Alien's Princess Bride (4 page)

Chapter Six

Elizabeth peered around the bedroom, relieved the snake was now gone. She had always been terribly frightened of snakes, and this one had been particularly large. Almost as big as an anaconda she’d seen in a zoo once. She hoped it wasn’t a common occurrence for snakes to venture into houses in the village. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling out of place on this strange world.

“We need to talk, Elizabeth,” Zarr said, shutting the door behind him. His voice sounded grave and a scowl hardened his visage. “Sit down on the bed.”

Knots twisted in her stomach and nausea rose in her throat. His tone and demeanor frightened her, and she feared he was about to deliver some bad news.
Snakes come into houses all the time here, and you’ll just have to get used to it.
She sat down on the bed, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around her center.

He paced in front of her, his features tense. Agitation rolled off him in waves. She was glad he had no reason to be angry at her. She didn’t want to ever end up on his bad side. She supposed he shared her dislike for snakes.

Finally, he came to stand in front of her and spoke.

“You’ve been keeping something from me, Elizabeth. I want to hear the truth about your life on Earth and why you fled your planet. I also want to know how it is that you don’t know the other four girls who arrived with you. You were on the
Starship Matchmaker
for many moon cycles and I find it hard to believe you didn’t become acquainted with these human females.” He crossed his arms and glared at her.

Her palms broke out in a sweat and her throat went dry. She looked up at him, utterly stunned and at a loss for words.

How had he known she was lying? How would he react when she confessed the truth? She had wanted to pretend she was a normal girl from Earth, and part of her still feared what would happen if one person, even her husband, knew the whole truth. The aliens aboard the
Starship Matchmaker
had known she was a princess, but Fiona had bribed them to not tell her intended or anyone else about her real identity.

“What makes you think I was lying?” she said, trying to sound surprised and also innocent. What did Sepkarian husbands do to wives who lied? She still didn’t know him very well and worried he might punish her in some way. He was two heads taller than her, and so muscular he probably outweighed her by two hundred pounds. If he decided to hurt her, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Maybe leaving Earth had been a mistake.

“It’s not difficult to tell when someone is lying, Elizabeth. Now start talking. Someone just tried to kill us, or one of us, by leaving a deadly snake in our house. I want to know who you are and if there’s anyone out there, even on Earth, who might wish for harm to come to you. I have no enemies that I know of, so I can only assume you were the target.”

She knew her eyes had grown so wide at his statement that there would be no more denying the truth. Her face gave her away, just as it probably had when she lied to him in the first place. She moved her trembling hands to her lap and twisted her fingers together, her gaze on the floor. Fear kept her from meeting Zarr’s eyes.

At the same time, her mind raced with the horrid possibility that someone on Sepkar knew her identity and had tried to have her killed. But who? One of the women who’d arrived in the village with her? And if so, how in the hell had one of them managed to place a huge snake in their house?

“The truth!” Zarr said, almost a shout.

She flinched at his volume and lifted her gaze to his. “What will you do to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I confess that I’ve lied to you, what will you do to me?” This was their first disagreement. Though she wanted to believe he would be rational, she had still never seen him angry. Until now. Her heart raced faster and she glanced at the door, wondering if she could escape in time should he become physical.

He blew out a breath and knelt in front of her, then clasped her shaking hands in his. His touch was warm and so gentle a mist of tears formed in her eyes.
Please let him continue to be kind to me, even when I’ve erred
. If she’d told the truth about her identity right away, perhaps he would’ve already discovered who’d tried to kill her.

“Elizabeth, I am displeased that you lied to me, but I am not going to hurt you. Please, don’t fear me.” He reached one hand up to cup the side of her face, then stroked soft circles on her cheek with his thumb.

She shuddered and leaned into his touch, her apprehension lessening. “I’m sorry I lied to you, but I was scared, and I thought if I pretended to be a nobody from Earth, I could finally go on with my life. I doubted anyone would hurt me even if they knew my true identity, but I also decided not to take that risk.”

“Is your name even Elizabeth?”

“Yes, that’s my name. My cousin who helped me escape Earth wanted me to go by another name, but I couldn’t bear the thought of being called a strange name for the rest of my life, so I decided to keep it and hope for the best. Anyway,
some
of what I told you was true.”

He rose up and sat next to her on the bed. His eyes shone with understanding, and possibly even forgiveness, as he stared at her for a lingering moment. Then he lifted her and arranged her on his lap. She felt tiny in his embrace, but safe. He’d calmed down and promised not to hurt her.

She felt silly for imagining he might punish her in some way. Thank God he was a kind, reasonable man. She hoped they survived whatever danger had befallen them and had many more years together. As she stared into his dark bottomless depths, she envisioned them building a strong and happy marriage, and she promised herself she wouldn’t lie to him again, lest she once again jeopardize the trust between them.

“It’s considered a sacred duty for a Sepkarian male to keep his mate safe. Please do not lie to me again, Elizabeth. It’s difficult for me to keep you safe if you’re telling me lies.” He spoke gently but firmly as he scolded. “Please know that I would never hurt you, no matter how badly we are arguing or how angry we become with one another. Husbands and wives have disagreements sometimes, that is natural and comes with marriage, but I am certain we will learn to get along well together,” he said, his lips turning upwards in a brief smile.

“I’m sorry I lied and sorry I assumed you might hurt me. We’ve never fought before and you looked awfully livid, and you’re so big…I just got scared.”

“All is forgiven, sweet human. We are still getting to know one another.” He gave her a squeeze and placed another kiss on her forehead. “Now start from the beginning.
Who
are you?”

* * *

A princess
. Zarr had unknowingly procured a princess from Earth and made her his wife.

His heart ached for her as she told her story, talking of the war and the day she received word that her parents had been hanged, and of the time someone had recognized her in a land called Scotland where she’d been hiding, forcing her to flee in the middle of a cold, snowy night. The poor thing had lived in terror, moving from place to place, until a dear cousin of hers had convinced her to leave Earth and become a mail order bride. She also spoke of the private quarters on the
Starship Matchmaker
and her reasons for distancing herself from the other passengers.

“One of the four human females who arrived with you must be the culprit and want you dead.”

She shook her head, eyes wide. “That snake was huge! How could one of them have brought it into our house? Are you sure the snake didn’t just slither inside on it’s own?”

“Hunnma snakes live in the mountains. It was intentionally placed in our home, Elizabeth, of that I am certain.” He rubbed her arms in an effort to quell the last of her trembling. He hated to see her afraid and raged inside at the person, or persons, who had tried to murder his sweet wife. “We will discover who is behind this attempt on your life, Elizabeth. Do not worry, I will keep you safe. We’ll seal the house down tonight and no one will enter without setting alarms off.”

She relaxed at this and meet his gaze. “What will happen to the person who did this?”

“As the chief of this village, it’s also my duty to pass judgments, though fortunately I’ve rarely had to do so. As I’ve told you before, my people are trying to rebuild our planet and our population and live in peace. We only fight when we must protect ourselves.”

“If it’s indeed one of the women who arrived with me on the
Starship Matchmaker
, I’d like to know her reasons for attacking me. I mean, it doesn’t make sense that one of them would leave Earth and carry such a harsh grudge against me. My parents are dead. Most members of Parliament were hunted down and hanged as well. The prime minister too.”

“You were twelve when the war started and still you had to go into hiding. Still, the angry mobs searched for you and wished you dead, even though you were an innocent child. People behave irrationally during wartime.”

“You have a point. Just please, promise me I can speak with this woman? Perhaps we can make peace with one another.”

“You are more forgiving than I am in this matter, Elizabeth. I would normally have anyone who made an attempt on another’s life put to death, or at the very least banished to our cold sister planet, Fusinga.”

“Please, no matter what, you mustn’t order the woman to death.” Her face grew somber. “Too many people have died. War is ugly and I want it to stop now. If you decide this woman is still a threat after we speak with her, after I speak with her, then I understand if you must banish her, but please no sentence of death.” Tears glimmered in her eyes, and Zarr felt blessed to have Elizabeth as his wife. She was sweet and understanding, but she was also strong. She’d had to be strong to endure years in hiding and not emerge bitter and angry, or too traumatized to function.

A fine mate, she would make an excellent mother one day. Their children would grow up in a happy household with two loving parents, and he longed to see such events come to pass. He’d lost his parents at a young age and it had always been a dream of his to raise a family with a loving wife by his side. The kind of family he would have grown up in had it not been for the Emmians.

“Very well, Elizabeth. I give you my word that no one will be put to death.” He didn’t think he would’ve been able to order a woman to death anyway, even an attempted murderer who still posed a danger to Elizabeth and possibly the rest of the village, and he was glad Elizabeth shared his views of mercy. If he exiled the woman to the cold planet, her mate would likely go with her. Life on Fusinga was difficult, but a Sepkarian could survive the harsh conditions, and a human woman would fair well enough there under a male’s protection.

“The council has requested a meeting,” he said, remembering that he must meet with Geestrin and the others. “Everyone will know about the hunnma snake by now, and I’m sure the whole village is still awake and in the streets, waiting for word about this event.”

“I’m to come with you?”

“Yes, Elizabeth. You belong at my side, sweet one.”

Chapter Seven

The large stone building near the village market was packed with Sepkarians and a few female humans. Elizabeth hoped to befriend her fellow humans in the near future, but for now she had other things to worry about. Like which one of them had tried to kill her.

Three of the girls who had arrived on Sepkar with her yesterday stood in front of the council table, their husbands by their sides. Excited murmurs floated through the crowd as they awaited the appearance of the last couple. Zarr planned to question the newly arrived women before considering one of the women who’d come during a previous stop the
Starship Matchmaker
had made on Sepkar.

As they waited, Zarr announced the meeting would take place in English, since most of the humans in attendance spoke at least a little English.

At last, the crowd parted for the arrival of the final couple, and a collective gasp went up in the air. The tall Sepkarian male, his expression unreadable, carried a limp woman in his arms. Her arm was swollen and red, with a fierce looking wound oozing near her wrist. Her skin was grayish, all the veins in her body dark blue and pronounced.

She was dead.

Elizabeth stiffened beside Zarr and covered her mouth, fearing she was about to become sick. What had happened to this poor girl?

“Errbon, my friend,” Zarr said compassionately. “What has happened to your new mate?”

“She disappeared for several hours this afternoon. I went looking for her in the forest, fearing she had tried to run away from me. We had quarreled last night after the wedding ceremony. She refused to consummate our marriage and bear my mark upon her neck. I thought she needed some time to warm up to me, so I left her alone.”

“Where did you find her?”

“I eventually returned to my home to discover her curled up in our bed. She was already dead. It was too late and I could not heal her.” Errbon placed the limp body on the floor. His gaze swept up and down the council table. “She left a note. It’s written in her native tongue, which I cannot read.”

“Will you read it?” Zarr asked Elizabeth. “We listened to recordings of your language to learn how to interact with humans, but we have not yet learned to read your tongue.”

“Of course,” she replied with a nod, though her stomach tightened. What would the note say? The poor girl was dead, and by the looks of it, it appeared she had suffered greatly. Elizabeth shuddered to think what had happened to her.

Errbon handed her the note and stepped back.

Her heart plummeted as she scanned the missive.

“Will you read it aloud?” Zarr asked.

She glanced up at the villagers. The dead girl’s writings were tragic and though Elizabeth hadn’t known her, she mourned her death nonetheless. None of this had had to happen. The girl could’ve forgiven her, forgiven Elizabeth’s family, and had a happy life herself. But no. She’d held fast to a grudge. And the hatred that had cemented in her heart had led to her death.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and began reading.

“Errbon, I came to your planet because an enemy of mine was also scheduled to arrive on Sepkar. Princess Elizabeth. Her family is responsible for the deaths of many in my home country, including my parents and my three brothers. On Earth, back in England, I was part of a movement to locate Princess Elizabeth and see her pay for her family’s crimes.

“My father and brothers were drafted into fighting in a war England would never win, and the day after we received word that they had all perished, my mother killed herself.

“By the time you see this note, both the princess and I will be dead. I studied your planet for a long time before coming here in an effort to learn how to make the princess’ death appear an accident. You’ll know that I was bitten by a hunnma snake, and after learning the same kind of snake has devoured the princess, I assume you will put the pieces together and realize I had a hand in her death.

“She deserved to die. Her parents deserved to die too. I was there the day they died, and it was one of the happiest days of my life.”

Elizabeth was openly crying now, her voice cracking as she tried to get through the letter as quickly as possible. She wanted to run off and hide from the villagers who were intently staring at her. The room had grown quiet and all eyes were on her. She could only imagine what they thought of all this.

And the poor dead girl. Elizabeth couldn’t imagine hating someone as much as the girl had hated her, and she felt sorry for her and wished there had been something she could’ve done to prevent this. She reminded herself that she’d been twelve at the start of the war. None of this was her fault. So why did she feel responsible for the girl lying cold and still on the floor?

“I brought a tranquilizer gun with me to Sepkar, and I used it to shoot the hunnma snake. Unfortunately, when I first tried to pick it up, it wasn’t quite passed out yet, and it bit me. I know from my research of Sepkar that my body will soon be completely paralyzed. I will suffocate to death when my lungs can no longer take in air. I had thought once the princess died, I might be able to move on with life and be a wife to you, but that will never come to pass. From Madeline.”

Madeline
. That was the poor girl’s name. Elizabeth sat the letter down and placed her hands in her lap, bowing her head. Zarr put an arm around her and stared at the gathered crowd.

“My wife is not responsible for this girl’s death, nor the deaths of anyone on Earth. She was a child at the time the war begun. I think all of us know how especially innocent children are during wartime.”

Elizabeth glanced up in time to see the villagers nodding. They murmured their agreement with Zarr. She felt relief at this, but still…a girl was dead. A girl was dead and damn her, if she hadn’t been so filled with hate, she could have thrived here on Sepkar. Though recovering from war itself, Sepkar was a wondrous and safe planet compared to Earth. Sepkar meant a second chance for all the women who arrived here on the
Starship Matchmaker
.

Errbon looked at Zarr and Elizabeth. “I am glad neither of you were harmed today.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Elizabeth said, meaning it.

“Thank you.” Errbon picked Madeline up. “I will bury her near the waterfall deep in the forest. Perhaps her soul will find peace in the beauty there.”

Zarr nodded and Elizabeth’s throat closed up. God, why had this happened? It was all so senseless, this girl’s death.

The meeting concluded, and with the mystery of the hunnma snake’s appearance in the village solved, the villagers departed the large stone building in silence, filing out into the warm evening air. Zarr grasped Elizabeth’s hand and led her home underneath the starlit sky.

* * *

Time passed, bringing cooler weather and the harvest season. The horror of the day Errbon’s wife died while trying to kill Elizabeth had begun to fade. Errbon indeed buried Madeline near the waterfall, and he had moved on as well. When the
Starship Matchmaker
next arrived, it would bring his new mate, along with ten other women for the males in his village.

Elizabeth had been quiet for a while after Madeline tried to kill her, but she gradually came out of her silence and had begun to enjoy life in the village. She made friends easily and everyone adored her. No one held her responsible for the human girl’s death or thought her guilty for her parents’ supposed crimes, though he doubted they’d been guilty of any wrongdoing.

He knew from experience leadership came with many difficulties. If Sepkar faced a war again, he would have no choice but to lead the men from his village into battle. He hoped the day never came though. The Emmians were all dead, and if Goddess Tika was merciful, peace would reign over all of Sepkar for one hundred times one hundred years, or more.

Zarr’s children—including the child now growing inside Elizabeth—would never know the hardships he’d known as a child, or the terror Elizabeth herself had known on Earth.

They would get the second chance at happiness they desperately ached for. Together.

Sweating and aching from a long day working in the fields, he hurried home, his mind on his wife and their future. She was only halfway through her pregnancy, but he still kept a close eye on her in case she went into labor early.

Sepkarian babies didn’t gestate as long as human babies, and most of the human women who gave birth weren’t pregnant nearly as long as they’d anticipated, though luckily their babies weren’t born weak or too small. It was fortunate that the Sepkarians had been able to find a race compatible with their genetics. In a few generations, his people would be thriving and the great war against the Emmians would be but a memory passed down as a story from parent to child.

Zarr entered his home and inhaled the aroma of something delicious. Elizabeth, though unsure of herself in the kitchen at first, had become a most excellent cook. She enjoyed staying home and keeping house, but she also spent plenty of time in the village, usually checking on the elderly and making sure no one was without medicine or food. She fulfilled the role of a village chief’s wife perfectly and he was proud to call her his.

“Elizabeth!” he called, finding the kitchen empty. A pot of stew simmered atop the heating element and a loaf of fresh baked bread was cooling on the counter. His stomach grumbled at the sight and smell, but he headed upstairs in search of his sweet wife, hungering for her more than food. “Elizabeth!”

He found her sleeping in their bed, curled up atop the covers, as if she had only meant to rest her eyes for a short spell. He smiled at her and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Mmmm,” she said, turning over and opening her eyes. “Zarr?” She blinked up at him. The lights dotting the ceiling and walls glowed faintly upon her face.

“Yes, love? You aren’t burning my dinner, are you?”

She sat up and gave him a mock angry look, then stifled a yawn. “I haven’t burned your dinner in ages. I know how to cook now, thank you very much. The stew can simmer all day and be fine.”

“All day? That means I have time to tumble my wife before dinner.”

She shrieked when he pounced on her. He straddled her, mindful of her swollen stomach, and drew his teeth along her throat. She giggled.

“That tickles! Stop it or I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” he asked, peering down at her, thinking her the most beautiful female on the planet with her face flushed and her hair spread out upon the pillow in disarray. Ah, and she was all his. She bore his marking upon her neck, and his child was growing in her stomach.

“I’ll make you sleep on the floor!”

“Is that so, wife?”

She nodded, trying to hold back a grin.

He growled, and in a matter of moments, had her divested of her dress. She’d taken to wearing the Sepkarian style of clothing, and fortunately it was much easier to take her clothes off now. Human clothing had too many buttons and zippers to fight.

Next, he stripped off his pants and shirt. She giggled again and parted her legs.

He gasped to discover her soaking wet. “Goddess Tika, Elizabeth. What were you dreaming about?”

He pushed into her with ease and began pumping hard and fast. She moaned and parted her thighs wider, and the headboard knocked against the wall with their rough movements.

Reaching down, she grasped his umblina and guided it to her entrance. He grinned, knowing exactly what she wanted. Oftentimes he made her wait and beg, but his need for her was great and throbbing, he didn’t have the stamina to tease her. Maybe later, after dinner, he could torture her with pleasure, but for now he needed to feel her muscles contracting around him as he pounded into her.

He thrust his umblina into her pussy, right alongside his cock, and felt around until she screamed with pleasure. Human females had a marvelous thing called a g-spot, just as Sepkarian women did, though in his tongue it was called a hieanska, the word for ‘deepest pleasure.’

He gripped her hips and built a faster rhythm inside her. She threw her arms around him, dragging her nails down his back as she cried out his name. An intense orgasm ripped through her, making her convulse wildly, and the exquisite feeling of her tightening around his cock propelled him into his own ecstasy. He spurted into her, his cock jerking again and again as he filled her with his essence.

“My wife,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “Do you know how much I love you?”

When her eyes fluttered open, she smiled and drew him down for a kiss. “I’ve an idea, husband, and I love you too.”