea,” she said.
“And does everyone speak the way you do in this Charlotte?” I asked.
“The way I speak? Oh, I think you mean my Southern accent. Sometimes I forget that I have it. Yes, it is a regional dialect. It goes back hundreds of years,” she said.
“It is very different than the other human females I have encountered. I find it charming,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I must tell you, Amber. This meal is exceptional. I did not know the human females knew how to cook our foods,” I said as I moaned while eating.
“Thank you. We do not know how to cook your foods, but I have taken it upon myself to learn in the kitchens while I have been here. I love cooking on Earth, and so I wanted to learn here because I missed it. I find a good amount of quiet and thinking time while I am cooking. It is good for me,” she said.
“What about you, Commander? What exactly does a commander do?” she asked as she pushed a spoonful of food into her mouth.
“That is a good question. I guess I could best sum it up by saying that I am in charge of missions. I am a mission commander. Anything that needs to be done away from the village, and it's dangerous, I am usually in charge of it,” I said.
"You like danger?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“That is a blunt answer,” she said.
“Yes,” I said again.
She laughed. We talked while we finished the meal. I learned more about her home on Earth, and why she was looking forward to getting back to Earth. We made light conversation, nothing too heavy. It was just what I needed. After dealing with the end of my last relationship, I didn't want to deal with anything too heavy.
We drank the entire vessel of Inta. It was more than I had wanted to drink. The conversation had distracted me from how much I was drinking, and how much she was drinking. The Inta was stronger than what humans were used to. She’d had a lot.
“Allow me to help you with this,” I said as I helped her bring the plates and dishes to the kitchen area.
“Thank you. Thank you for coming over for the meal. It is interesting to have company for dinner when that company is an alien,” she said.
“I agree, but when the company is a human. I have had very little contact with humans. In fact, I try to stay away from them when I can,” I said.
"You do? Why?” she asked, shocked.
“I have thought of your kind as nothing but trouble,” I said looking at her.
She narrowed her eyes at me. I could tell that I had set her off.
“It is not like we chose to come here, you know. I could say the same about the Zenkian. Nothing
but trouble. Why couldn't you just leave Earth alone?” she asked, and she put a few inches between us. She stuck her finger against my chest poking at me as though she was scolding me.
“Hey, we are not the ones that went to Earth first. That would be the Waysaw, not us,” I said grabbing her finger and holding onto it.
"Waysaw, Grantsions, whatever: both of you are Zenkian. You are aliens that decided to invade my home planet,” she said. I realized that she slurred those last words. She had had too much to drink.
“If that is the way you want to think of it, human. But it is not how I see it. Besides, if it wasn't for us Grantsions, Earth would have been taken over and conquered right now. You wouldn't have an Earth to go back to,” I said leaning over her.