by Poppy Rhys
She swiped a hand over her brow to wipe away the beads of sweat. Zun had said it was an ‘abnormally cool’ day, but it was still fucking hot. She wasn’t sure she would be able to live on Melierun, even if she wanted to stay. She would be stuck inside all the time, and that just sounded awful.
On top of that, she couldn’t imagine ever wanting to have another youngling in that type of atmosphere. She would literally turn into a puddle during one of her hot flashes. Not that she wanted to go through that entire process again. Did she?
Her attention was pulled in another direction when delicious scents wafted her way. Like a Ro’Catta, she veered course, letting her nose lead her. Vaguely, she heard herself ‘mmm’ at one point the closer she got to the smell. She wound through the patterned stone streets; the prince’s allowing her to go wherever she wanted.
At first she thought it was strange that no palace guards flanked them, but after she gave it some thought… who would want to brawl with Soren, Zun, and Val’Koy? They were imposing while they were happy. When they were mad, just the atmosphere around them made you want to run in the other damn direction.
That made Lu bubble laughter as she continued to follow her nose.
The street opened up onto a waterfront, the turquoise water nearly crystal clear, and it pulled her attention for a moment. She stopped abruptly to place her hands along the intricate white stone railing and peer over.
The water swam with colorful, fat fish that seemed to see her. When one breeched the water’s surface and squirted her, she jumped back and squawked before giggling and wiping her face. Her reaction made the prince’s chuckle.
“Lolo fish,” Soren said as he held Lenny. “They are playful creatures.”
Lucia hesitantly peered over again, dodging another stream of water, and laughed some more. It was the first time she actually felt happy since landing on Melierun. The fact that a playful fish was the cause only made her laugh more at the absurdity before she skirted another arc of water. On and on she played with the fish, dancing, dodging, and enjoying herself.
****
Soren stood back with his brothers as they watched Lucia play with the lolo, taking pleasure in the musical sound of her laughter. He didn’t think he’d heard her really laugh since Dor Nye.
The weeks since their arrival had slowly taken their toll on her. It was unnerving, since the true Lucia was anything but sullen. He knew she missed home and that it was hard for her to be surrounded by an oppressive atmosphere of hatred, but both their peoples needed her, and every time he wanted to take her back to Dor Nye, she would remind him of exactly that.
Melierun was part of him, and their future, and while Dor Nye had accepted him, he needed his people to accept her. If they only saw her as he did, saw her people as he did, they would understand.
Humans are equals.
Melier younglings stared curiously at the human with interest and a sense of kindred playfulness. Lucia’s difference in species didn’t truly bother them. They might think her form strange, but you could see in their eyes they simply wanted to join her, and play with the lolo.
Adult Melier watched on too, curious stares more judging and discriminatory. Lucia didn’t see them and if she did, she never let on. Her curls bounced and blew in the breeze and with her movements as she danced around, avoiding streams of water coming from the lolo.
Soren shared a glance with Val’Zun, and they both grinned. Even the threat of someone trying to harm Lucia couldn’t dampen the delight they found in her laughter at that moment.
****
When Lucia had finally satisfied her urge to dance and play with a bunch of fish, she turned and continued to follow her nose. Her fingers curled in a small wave at the younglings she noticed had been watching her, and even when their parents ushered them away from the creature it couldn’t rain on her mood.
Who knew fish could be so therapeutic?
On she glided along the waterfront. Shops of white and gray stone in various sizes littered the waterfront and the pale blue carved statues placed around kept catching her attention, reminding her of the museum she stumbled upon in the palace.
Every time she found one, she had to stop and circle about it, taking in every detail, and ask who it was. Each time one of the brothers gave her a name and small story on the Melier the statue was made in honor of. Most were merchants, exceptional nobles, and scholars, but each one had done something memorable for Melier society.
On she went, exploring, watching, and following her nose. Small potted trees provided shade and hosted yellow flowers that were almost choking the air with their sweet perfume, but Lucia reveled in it, even picking one to put behind her ear.
The billowy fabric of her dress that faded from cream to peach flowed around her with each movement and brush of the hot breeze. The colors of the fabric were specifically meant to make her skin glow, thanks to Nova’s taste in fashion. Her mood was much lighter, and she was at ease. She felt freer somehow. No palace was trapping her at that moment and she couldn’t be happier.
Soon, the smell got overwhelmingly strong and she finally found the source.
They traveled a short street that had been overhanging with lattice holding up a canopy of a vining plant with clusters of tiny pink and white flowers. She was still brushing off the small petals when the street opened up into a rounded pavilion.
On the far side, a street chef stood behind a cart cooking on glowing blue solar heaters, and Lucia had no idea what it was, but she needed it. Instantly, her feet carried her on.
“Is that what all this traipsing about has been for?” Zun asked Soren, who grunted. “She has the nose of a Nubo.”
There they were talking about her again, but Lucia was too interested in the vendor. Closer she got, weaving her way through the crowd, some of them enjoying whatever the vendor was selling.
When she came upon the cart, the green skinned proprietor stared at her curiously, but not with malice like most Melier had. It was such a relief really, and she tentatively smiled at him. “What is it that smells so delicious?” she ‘mmm’d’.
The vendor continued to cook while he observed her with red eyes. That was the only part of him that creeped her out.
“It is roosca,” he replied.
Lucia threw a questioning glance over her shoulder when she heard Zun choke, and then clear his throat.
****
“Do not say anything,” Val’Zun said lowly to both his brothers on either side of him so Lucia couldn’t hear.
“Evil,” Val’Ja replied, but played along nonetheless while mischief danced in his eyes.
“This should be entertaining,” Val’Koy grinned.
****
Once Zun paid the vendor, they found seating, and she dug in. It was a type of soup. The yellow broth was rich, and the thick, long noodles were delicious. She used small tongs to lift the noodles into her mouth. The flavor was savory and heavy on her tongue and she ‘mmm’d’ so many times she was sure she was making a spectacle of herself.
Soren, Zun, and Val’Koy watched her with an almost sick interest.
“Why didn’t you get any?” she asked around a mouthful. “It tastes amazing.”
“We are not hungry,” Val’Koy replied and tilted his head while he continued to watch Lucia stuff her face. She scowled but continued to eat.
Picking up the bowl she took a couple gulps of the liquid, and swayed from side to side with pleasure which only made Zun bark a laugh, and scrub a hand over his face while he continued to watch her.
They were acting very strange.
Lucia finished the last bit of noodle with a slurp, and then chewed, savoring it. Once she sipped the remainder of the broth, she set her bowl on the table and sighed happily. “I might have to come back for another bowl of those noodles tomorrow.”
Zun and Val’Koy snorted once, and then again, and then they were falling all over themselves laughing, and leaning up against each other so they didn’t spill out of their cha
irs and onto the ground. Even Soren had a shit eating grin lighting up his face. Other Melier were beginning to look their way, and she couldn’t understand what was so funny.
“Those were not noodles,” Zun choked out and a new round of laughter had him and his brother in its clutches.
Lucia’s stomach gave a nervous lurch.
“What were they then…?”
“Roosca is a parasitic worm found in the belly of large beasts,” Soren supplied, still grinning, and chuckling.
“What?” Lucia shrilled and shot to her feet.
Zun and Val’Koy did fall to the ground at that point, guffawing and struggling for breath, and soon they were laughing so hard she could only hear the wheezing of air coming from them.
She clamped both of her hands over her mouth and bounced on the balls of her feet as she began to freak out.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” she chanted behind her hands, eyes rounding with panic. “Am I going to die? Are their eggs inside my stomach right now?” Her voice rose higher and higher as her panic climbed and she was on the verge of jumping up and down with fright. Her toes wriggled and she continued to bounce in alarm.
“I cannot breathe,” Zun choked out in between gasps.
“No. Even if the worms were carrying eggs, they were cooked and you will be fine,” Soren assured her while Zun and Val’Koy continued to be roaring twits.
“Oh no,” Lucia gagged at the thought of cooked worm eggs.
I will not vomit, I will not vomit.
Breathe.
She gulped for air as she chanted to herself, and once she thought she wasn’t going to turn her stomach inside out in public, she squealed and picked up her seat cushion. She began wailing on Zun and Val’Koy with the pillow while they rolled around on the ground.
“You jerks!” she screeched. “I can’t believe you let me eat worms and now you’re laughing at me!” On and on she hit them with the cushion, giving them a soft beat down. Soren began to laugh fully then, and she pointed a finger at him. “You’re only spared because you’re holding Lenny!”
And then she went back to knocking Zun and Val’Koy upside their heads with her weapon while they continued to howl with laughter.
The nerve!
Chapter 6
Later that day, Lucia was freshly bathed, relaxing on a pile of cushions, and being fed sliced pul’ko by Soren; the green fruit with the crunchy red seeds she tasted at the banquet. She, Soren, and Val’Zun were watching the broadcast of their spectacle from the pavilion earlier.
It had been recorded by someone, so Melierun was watching along with them as Lucia was covering her mouth and hopping while the prince’s rolled on the ground laughing at her. Then the main event played out, and the video showed her beating them with the cushion as they continued their guffawing.
“You deserved it,” she muttered in Zun’s direction as he sat there chuckling.
“Still amusing the second time around.”
She hit him in the face with another cushion.
More chuckling.
Grrr.
“They’re making me look like I have no self-control,” she pointed out, which is exactly what the Melier news channel was doing. How true it may be was not the point. Apparently it was offensive that she repeatedly ‘assaulted’ the prince’s with a cushion.
Tiny ol’ her.
“If they knew what you allowed me to eat,” she shivered, “they might agree with my reaction.”
Zun looked at her as he propped his face on a hand while sprawled beside her. Mirth danced in his eyes, and while she enjoyed this different side of him, she would’ve preferred it was caused by some other reason. Any other reason. “I promise to never let you eat worms again, unless you want to.”
Who would willingly eat worms?
Melier, apparently.
Lucia narrowed her eyes but was satisfied with that answer. When she looked back at Soren to have another piece of pul’ko, he shook his head, pushing the bowl aside.
“It is time for us to join the others,” he said while getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. She supressed a groan, thinking about all the many things she would rather do instead of joining the royal family for third meal.
Like sitting in public eating another bowl of worms, or dozing through an etiquette lecture from Nova; anything else, really.
She kissed Lenny on the head, the action followed by Soren, and Zun, as Sola whisked her away, and then the brothers were escorting her through the palace to the large dining hall, as they had every night since their arrival.
Tonight, she wasn’t as hopeless as she had been lately. Not after talking to her grams and then being offered friendship from Gi’Calla. The fresh air in the city, even with the wormy food, had really done wonders on her, and she had to remember to thank Val’Zun for suggesting the outing.
The stationed guards, dressed in the black robes and gold belts, opened the great doors to the hall. Scents of various dishes wafted through, but Lucia was still stuck on what the significance of the different colored robes meant.
“Why do the guards not wear the same robes or belts?”
“These guards,” Zun nodded to the ones ahead in the black robes, “are the queen’s guard. They specifically operate for the queen and king alone.”
Now it made sense for her. She only noticed them whenever the queen and king were near, or in their frequented parts of the palace.
“And the guards wearing purple robes and silver belts?”
“They are the prince’s guard,” Soren said. “They also guard you, and Gi’Calla.”
“What about the guards in red robes and bronze belts?”
“Palace guards, meant for anything else regarding security.”
She rubbed her fingers over her bottom lip, pressing this to memory as she felt two tails slinking up her arms to rub against her bared skin. It brought a small smile to her lips that they were trying to soothe her as they neared the table where the rest of the family was already seated. Her chair was pulled out, and she sat in between them both, ignoring the snort of the queen.
“You bring the beast to eat with us after she assaulted you in public?”
“Mother,” Val’Koy warned, surprising her, and everyone else at the table. “We fed her roosca; we are lucky she only hit us with cushions.”
Then his gaze lazily settled on Lucia and a hint of a real smile tugged a corner of his mouth. It wasn’t creepy or meant to make her uncomfortable, which made her jaw slacken with shock, and she wasn’t able to find her voice to say anything.
Then his attention went on to something else just as quickly.
The servants began ladling some kind of soup into the bowls in front of everyone seated and her stomach lurched as she sucked in her lips. Her brows knit together, and she just stared at the liquid.
All she could think of was roosca worms and how they might be harvested, and the thought of someone specifically cutting open the gut of a beast to extract the piles of wriggling worms made her stomach churn.
Her fingers rubbed at the base of her throat, eyes still glued to the orange liquid, and while it looked nothing like noodles, it was soup. That was enough to have her on the verge of turning green. She vaguely noticed Zun calling a servant back, and they removed the soup from in front of her, snapping her out of her trance.
A small smirk played on his lips, and Lucia narrowed her eyes.
“It was your idea, wasn’t it?”
“I do not know what you mean,” he lifted his hairless brows and swallowed a spoonful of the orange liquid.
“It was!” she hissed, eyes widening. The entire afternoon, she figured Val’Koy put Zun and Soren up to it, since he was always trying to do something to get under her skin. It was Val’Zun all along.
The Devil.
Lucia’s eyes swung to her glass of water, but Zun was too quick, picking the glass up and setting it on the other side of him.
“Loo-Sha,” he warned.
Her e
yes then swung to Soren’s glass of water and snatched it up before Soren could remove it.
Into Zun’s face it went.
They both shot to their feet, glowering at each other.
“You’re an ass!”
“And you have no self-control,” he growled back.
“You let me eat parasitic worms!”
“Yet you are still alive.”
“Parasitic worms!”
“I heard you the first time!”
Water droplets fell from his chin onto the floor between them as they continued to breathe heavily, and regard each other like the enemy.
“Are you two finished?” Soren asked, and then slurped a spoonful of soup loudly.
Begrudgingly, they both took their seats, and Zun grabbed a cloth to hastily dry his face. Gi’Ren grunted from across the table and continued to eat his soup while shaking his head.
The conversation was carried on, and as time passed, the second course that was thankfully not soup, was served.
****
Soren absently played with Lucia’s curls that were getting longer. He noticed she hadn’t cut them since he met her, and he liked that. In his culture, long hair was adored and treasured by the females mate. Not every female chose to keep her mane long, but he hoped Lucia would continue to grow hers.
“Have you thought about what I told you, Loo-Sha?” Soren watched her in the dark of the room.
He could see her clearly, even though she couldn’t see him with her human eyes. Her brow wrinkled and he figured she was trying to recall what he was referring to. It had been a couple weeks since they had discussed Val’Zun as her mate, and he thought that would be safe gap of time.
Soren was closest to Val’Zun, and when he had asked to join with Lucia before they left Dor Nye, it felt right. It was not uncommon among royal sons to share the same mate. It was an occurrence on Melierun, no matter what station a person held or region they lived in.
His brother would protect Lucia and Lenny, and cherish them, as he did. It did not pass his notice that their relationship was a tumultuous one to begin with, but that was also not uncommon when both male and female were strong willed.