by Poppy Rhys
“Val’Zun?” she sighed. “Didn’t you have enough proof tonight? We barely get along.”
“That will pass,” Soren assured her. “You are both stubborn.”
She snorted.
“That’s unlikely. I don’t think either of us will ever change.”
“Maybe so,” he rolled a shoulder, even though she wouldn’t see it.
“I don’t know Soren,” she sighed again. “Not to sound conceited, but what’s to stop Gi’Ren or Val’Koy from wanting to pair with me too? I could not deal with that.”
Soren grunted. “Val’Koy likes his concubines too much, and Gi’Ren thinks of you as a sister.”
“Well that’s awkward,” she giggled lazily. “Since my pheromones have a not-so-sisterly effect on him.” They both shared a laugh. “He has been better though. Zun too.”
He made a sound in his throat and nodded. “They simply needed to discipline their reactions toward you, as I did.”
“Am I easier to be around without the fish odor?”
“Much.”
Lucia giggled again.
He would never tire of that sound.
For a split second, he thought about telling her what was really going on; the war, the invisible threat against her, how the advisors were repeatedly bringing into question the legitimacy of their pairing because she had not yet marked him.
Many things weighed him down and he wanted to confide in his mate. He wanted to command or even beg that she make him hers in the way his people would recognize and respect.
He wasn’t a fool; he knew the marking would not automatically erase all the prejudice toward their union or make his people like his mate. Even if she accepted Val’Zun, it would not make her any more worthy in the eyes of his people.
Soren wanted to tell her all of this, but he didn’t. Today had been good. She had been happy. He didn’t want to ruin it entirely by telling her everything that was truly going on.
Not yet. Soon.
When Lucia’s soft, strange snores indicated her slumber, he exhaled and wrapped his body around hers.
Chapter 7
“A gentleman should always offer to carry a lady’s bundles.”
Val’Zun scowled down at his CID, scrolling through the data he had searched on how to pursue a human female. There was so much information from the Therran’s archived literature; he wasn’t sure what was relevant.
He wondered what bundles were, and then decided to skip that article.
“Always open the door for a woman.”
How was he supposed to do that when nearly all doors were sensor laden? It didn’t make sense to turn off the sensors just so he could open a door for Lucia. He shifted in his chair, looking up from the device to take in the busy street.
Since the water dousing of the previous night, his blood had been running hot for the tiny human. More so than usual, that is. He’d had to get out of the palace, away from her scent that was driving him out of his rational mind.
“You are scaring the younglings with all of your glaring,” Gi’Ren voiced across from him. They were seated at an outside table, already having finished an early afternoon meal from a local merchant. “Thinking about the human, I presume.”
Val’Zun ignored him, downing the remainder of his beverage and returning his attention to his CID, picking another article at random.
“You like her? Ignore her. It will drive her nuts with the need to get your attention.”
He actually snorted. ‘The Bros Guide To Chicks’, the piece was called. Val’Zun wasn’t sure what a ‘bro’ was, or why they likened females to fowl hatchlings, but he was confident they were idiots.
Why would a male ignore a female in order to get their attention? Did human females really enjoy that? Did this activate a certain mating signal?
Val’Zun scratched at the scales of his throat and decided to skip the article.
“Text her good morning, text her good night.”
What was a text, and why would he do this instead of telling her good morning, and good night?
Skip.
At that point, he was worried all of the information he was reading was severely outdated. Val’Zun wanted to know how to pursue a human female in current times, not centuries prior.
“Let her know you’re thinking of her.”
That seemed more likeable. He continued to read the information of the article titled, ‘Romancing The One’. As outdated as the piece was, it seemed mostly universal. One suggestion was sweets, and he knew food was a good bet when it came to Lucia. She loved food.
With how badly she reacted to the roosca though, he wanted to steer clear of anything regarding her palate for a while.
Flowers.
That suggestion seemed safe enough.
Val’Zun shut the CID down, snapping the white wands back together as he stood, and began to gather his things.
“Where are you going?” Gi’Ren asked.
“I will be back,” was all he said, leaving a quizzical expression upon his brothers’ face as he disappeared into the bustling crowd.
****
Lucia wandered the palace gardens, needing some serenity to calm her troubled mind. She breathed deeply of the air around her, taking in the scents and gaining some peace as she thought of the abundant greenery of her home in Curra.
It was early morning, before anyone had woken, not even Lenny. The twin suns were barely breaking the horizon and the heat wasn’t unbearable yet, so it was really the perfect time for contemplation. She crossed her arms over her chest, and ran her fingers up and down her arms while she mulled over what was plaguing her.
Val’Zun.
The Devil.
You have to stop calling him that.
Why? It’s accurate.
Then I’m no better.
Besides she really didn’t think he was evil, just high strung. Nothing she did was ever right when it came to Zun, or so it seemed. It was rare when their interaction didn’t end in some kind of standoff.
Why would he even want to pair with me?
Maybe he’s a glutton for punishment.
Har har.
Lucia scrubbed her hands over her cheeks and then drifted a few more steps up the vine laden path. She really hoped the reason he wanted to pair wasn’t because of her pheromones. That would never allow any type of relationship to last between them, or develop past physical.
Was she attracted to Zun? Well, yes, in the way she’d come to appreciate the anatomy of the Melier. She really enjoyed sneaking looks at his lean, hard physique even if she did feel a bit guilty. But again, the physical wouldn’t make a relationship last.
At the same time she tried to envision her life without Val’Zun, even without any type of relationship past frenemies. The breath slipped from her lungs and she felt a slight emptiness thinking of it.
What does that even mean?
Whenever he wasn’t around, she noticed.
Like the past three days since the worm fiasco, he’d been gone. Lucia hadn’t asked where he went, figuring he was on some sort of official work. It really wasn’t her business, either.
Why was she even debating all of this anyway?
Val’Zun still hadn’t asked her about pairing and she certainly wasn’t going to ask him. For all she knew, he changed his mind and really thought they would make a terrible pair. Soon he would be bouncing some concubine in his lap.
A twist of anger curled her fingers.
What is wrong with me?
You Like him! You like him, you traitor!
Foolish! I do not.
She stopped, her hands settling on either side of her neck as she worried.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she whisper-chanted.
Had her sometimes-friendly feelings really turned into something more?
She thought back on when she first met Val’Zun in the hospital after he and Gi’Ren had barged into the room. Surprise about seeing other Melier, and the fact that Soren had family had momentari
ly overwhelmed her. Then the weeks following how standoffish he was, and then after the trial things had changed. He talked more, or at least grunted and scoffed less. He was still grumpy, that had never changed to this day but it never truly bothered her.
A small smile tried to twist her lips but she sucked them in.
“Oh no,” she breathed.
****
A little while later, the suns were rising and Lucia headed back the way she came. She had been shown about the palace gardens the day prior when Gi’Ren wanted to take Lenny out for some fresh air. That time she actually paid attention to the route, so she at least wouldn’t get lost if she wanted to visit again.
She took her time, moseying along and enjoying the quiet of the palace. She made it a point to smile and dip her chin in greeting whenever she passed a guard or other individuals that lived or worked in the palace. Even though most of them ignored her, she did it anyway.
Lu was a persistent person; she could win them over little by little, and she had to keep that hope at the front of her mind.
The guards stationed at the prince’s suite both greeted her in unison, and opened the doors for her. The suite was dimly lit, which was more than when she left it. She slowed even more when she noticed a peculiar potted plant occupied the center of one of the low lying tables in the middle of the room.
Her feet carried her over and she slowly circled it, tilting her head and examining the strange pods. The black soil was covered in a fluffy pink and green moss, and indigo stems and leaves so dark they were almost black, rose from its depths. Large, closed pods the size of her fist tipped the thick stems, and little bright green curling vines decorated their base.
She reached out a digit to touch one and it wrapped around her finger, tickling her before it retracted. An incredulous smile kicked up her lips and she wondered what the plant was called.
A note caught her attention at the base of the pot the plant was in. Scrawled in English was her name. Her fingertips brushed across the note and then unfolded it.
‘A strange plant for a strange female.’
Lucia’s brow pulled low and she snorted, but smiled nonetheless. She thought Soren was more romantic than that, though the gesture was what counted. Her head turned when she heard the click of the doors closing and watched her mate, fully dressed, make his way over to her.
“You shouldn’t have,” she breathed before he bent down to kiss her. His eyes took in the potted plant and a small grin played across his mouth.
“I did not.” Again he dipped down to steal a kiss, and then he was heading toward the doors of the suite, leaving her confused. “I will be back tonight.”
Then he was gone.
She looked back to the plant and the note in her hand. She flipped it over and noticed the feeding instructions. Her eyes flitted to the plant again and then to the note. She’d never fed a plant before, though she’d watered plenty.
Again the doors clicked and Val’Zun was entering the suite, holding a transparent glass bottle with a golden syrup sloshing inside. He paused.
“You are awake.”
“Yes, I got up early,” she said strangely. “You’re back.”
Val’Zun nodded once, making his way to stand on the opposite side of the table, facing her. His pupils danced as they widened and shrunk repeatedly. They stared at each other for a length of time over the plant, and her heart sped up just a little.
Something is different.
“I brought you boma sap, its food,” he lifted the bottle of syrup. “It can only be fed when it is dark. I will show you.”
He neared the wall on the other side of the room and waved a right hand over a spot that quickly dematerialized and a panel extended. Two of his fingers brushed down the screen and the lights dimmed until they were off entirely. The windowless suite was pitch dark and Lucia didn’t move, but soon she felt a presence at her back. It was eerie how soundlessly Melier could move.
“Watch,” Zun whispered close to her ear, his warm breath hitting the skin of her temple and causing a small jitter to ripple through her.
Seconds passed and then, a small blue glow was visible through the many pods of the plant. Slowly, the light within each pod brightened as they began to crack open and lazily bloom before her eyes.
“Oh, Val’Zun,” she breathed, inching her face closer as the blooms light painted everything around them in a blue hue. Their perfume was intoxicating and sweet as little glowing flecks of yellow pollen floated up from their centers. “It’s beautiful…”
She turned her gaze to him as he crouched down beside her so he had a better view of her face. His stare flitted from her mouth to her eyes and back again, undecided at which he wanted to watch most.
“You like it then?”
“I love it,” she whispered, looking to the plant and then back to him.
I can’t stop myself this time.
Resist.
Resist!
She bit her bottom lip, and then before her inner voice could talk her out of it, she leaned in to brush her lips against Zun’s in a feathery kiss.
He didn’t move, but went rigid, if that was even possible.
She took another breath, and then pressed her lips to his. His purr rumbled forth and his tail wrapped around her ankle possessively, slithering up her calf and flicking the seam behind her knee. She couldn’t stop herself as she continued kissing him, the tickling vibration making her smile against his warm mouth before she pulled back after a few more moments.
Zun’s black gaze devoured her in stunned silence. They stayed in that wink of time for just a while longer, soaking in what it all meant.
She kissed him.
He brought her flowers, and she kissed him.
“Why were you gone for three days?” Her voice was still a whisper in the dark.
“To get these flowers for you,” he whispered back, like the moment might shatter at any second. “To apologize for letting you eat worms-”
Lucia kissed him again.
“I love them,” she said once more, after she pulled away.
Zun’s lips gradually split into a rare, full blown goofy smile, big teeth and all.
Soon he was showing her how to feed the plant the golden sap with the dropper. Lucia would feed the droplets into the flowers red center, and the tiny red petals would move and rub together, soaking up the liquid. Each time she dropped a bead of sap, the tiny blue veins in its opaque petals would pulse with light.
It was hypnotizing.
Chapter 8
“She is not a princess,” one of the royal advisors said with finality.
Soren’s claws dug into the arm of the chair he sat in, splinters of the wood falling to the floor beneath him as he struggled to keep his composure. This debate about Lucia being a true princess continued to be argued among the advisors at each meeting since his return.
“Send her back to the other Therran’s,” another voiced, spitting the name.
“Her presence is upsetting the people.”
Grunts of agreement went round the table.
“Why do you not listen, my son?” his mother asked from her seat at the head. “Have you no shame?”
This time, his mother didn’t add ‘having relations with a beast’, thankfully. He was exhausted listening to those he once highly respected regard his mate as an animal.
“She does not mark you because she is simple,” she went on. “She does not mark you because she cannot. More proof of her inferior species.”
Lucia was inferior because she had no claws, she had four limbs instead of six, she was soft, she was small, she had no scales, and anything else regarding her entire anatomy because she was not Melier, according to his mother, the advisors, and anyone else who looked down upon his mate.
“She does not mark me because she believes it will cause me pain,” he grated between clenched teeth. “She has compassion. She is kind. She does not wish to hurt me.”
“Weakness,” an advisor scoffed.
Soren understood the females of his race were the dominate ones, and yes, had Lucia been Melier, her fear of hurting him during marking would classify her as weak among the people. But that isn’t what he thought.
If anything, it made him love her more.
“I am her mate, with or without her mark,” Soren went on. “You will all respect our union, and show her the honor she deserves as princess, and the mother of my youngling.”
He glared at each advisor, one by one to drive his point home, ending with his mother. As they moved onto the next topic, he knew it wasn’t the last time his union with Lucia would be brought to question. No, they would argue about it at the next meeting, just as the many leading up to this one.
The situation angered him, annoyed him, but most of all saddened him. Soren wondered if his people would ever consider Lucia, and their youngling, part of them.
****
As the days continued to move along, Lucia and Val’Zun fell into a comfortable routine. Each morning they would turn off the lights and feed the muklori plant, and often it would end in a kiss.
Zun would never instigate it though, which she found strange. He always waited for her to kiss him, even the times when Lucia specifically waited and prolonged the moment. He would simply look at her, flicking from her mouth to her eyes, as if he was asking her to make the first move, and every time she eventually did.
She never asked why he always waited for her, but that didn’t stop her mind from wondering. Maybe he was afraid.
No, that doesn’t sound like Zun at all.
It made Lu giggle to herself to think he might be scared to kiss her. Maybe he didn’t want to offend her and shatter the fragile bridge they’d begun to build.
Each day, Soren disappeared in the mornings and wouldn’t return until late at night when she was already in bed. Whenever she asked how his day went, he would distract her with talk of something else. She certainly noticed, but let it slide thinking it may just be royal business that she wouldn’t understand and he would confide when he was ready.
A Melierun month passed, which turned out to be forty-five Dor Nye days. She had made little progress with Melierun as a whole, but she did notice the palace guards had started returning her greetings whenever she passed them. It wasn’t just the two stationed guards outside the prince’s suite anymore, and that gave her a little bit of hope.