Chapter 23

Connie

I woke up to the sound of the king’s voice flowing down the hall. His deep, husky tone drummed through me, and the memory of last night flooded back.

I climbed out of bed, running my fingers through my hair to try to gain control of the mop, and walked out of my room.

I was in my pajamas: a long pair of pink unicorn pants and a tight top. I yawned as I entered the bridge, then smiled at Billy and Bob standing in their places.

“Morning,” I said.

They turned to me, tilting their heads to the side, then returned their gaze to the small screens on their control units.

I sat down in my seat and crossed my legs on top of the control panel in front of me, stretching my arms above my head with a loud moan.

The king’s voice continued to drone on, and in a moment, the large screen in front of me turned on. At the sight of his face, my body tensed, and I felt anger building in me.

“Good morning, Connie,” he said, and I froze.

~Is this live? Can he see me?~

There was a moment of silence, then Bob said quietly to me, “It is best not to ignore the king.”

“Morning,” I said, sitting normally and crossing my arms.

“I wish to apologize for my behavior last night. I realize I have hurt you with my actions, and I would like to make it up to you.

“I have instructed my brother, Raylon, to show you around Sakala Market today. Will you accept?” he asked.

~Your brother, Raylon? Spend the day with me? Now that’s not a bad deal.~

I smiled. “It wasn’t very nice, what you did, Your Highness. But I accept your offer. How does Raylon feel about this?”

“I would not be here if I did not agree,” a deep voice said from behind me.

I spun around. “Oh God! You’re here,” I gasped in utter embarrassment. Raylon leaned against the wall at the back of the bridge, looking like the sexiest thing in the universe.

His fit body was outlined by his stylish black clothes, and his metal mask somehow made him seem even more attractive.

Whereas I sat here like a wet turd on a bar stool, my hair a mess, my makeup from last night smudged halfway down my face, and still wearing my pink unicorn pajamas.

~Wow, Connie, way to make an impression!~

“You’re here?” I asked, trying to flatten the nest of hair on the back of my head.

He pushed off the wall, saying, “Will you join me?”

I looked at Billy and Bob, hoping they would somehow ease my embarrassment, but they simply nodded and turned back to the screen.

“Um…yeah, I’d love to. I just… I need to…go over there and die a slow and painful death,” I mumbled the last part to myself as I turned away from him.

“I rather like this look,” he said with a smile in his voice.

“Not my best. I need at least an hour.”

“Very well. I will wait here,” he said, and returned to leaning on the wall at the back of the bridge.

I smiled shyly and darted out the room. When I got to my room, I shut the door and sank to the floor, mortified that he’d seen me like this. Bed hair, panda eyes, and pajamas.

I quickly showered and jumped into the body form machine to get dressed. I waited as the machine finished doing my hair and smiled at how simple and quick this was.

I pulled on the boots I had made for the market the day before, and then the dark-green coat.

I checked myself one last time in the mirror, and after five minutes of nervous contemplation about going, I squared my shoulders and left the room.

As I walked down the hall, I heard Raylon’s deep voice coming from the bridge.

“…I cannot allow for the terms to be broken. Our people cannot return to war. I will speak with your leader, but I do not see your request being permitted.

“Leave it with me. I will give you my answer this evening when I return with Connie.”

I stepped onto the bridge, my heart racing, and smiled at Raylon when he turned to face me.

“I’m ready,” I said nervously.

He nodded at me, then turned back to Billy and Bob.

“Gather the information you need from a distance, but I do not wish for us to be disturbed,” he said with a command in his voice that sent chills down my spine.

He gestured for me to walk first, and as we left the ship, I heard Bob say, “Be careful,” in my ear. My heart flipped at the seriousness in his tone.

I turned to look at Raylon.

~What did he mean by that? Be careful of what?~

I paused in the crowded passage of the landing dock of the market and waited for Raylon.

He came up next to me, three men in black uniform flanking him, and stopped next to me. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yeah. Where to?”

“Anywhere you like. What would you like to see?”

“I don’t know. I was on my way to the market yesterday when I came back to the shuttle.”

“Very well. The market it is, then.” He gestured for me to walk and came to stride beside me.

I twisted my hands in front of me, feeling nervous and scared. Bob’s warning was still ringing in my head.

“Are you all right?” Raylon asked.

“Yeah, sure. Just a little nervous,” I admitted.

“Because of me?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Why?”

“You’re a prince. A real prince, and we’re just strolling down the road like normal people. I feel like I should have done something to deserve this honor, but I didn’t.”

He stopped and turned to me, stepping closer to me. I looked up into the gap of the mask that showed his eyes.

“The honor is mine, Connie. You have nothing to worry about. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

A strange giddy feeling rose inside me. I was nervous but excited to be here with him.

At first, when I saw the man on Billy and Bob’s ship, it didn’t register through the cloud of anger, but now as I walked with Raylon I was fascinated by how human-like he was.

I couldn’t see under the mask, but everything else seemed normal. His men from yesterday looked human-like, as did the king.

I made a mental note to ask him about it.

Raylon led me to a massive white stone arch, towering above me at least thirty feet. Beyond that lay the market.

I saw endless rows of shop windows, stalls, and vendors selling all kinds of curiosities. It reminded me of a souk in Marrakech.

“Whoa,” I gasped as I took in the sight of hundreds of strange-looking people walking around, speaking an incomprehensible mumble in languages I couldn’t understand.

There were piles of brightly colored fabrics and clothes that looked exquisite yet somehow displaced, like from another time.

As we moved under the arch, a thin blue line moved over my skin as though I’d walked through a light of some sort. I looked up at it with curiosity.

“That was a scan. There are no weapons permitted in the Sakala. Only the guards may carry a weapon,” Raylon explained.

“Right,” I said as my eyes drifted from left to right. I wanted to see everything and touch everything. I wanted to buy it all.

As we stepped down the stairs leading to the main pathway of the market, my nose picked up on a heavenly scent.

~What is that glorious food smell?~

As I took in a long sniff, trying to figure out where it was coming from, I heard Raylon chuckle next to me.

“Do you smell that?” I asked him, looking for any source.

“Yes,” he said as he rose up onto his toes to look over the heads of all the people in the crowd. “I believe it is coming from over there.”

He gestured to a being with a metal cart. His back arched almost in half as he walked, his heavy metal cart pulling behind him with no visible form of wheels.

“Ooh, yummy,” I said and let go of Raylon. I pushed through the crowd toward the man, and when he saw me coming with hunger in my eyes, he smiled widely at me.

“Good morning, my lady,” he said in a croaky voice. “May I interest you in a Mik bite?”

I smiled at him as I looked at the strange sausage-type food laying on a hot plate in his cart. “I have no idea what that is, but I will take two, please,” I said.

The hunched-over man gave me a small nod and turned to the cart.

As he prepared two of the long brown meaty sticks and placed them into white napkins, I caught Raylon from the corner of my eye.

He stood a few stalls away, his back turned to me as he spoke to a pale-skinned, four-eyed woman in another shop.

“Will that be all, my lady?” the old man asked, breaking my stare.

“Yes, thank you. How much do I owe you?”

“That will be five credits, please.”

I looked at my arm, at the gold markings on my wrist, and then at the man. He held out a glass pad and waited. I reached out and ran the mark over the screen.

A second later I heard a faint beep, and the man again smiled at me. “Thank you, my lady. Enjoy,” he said as he moved to the front of the cart.

At that moment Raylon stepped in front of the man, and his guards surrounded us.

“You dare to steal from the people of this kingdom?” Raylon asked angrily.