Authors: Carmella Jones
Chapter Three
Without a clock in the bedroom, sitting around with nothing to do was undoubtedly a sort of torture for Lilith. How could it be otherwise? Her whole life she had been kept busy. Either she had work to do in the field, sewing for her mistress, or cleaning around the manor. Her days were filled with labor, only allotting small breaks to eat and enough time to sleep. Perhaps she would be allowed certain holidays to enjoy herself, but those holidays still consisted of at least six to seven hours of labor, with only a few hours left open for her to enjoy herself.
Being given a huge span of time with no work whatsoever to occupy her, as she was now, made her uneasy. The only conceivable source of entertainment in the room was a bookshelf, but a slave caught reading anything besides work-related manuals would be harshly punished on Slorn's manor, so she at first restricted herself and didn't allow her curiosity to pull her towards the bookshelf. However, there was only so much idleness her busy mind and body could stand before she got up and, as if trying to hide from some unknown pair of eyes, stealthily went over to the bookshelf and perused the volumes until she found something that looked as though it might be interesting.
The volume was titled "A Basic Field Guide to Inhabitants of the Vorox Planet, Simplified." Lilith had never read a fiction piece, and didn't really understand what the appeal was. So, she took the field guide over to the bed, and got herself comfortable under the covers before she cracked open the book and got to reading.
She mostly finished the book before she heard footsteps outside of her door. Instinctively, as a person guilty of any crime would do, she hid the book under the blanket and just returned to blankly staring at the walls. She was just in time, because no sooner did she manage to do that than the door opened and Prince Draci walked into the room.
"Hello, Lilith. Sorry I kept you waiting for so long," Draci said, gently closing the door behind him.
"Me? Waiting? For what?" Lilith replied.
"Well, I suppose you have been waiting. Seeing as the walls haven't been painted recently or anything," Draci replied with a bit of a laugh. "Or is staring at walls just your pastime?"
"Not normally. Normally I have work to do," Lilith replied. "I don't have pastimes."
Draci looked at Lilith as if she were some strange and foreign thing when she made that remark. "A woman without a pastime? Strange," Draci said.
"Typically, people like me don't have much time to pass," Lilith replied, and Draci smiled at the witty remark.
"Perhaps you're right, and I've simply been too spoiled to notice. Well, I've gotten a few books here for you, so you can make reading your pastime from now on," Draci said.
Lilith was astonished to hear that, because she couldn't believe that Draci would let his slaves read without a care. "Those books are for me?" she asked, just wanting to make sure that she understood.
"That's why they are in your room, Lilith," Draci replied easily. "But, enough of that. I wanted to broach a much more meaningful topic with you."
"More meaningful than reading?" Lilith asked, and wondered what that could be. Reading was quite a meaningful topic, especially to her. The permission to read was simply an act that would be hard to follow for a slave who had never been allowed to read before.
"Well, context means a lot. To me, this is more meaningful than reading. To you, I can only hope that it will be," Draci said. Lilith didn't reply, but her attention was fully on the alien before her. "Perhaps I've neglected to mention this before, but your room is a bit special compared to the fellow slaves I've taken from Slorn."
Lilith thought that this room was a bit too good to be true, so she waited to hear what conditions it would come with. "Most of the people I brought from Slorn are simply to be servants tasked with doing domestic chores around the house--but I have much larger plans for you."
"I am afraid I don't understand," Lilith replied a bit warily.
"I wish to take you as my bride, Lilith," Draci said, and Lilith instantly tensed up, staring hard at Draci as if to question what sort of a joke this was. His expression was calm, inviting even.
"I don't like people making jokes at my expense, or making fun of me," Lilith finally said.
"Then I believe we shall get along, because I can assure you, my dear, that I'm doing neither," Draci replied. Lilith's hard expression did not soften at this assurance. "If you don't believe my intentions are honorable, I should assure you that I won't force you into a marriage. I won't force you into anything."
"But you will get bored of me and throw me to the side if I don't meet your expectations?" Lilith asked, pulling the blankets around her.
Draci paused at that, remembering how he threatened what may happen if Lilith bored him while they were talking together in the small lounge on board his ship. "If you fear me, and reject every attempt at communication, perhaps I may get bored. But I won't treat you unfairly, Lilith."
Lilith didn't stop staring at Draci. She was so confused by the sentiment.
"I know this is a lot to take into consideration for you, Lilith. But, please at least keep in mind what sort of delicate position you're in before giving me a hasty ‘no,’" Draci said.
At that, Lilith felt her blood run cold as she did indeed take into consideration what would happen if she denied the proposal. Draci could send her back to Slorn, who would execute her. Otherwise, he might execute her himself for scorning his affections. At the very least, she would be given the worst possible jobs around the castle, and be made miserable for denying Draci his request.
"I can see that you're thinking. Well, continue to do so. Before you make a final determination, it's important that you think of all the different avenues of possibility," Draci said, and with that, he left.
Lilith did spend some time thinking things over. She realized on one hand that she didn't have much of a choice whether or not she could refuse Draci, but on the other hand, she had so many reasons to be reticent.
For a girl who had been a slave her entire life, and done nothing but toil, the prospect of being the princess of an affluent planet was a dream come true. In addition to that, Draci was a handsome man who had a reasonable temper. Perhaps he was no saint, but he was kind enough, and Lilith really did like him. However, there was no way he actually wanted to marry her unless something was wrong with his head. A prince had no business taking a slave as his wife.
The only thing that Lilith could figure was that it was a test or a game, and she did not appreciate being toyed with. Perhaps it was better to some people than the physical exhaustion and abuse that she'd faced before, but in her mind it was worse. This was a torment she had never had to endure before, and she didn't want to start enduring it now.
Chapter Four
Lilith awoke early the next morning, and after some deliberation decided to venture out of her room and explore the castle. Even if she had been ordered to stay in her room by Draci, she was feeling stir crazy by being cooped up in her room with nothing to do but read and worry.
So, she left the room and began exploring. The corridors she traveled were as elegantly decorated as the main foyer where she had first entered the castle. She used to believe that Slorn was a wealthy and powerful man, but Draci absolutely blew him out of the water. No wonder he had to fall silent when Draci ordered him to. The difference of wealth was amazing.
For over an hour, Lilith explored the twisting pathways of the cave until a guard seized her, quite unexpectedly. "Mistress! Where have you been?" the guard asked, turning Lilith around to face him. Though he was obviously in some distress, he was still rather gentle with her--a surprising observation to Lilith.
"Just looking around for the food hall. I wasn't brought dinner last night," Lilith replied, lying about her intentions, but not the fact that she hadn't eaten dinner.
"Is it normal for you to eat at night?" the guard asked, though he didn't give Lilith time to answer. "Master is worried. Come," the guard said, and pulled Lilith along as he led the way towards the dining room, where Draci was pacing.
"Lilith! I thought you had run away after our talk last night. I was so worried," Draci said, going over to Lilith and the guard. As the prince advanced with wide and quick strides, the guard retreated so as to be out of the way.
Lilith looked at Draci with a confused expression, and tried to push him away when he wrapped his arms around her. The nerve.
Her feeble strength didn't even seem to register to Draci, as he hugged her anyways, then led her to the table. "Stop dragging me!" Lilith protested, trying to jerk her arm away from him.
Now it was Draci's turn to look confusedly at Lilith. "Dragging you?" Draci asked.
"Yes, dragging me," Lilith grumbled.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Draci chuckled, and motioned for Lilith to take a seat. She couldn't think of much of a reason to argue with that, though she was still extremely mistrustful of Draci. She sat down and examined the table, which was loaded down with much too much food for only two people. Draci paid no heed to the amount of food, though, and filled his plate.
Lilith hesitantly followed suit, only because she was quite hungry. Then she began eating, but not without some unease.
Though Draci didn't strike her as the most observant, especially not when it came to the emotions of others, he wasn't blind to how upset and uneasy Lilith was. That absolutely needed to be addressed, so he finished his food and looked at her.
"Lilith, is something wrong with the food?" Draci asked, wiping his mouth and putting down the napkin.
"No. Not with the food," Lilith replied quietly.
"Then the atmosphere? Too much light?"
"No, not the atmosphere, either," Lilith replied.
"Then your bed must have been too soft--"
"Draci, it's none of those things," Lilith interrupted. "I just don't understand this," she said.
Draci paused, wondering what "this" meant.
"Why does a prince take interest in a slave? Explain that to me," Lilith said.
"My dear, that question doesn't make much sense. Why does anyone take interest in anyone else? They feel an attraction, of course!" Draci replied.
"But, you are a prince. Shouldn't you marry some noblewoman who has connections?" Lilith asked.
"Do you mean to say love is a transaction? What an ugly sentiment, my dear," Draci replied with a frown.
"Isn't that just how royals work?" Lilith asked.
"That would be like me asking you if you wanted to go to war with my people, because 'that's just how humans work,'" Draci replied.
Lilith paused, surprised at how poignant that answer was. "So, what will happen to me if I agree to be your wife?" Lilith asked, curious to know what exactly royal life would entail. Especially because she was coming from a slave background, she wouldn't get her hopes up too high.
"Well, I suppose it's fair for me to lay out my expectations before I make you tell me your decision. I expect that you willingly share your bed with me, or come share my bed. I expect that you spend your time with me, and that you travel with me. In return, I will support you both mentally and physically to the best of my abilities," Draci replied, laying it all out in the plainest terms he could.
Lilith was surprised to hear that the expectations that would be placed on her were more or less the expectations for any marriage. She mulled it over for a moment, before asking her next question: "So, there's no need for me to be involved in any diplomacy?"
"As far as I know, no. But, if the need does arise, you will be properly instructed," Draci replied.
"And how will your father feel about you taking a slave woman as a bride?"
"He would care only if you were unworthy. Just your beauty alone would be enough to satisfy him that such is not the case. But your wit and personality won't hurt, either," Draci replied with an ease that made it seem as though he was talking about the weather. This certainly wasn't a conversation he really had to think too much about at this point. He obviously had already done his thinking on the issue, and mulled over everything that needed mulling over.
Lilith had to take some time to consider all of this, but she eventually reached the conclusion that she should agree to Draci's request. If this was something mean spirited and awful, she could run away then. If it was genuine, then there was no way she would ever attain anything as wonderful as this opportunity again.
"I've decided to accept this offer," Lilith said, and Draci smiled and leaned over to kiss her, though she pushed him away. He looked at her with his bright purple eyes, which practically screamed the question, "Why?!"
"First, you have to propose to me. It's a human thing," Lilith replied, giggling as she saw the confusion in Draci's eyes. "Get down on one knee, offer me a ring, and ask me to be your wife. To prove you really care."
"That is an odd way to prove anything," Draci replied, pouting and stuffing his face. Still, once he was finished with his food, he stood and bowed. "If you'll excuse me, m’lady, I shall return at the earliest convenience. However, first," Draci said, getting a piece of string by tearing off a loose thread in the linen garment that Lilith was still wearing from Slorn. "Which finger is the ring supposed to go on?"
Lilith pointed to her wedding ring finger, and Draci proceeded to measure it with the string before leaving in a hurry.
Less than an hour later, Draci was back with a gorgeous ring made of a deep violet stone that was unlike anything Lilith had ever seen before, but she smiled when Draci got down on his knee and proposed. Without hesitation, she said yes.