The Princess and her Alien Rogue: Alien Romance (9 page)

“Tell them what? That I am a spoilt girl who wants to play fairy-tale princess?”

“No, that you are strong and you have us in your heart. I might not come from your planet, but I have ears all the same. I know what they say.”

“What who says?” Tallia moved to turn around, but Rian put her hands on Tallia’s shoulders and turned her back to face the mirror.

“Hold still or I will not be finished on time and you will look lopsided.”

“Tell me, Rian. What do people think of me?”

“They think you are strong, and they believe you will make a better queen than your father did king.”

“I thought they loved my father.”

“They did. But they saw the way the Emissars took back power. He was lost when your mother died. Too easy to sway. The Emissars brought in new laws, harsh laws in the southern villages.”

“What kind of laws?” she asked. “And why have I never heard of them?”

“Because you do not hear the whispers like I do.”

“The whispers. You mean gossip?”

“Yes. There are rumors that in the south the women are considered the property of their husbands when they are married. It is how they used to live hundreds of years ago. And now the Emissars have told the men there they may go back to the old ways.”

“The Emissars have done this?” she asked. “Why?”

“Because the men in the south have deep pockets.”

“Bribery.”

“Yes, My Princess.” She pinned the last strand to Tallia’s head. Tallia had not been taking too much notice of the face staring back at her, but suddenly she looked at herself and saw a woman she did not recognize. Rian leaned forward and whispered, “You have to act quickly. They will only grow in strength. Your father gave them rope, do not let that rope hang you.”

Chapter Fourteen – Johar

He was about to get married.

The temptation to run had never been so strong. Whatever madness had allowed things to get this far, he had to end it now. The right thing to do was to go straight to Tallia and tell her he had changed his mind and she would be better off without him.

And yet his feet stayed firmly rooted to the spot. He looked down as his feet; they were encased in black boots that weren’t his, and his legs were sheathed in new black leather pants that, unlike his old pants, were not worn to feel like a second skin. The shirt on his back was silk, white, pure, and Krigan would have laughed hard to see him standing here looking at the man in the mirror.

Krigan. If only he had boarded the cruiser with his friend and flown off into space full of bravado, looking for their next deal, or bigger trade.

Instead, he was about to get married.

“Shit,” he said to the empty room.

But it wasn’t empty.

“Shit indeed.” One of the Emissars, the one who had spoken to Tallia, he was sure, came to stand behind him.

“Have you come to pass on your blessings for my union to
your
princess?” Johar asked.

“She is not
my
princess; we both know that. Neither is she your princess. So why don’t we discuss terms,” the Emissar said, coming to stand next to him and look at the big Limerian in the mirror. “It would be a shame for a man as unique as you to get caught up in our messy internal squabble.”

“A squabble. Is that what this is? Because if you ask me, I would say you and your fellow Emissars are looking to overthrow a monarchy.”

The Emissar laughed. “And what does it matter to one such as you?” The sneer in his voice was thinly veiled, as if he could not quite quell his thoughts of how superior he was to Johar and all of those around him. This man, this Emissar, thought he was above everyone, that he was so close to taking power that he could say what he wanted, make whatever deals he wanted and everything would fall into his lap.

“One such as me? And what exactly do you think I am?” Johar let his hands fall to his sides, resisting the temptation to flex his hands, ready to ball them into fists to punch this stuck-up Emissar across the room.

“I think you are a trader, who likes to make his coin whenever and wherever he can. I believe that you are marrying Tallia for something stronger than the love she would have us believe holds you together.” He turned to Johar, and if he was taller he would have whispered the words insidiously into Johar’s ear; instead, he had to breathe them across Johar’s chest. “Greed.”

“And one like you would know all about greed,” Johar said. “It permeates your every thought; it oozes from your skin like poison. You covet the throne, you wish to rule this planet, and you call me greedy. You would squash everything and anyone who tried to block you. You have become too powerful and it’s time the monarchy took back that power.”

The Emissar laughed loudly. “Such talk from a trader!”

“You think so little of me. You have no idea what I am, or who I am.”

“I know that you are a rogue. That you fought in the lower town, that I have witnesses to say you cheated and stole coin. I could have you flung in prison right now.”

“And why don’t you?” Johar asked.

“Because I would hate to spoil the princess’s big day.”

Johar studied the man in front of him. “So you will plan and scheme even after the wedding.”

“No. I have already planned, and my scheme is in place. You enjoy your day. And your wedding night, but your honeymoon may be a little disappointing.”

Johar did not answer him, refusing to allow the Emissar to believe his words had worked their way into Johar’s brain and now caused him concern. By getting married, instead of making Tallia’s position stronger, was he perhaps putting her in more danger?

“If you will excuse me, I will go and take my place in the hall. Don’t be too long, you do not want to keep your eager princess waiting. Do you?”

Left alone once more, Johar looked in the mirror, and the face staring back at him was even more of a stranger. The Emissar’s words had proved one thing to Johar. Despite his better judgment, not to mention his usual sense of self-preservation, he had feelings for the princess. He just didn’t know what he should do for the best.

Run.

That was his usual trait. To run, flee, leave behind the hard stuff. That was why he had become a trader, why he had left his home planet and his family behind. He admitted to himself now that he may have been wrong, that Tallia had taught him that he owed something to his people.

Yet this time around, running might be best way to deal with the situation.

However, as usual, he seemed incapable of doing what was best. So he took one last look in the mirror, and left the room, going down to the hall to marry his bride.

Chapter Fifteen – Tallia

“What if he never intended to go through with it?” Tallia asked Rian, who was doing her best to keep her princess calm.

“Then you begin your search again, and know that Misha’Ha was a liar.”

“I feel sick. What if the Emissars were right all along and Misha’Ha was the one who caused my mother to go crazy?”

“You are letting your nerves speak for you. Do you not see the way Johar looks at you, the way he glows when you are near? His tattoos light up, as if you are the sun to his moon. Your light shines on him and he reflects it to let the whole world know he loves you.”

“He does not love me.”

“You do not think so. He does not think so. But you are too foolish to allow yourself to believe anyone could love you, and he is too foolish to believe he could find love with a princess.”

“It might be my wedding day, but that does not mean you can talk to me like that.”

Rian laughed. “Perhaps if someone had talked like that to you when you were a child, you would not be in this position now.”

“And what does that mean?”

“That sometimes we learn more from the truth than from the lies we believe we want to hear.”

“Rian. I want to thank you for being my friend.” Rian looked up sharply, catching Tallia’s eyes in the mirror. “I mean it.”

“I am happy to be your friend.”

“And I want to do something for you.” Tallia took a deep breath, and nearly changed her mind, but she had to say what had been her head for weeks. “I’ve asked you before. And I want to ask you again. I want you to go home.”

“My princess. No.”

“I want you to. It would be safer there for you. I know the Emissars, and I know that they will not let this go. They will not let me be happy. I will have to fight for the right to rule, even as a regent. They will want to control my child. I know that now. And I also know I cannot let that happen. I fear a war is looming, one I don’t know if I can win.”

“And I will stand with you. Protect your child as if he was my own.”

“Rian, I cannot promise you that you will be safe.”

“I have never asked you to. I know how lucky I was to be bought by you. I know what fate might have been mine if you had not paid for my life.”

“But you should be free. I aim to rid the planet of slavery.”

“Then make me free, but do not send me away.”

“Oh, Rian.” Tallia hugged the woman who had become closer to her than anyone ever had before, even her own mother. “I don’t know how I will ever forgive myself if something happened to you.”

“And I do not know how I will live with myself if I left and something happened to you. I will protect you.”

The words seemed strange coming from the woman who had come to her as a frightened and bewildered adolescent and had grown into a strong and trustworthy woman.

“Thank you.” Tallia smiled at Rian, trying not to let the tears, which misted her eyes, fall. She didn’t want her eyes to look red-rimmed as she walked through the hall to meet Johar. For no other reason than she hated the thought of the Emissars thinking they had upset her.

“We should go,” Rian said. “You look beautiful.”

Tallia couldn’t stop the one single tear that ran down her cheek. “I wish my mother was here.”

“I am sure she watches over you.” Rian dabbed the tear off Tallia’s cheek. “She would be proud.”

Chapter Sixteen – Johar

Standing in the great hall, surrounded by a hundred people he didn’t know was probably the most vulnerable Johar had ever felt. He stood out. His height, his silver skin, which was shining dimly, was enough to make people stare and whisper. Johar’s normal reaction would have been to either scare them just a little with a display of his strength, or to walk away and let them talk.

Walking away was not an option. Neither was taking on ten of the strongest men here and knocking them out. Unless the Emissars volunteered. Then he might not stop at knocking them out; wringing their necks until their tongues rolled out would be much more satisfying.

“Johar.” A man, he looked like a guard, approached him.

“Yes.” Johar moved his hand, a reflex, to where his laser should be on his hip. But no weapons were allowed in this hall. Pity.

“I have been sent by Princess Tallia to give you these.” The guard lifted his hand. Johar’s twitched once more, cursing his lack of weapons, but then he saw the guard had two rings in his hand. Not exactly a deadly weapon. “She did not expect you to have found rings.”

“She is correct. Thank you… What is your name?”

“Helker. I am of her personal guard.”

“I didn’t know she had a personal guard.” Johar took the rings, a glance over Helker’s shoulder telling him that the Emissars were watching the exchange.”

“We are charged with guarding the outer perimeter. I have been allowed in to witness the ceremony.”

“So you are not very personal anymore?” Johar asked, putting the rings safely in his pocket. He wondered if the one meant for him would fit. Jewelry had never been a thing he wore, and he had no desire to start, but he imagined it was part of the tradition here, and he wanted nothing to give the Emissars a reason to say their gods, or whoever it was they made sacrifices to, had sent an omen to foretell the doom of this marriage before it had even begun. Those kind of whispers were not welcome on this day.

“No. The Emissars said the best way to protect the princess was to protect the palace.”

“Thank you.” He held out his hand to Helker, and when the guard took it, he leaned in to touch foreheads, as was his custom. As the guard did the same he whispered. “Are your guards still loyal to her?”

“Yes.” Helker hardly sounded the word. But the slight squeeze of his hand told Johar that Tallia still had some allies. If it came down to a fight.

A murmur spread through the hall, and he turned to see his bride-to-be standing alone in the great ornate doorway. He assumed this hall, like the rest of the palace, had been built by her people. There were scenes carved into the wood, of stars and planets, of space cruisers and alien races, the latter scenes showing how Tallia’s people had conquered worlds.

As she stood in the doorway, with the Emissars gathered around her to escort her to him, he saw the difference in the species acutely. The Emissars were dark haired and dark eyed, their skin olive colored, while Tallia had auburn hair that reflected the light from the huge windows that were built into the roof. He had stared into her eyes, and even from this distance could see the color of them: light blue, almost gray, they sparkled with life. While the Emissars were dull in comparison.

Tearing his eyes away from his bride, he looked around the room, and saw that the people here were a mixture of colors and creeds. Tallia’s people had brought a cosmopolitan world to life. Whereas the Emissars had only bred amongst the indigenous population.

It reminded him of his own people. As Tallia started to walk towards him, he wondered what his father would say about his choice of bride. When he returned to his home planet. His soul ached for that return, after so long away. To see his family, all those he had left behind when he had gone rogue and walked away from everything that was his.

One step at a time, she drew closer to him. He didn’t see anything other than her, she looked beautiful, and radiant. She smiled, and his tattoos glowed brighter, dazzling as his skin transmitted his feelings for her. Only when he allowed his peripheral vision to come into sharp focus did he see the surprise on the faces of the congregation. If anything was going to settle the question of whether he truly wanted Tallia, then his twinkling tattoos would.