Protected by the HERO (13 page)

*****

The next few days were like a hazy dream to Freya as she and Zaino got to know each other better. From time to time, he would shift to his crabby, haughty, and condescending attitude. But eventually she got used to it. Besides, as soon as he became aware of it, he’d instantly apologize and make an extra effort to be caring and thoughtful.

It was probably a difficult struggle for him suddenly to start caring for someone other than himself. And after many years of focusing on just his work as a king and also treating others as mere subordinates whom he did not intend to please, it was certainly flattering to have him exerting so much effort to be a good partner to his queen.

Freya did not want to admit it even to herself—that her feelings for Zaino were deepening. She was falling for him fast and hard, and was getting scared and nervous about it. She knew she should probably just “go with the flow” and see where it led her. But she just couldn’t help overthinking it. Was it all real? Did he really have feelings for her?

It was on a lazy Sunday that things got ugly. The kind was away on a state visit.

“Where are you going?” one of the cooks in the palace kitchen asked another cook. Freya overheard them talking while she was baking a batch of cupcakes for the alien warriors. They didn’t know she was just out of sight in the enormous kitchen, slightly hidden behind large ovens. Besides, they had no idea the queen was actually inside their working area. On that day, she had been bored and had asked Grailey to let her engage in one of her all-time favorite hobbies—baking.

“The king has sent for me to lead a banquet,” the other cook answered. “I will be cooking for him and his court.”

“Oh, great! Good luck!” the first cook said in an excited voice. “I’m sure they will love the food you’ll prepare!”

“I hope so,” the second cook replied doubtfully. “I hope he isn’t seeing that dreadful woman again, though.”

“Oh the slutty daughter of that Earth ambassador? I heard he spent a lot of time with her while he was on Earth. I don’t know the deal between them is, but I don’t like her.”

“Yeah,” the other one agreed. “She’s no good for him. I like Queen Freya much better.”

“Me, too,” the first cook said. “But hey, the king’s a great guy in other areas. I’ve worked here all my life and I know that he is a good person. He seems smitten by the queen, but that’s probably just temporary. He’s been with so many women that I doubt he’ll actually stick with this one.”

“That’s sad,” the second cook remarked. “I’m hoping he’s not just using Queen Freya for political and business reasons.”

Freya’s eyes watered while her heart seemed to lurch with tremendous pain. She did not stay to hear the rest, but found herself rushing back to the east wing and locking herself in the bedroom. She knew that she shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions. But overhearing that conversation had snapped her back to the reality that she was only pretending to be queen and to be the wife of King Zaino. She was only doing her job, and should definitely not make it personal.

“I’m too affected already,” she muttered between her sobs. “I can’t go on like this anymore. I won’t be able to perform my duties well if I feel this way…”

King Zaino was scheduled to be back the next day. She had ample time finally, actually to fulfill her original plan of leaving the palace and Tryptin for good.

She quickly packed the clothes she had originally brought with her in a small backpack. Because the palace was quiet in the late evening, she decided it was the perfect time to sneak into the flying pod. With the pod navigation class still quite fresh in her memory, she was easily able to program the vehicle to transport her to Earth. She wanted to do it before she changed her mind. Without thinking any further, she pressed some buttons and laid in the course. Her heart was heavy with mixed emotions. Her wild imagination conjured up an image of Zaino with that other woman, urging her to stick with her final decision and ultimately launch the tiny spaceship toward the atmosphere.
Goodbye, Tryptin. Goodbye, Zaino.

*****

It had been a week since Freya had arrived back on Planet Earth. She had not heard from King Zaino even once, which only strengthened her conviction that she had been right with her decision to escape. She had sent a message to Grailey, though, to thank her for everything.

Meanwhile, Patrix had actually tried to contact her several times. But she was angry at him above all and therefore refused to talk to him. She knew he would just try to convince her to go back, to advance his own ambitions.

Freya was well aware too that the king could have had her brought back but he probably didn’t want to force her against her will. He was silently letting her go and giving her the freedom she had chosen.

After a week of moping around, Freya decided it was time to start over on Earth. First, she wanted to buy back her studio if she could. Second, she ought to put into action her plans for intermixing traditional yoga practices with modern meditation and wellness technologies. There were plenty of things she would have to accomplish to relaunch her yoga studio and turn it into a contemporary wellness center that would appeal to the modern world. For herself and to honor the memory of her mother, she knew she would be able to do it, one step at a time.

“Hi, Anna!” she greeted the new studio owner over the phone. “I noticed you haven’t used the studio yet at all. I was just wondering if you would be willing to sell it back to me.”

“Wait, Freya?” Anna said, her voice showing her obvious puzzlement. “What are you talking about? You already bought it back a few weeks ago.”

“Huh?” Freya was perplexed.

“Oh, wait,” Anna said. “You mean your alien husband didn’t tell you yet? Oh, sorry. I might have just ruined his surprise… It was probably meant to be some kind of gift.”

The color drained from Freya’s face and she almost dropped the phone. She could not believe it.

Anna went on chattering. “I’m really sorry. But anyway, you should check your mailbox. I had sent the keys to you already.”

“Okay, thanks,” Freya said, her voice barely a whisper. She was totally stunned.

Later that day, she strolled into her old studio feeling uneasiness and excitement. Immediately she noticed the newly blown-up photos of herself together with her mom, both of them showing different yoga positions. They had been hung on the walls, filling her with nostalgia. Other than the photos, the studio looked quite the same except that it seemed to have been cleaned only recently.

There was one other thing that stood out in the room—the big white box sitting on the floor in front of one of the mirrored walls. It had been imprinted with the words “The Wellness Studio by Freya Reece”, accompanied with a simple yet very attractive logo.

Freya curiously opened the box, her heart thumping quickly. The box was filled with impressive marketing materials that depicted the concept she had actually been planning. Everything had been laid out perfectly. She then recalled how Zaino had been so interested in finding out about her future plans when they had been spending a lot of time together.

A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another. Soon she was quietly sobbing while sifting through the flyers, brochures, marketing kits, personalized towels, and more. She didn’t know if she was crying because she was so happy that her dream was materializing right in front of her, because she was touched by Zaino’s amazing gift that showed how much he actually cared, or because she was feeling guilty about her negative thoughts of him and about leaving him without saying goodbye.

She then turned on the electronic tablet sitting amid the pile of marketing paraphernalia. The same logo found on the white box came to life on the screen. There were various icons that reflected the business plans and other digital materials. She clicked on a presentation that detailed the website scheduled to be launched very soon. As she watched the slide show, she could not believe her eyes. Everything she had wanted for her dream business had already been laid out. The initial planning had been completed and carried out. It was just awaiting the official launch.

The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn around with a fast-beating heart. But it wasn’t King Zaino who had entered the studio. It was her best friend Lia.

“So… it looks like you found his surprise,” Lia said with a smile as she approached.

“You knew all this time and you didn’t tell me?” Freya said incredulously.

Lia laughed. “Well, it wasn’t my call, Freya. But now that you’ve discovered all this already, I want to tell you that yes, King Zaino began working on this project when he extended his stay here on Earth. He really cares a lot about you. Bonx said he had never been like this about a woman.”

Freya didn’t know what to say. All this time, she had been thinking that he’d merely been involved in an affair with that human woman when in truth, he’d been preoccupied with this—for her.

“I kept telling you that we got to spend time with him here and that even if he did see that woman due to state matters, he never touched her despite all her flirting efforts,” Lia told her earnestly. “He only had eyes for you, Freya. He couldn’t stop talking about you.”

“Oh, my God,” Freya uttered, her heart bursting with guilt and pain.

“I know it wasn’t just jealousy that drove you back here on Earth,” Lia said. “The job setup wasn’t really comfortable for you, although the two of you obviously developed real romantic feelings for each other.”

Freya buried her face in her hands. “What should I do?” she wailed in a muffled voice.

Lia placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. “It’s not yet too late,” she said. “I think you also need to know the reason I came over here in the first place.”

Freya raised her eyes, uncovering her face and staring at her best friend expectantly. “What is it?”

“I don’t want to pressure you, but…” she hesitated, pausing.

“But what?” Freya pressed her.

The anxiety on Lia’s face was evident. “Bonx recently heard from Patrix,” she started in a troubled tone. “Chaos has erupted in Tryptin, brought on by news of your sudden departure. King Zaino’s political enemies seem to have ganged up on him this time, taking advantage of this incident to destroy his reputation…”

“What?!” Freya almost shouted, her heart pounding hard against her chest as she thought of the beautiful planet she had learned to love and the wonderful people of the palace.

“King Zaino has kept silent. There is talk that he is actually thinking of stepping down!” Lia exclaimed.

“No, no, no…” Freya whispered in shock and agony.

Lia faced her squarely and looked her in the eye. “Freya, I know it’s not your responsibility. It’s not even your planet. But I just wanted you to know that if he actually gives up the kingdom, the whole of Tryptin might actually collapse. In his enemies’ hands, the planet doesn’t stand a chance. Peace and order will surely be placed in grave danger and…”

“I’ve got to get back,” Freya suddenly said with conviction. She stood up and started pacing back and forth. “Tell Bonx I must get back. I have to do something about this.”

“Are you… sure…?” Lia gave her an uncertain look. “It might mean being the queen for many years to come or even permanently.”

“I just… I have to… get back…”

The studio’s door swung open without warning. Both women turned toward it. Freya’s hand flew to her mouth as her eyes swept across the familiar well-built body and the handsome face that she used to wake up next to.

“There’s no need, Freya,” Zaino said as he sauntered toward them. He nodded to Lia in greeting as he came near.

Freya’s heart hammered wildly as she found herself standing face to face again with the man who made her insides crumble to pieces and yet seemed to complete her soul.

Meanwhile, Lia excused herself immediately. “I’ll leave you two to talk. Just call me tomorrow, Freya.”

“Thanks so much,” Freya said.

“Thank you, Lia,” Zaino added.

Lia gave them a smile and left the room. Zaino then faced Freya with a serious, somber look. “I’ve abdicated,” he said quietly. “I am no longer the king of Tryptin.”

“Why?” Freya cried in alarm. “But they need you!”

“It’s okay,” Zaino answered. “As my last act, I passed on the crown to Patrix and the people of Tryptin have accepted him as their new leader. As for me…” He paused and took a few steps forward, making Freya’s breath catch in her throat. He fixed her with an intense stare, which made her heart race even faster.

“I’ve decided just to live a normal life...” Zaino said, “…here on Earth.”

Freya’s eyes widened. With their faces only inches apart, she found herself yearning to feel his moist, supple lips on hers again. She realized right then and there how much she had missed him.

Zaino’s hand stroked her cheek as he continued to gaze into her eyes. “You are truly free. Here on your planet, we are not husband and wife anymore. You’re free from me, Freya.”

For some reason, his words filled her with sadness. Instead of rejoicing, she was enfolded in melancholy. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For giving me my freedom, for the studio and the business… for simply caring even if you didn’t have to…”

“We can start over here if you’ll give me the chance,” he said solemnly.