Read Crashed on Alien Planet: A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance Online
Authors: Ruth Anne Scott
Crashed on Alien Planet: A Sci-fi Alien Warrior Invasion Abduction Romance (10 page)
Layla stared at the woman, waiting for her to say more, but she didn't continue.
"Orion's Belt?" Layla asked, her voice quieting, "Like the constellation Orion?"
The woman nodded.
"The constellation, yes."
"I don't understand."
"People of Earth think that they understand everything about what they see through their telescopes. In reality, there are whole worlds that they look right at and never actually see. This is one of them."
Layla tried to process what the woman had just said to her. Her mind was spinning and she was having difficulty making her thoughts cohesive. It wasn't until the woman grasped her hand and gently pulled it off of the other woman's arm that she realized she was still gripping it tightly.
"These are star stones. We are born with them. Their size and shape correspond with the patterns of the stars the day we are born and throughout our lives they show our thoughts, emotions, and needs."
"Who are you?" Layla asked, her voice falling to a whisper.
"My name is Sylan. And you are Layla?"
"Yes." Layla was startled that the woman had said her name so casually, as if it was not unusual that she knew it, "How did you know that?"
Sylan smiled and reached for another small vessel on a table beside the tub.
"Jiri chose you," she said, tipping the vessel to pour another sweet-smelling liquid into the bath.
Layla watched as the liquid swirled through the pink water, adding ribbons of lavender and soft silver sparkles. She looked up at Sylan quizzically.
"He chose me?" she asked.
"Yes. You must be very special. I have never heard of a prince choosing a human woman before."
Layla paused before she asked her next question. She felt that the answer could be something that would change her life, and after she heard it she would never be able to go back to before she had. Finally she took a breath.
"What did he choose me for?"
"The princes are warriors and they need special care. We care for them when they return from official duties or from battle."
"Each of you takes care of a prince?"
"Yes. Each prince is given a nurturer of his choice when he comes of age. As the youngest, Jiri was the last of the princes to choose his nurturer."
"How did he choose me?"
She wanted to say
if we are from different planets
but she was already having a difficult enough time comprehending that she had not just been kidnapped, but kidnapped by an extraterrestrial species that had brought her away from her planet to one that she didn't even know existed. Saying it would have forced her to acknowledge it, and she was not yet prepared to do that.
"He's been watching you. Our men often visit your planet for recreation and on his last visit, he saw you."
"Where?"
"I do not know," Sylan said, suddenly looking uncomfortable, "I have already told you more than I likely should have. We do not talk with the princes. We are tasked to care for them, and that is all. I overheard Prez talking to his brothers one night when I was preparing his bath for him. I should not have listened."
She looked suddenly terrified and Layla got a knot in her stomach. Sylan obviously feared the prince who she was tasked to nurture, and perhaps the others as well. That meant that Layla might need to be afraid of the man who had chosen her. The women looked so calm and content, but Layla wondered if that was because they weren't near the princes at that moment.
"I won't tell anyone," she assured her and Layla saw Sylan give a shaky smile, "What do I do to…nurture him?"
"Help him with his needs. Feed him, massage him, tend to him whenever he needs you. You will eventually learn to anticipate what he needs and wants before he asks for it. That is a good thing. It is easier for the princes to never want for anything."
"Come on," another of the women said, "Jiri has been expecting her. We do not want to keep him waiting."
At that, the women began to move more quickly, finishing washing Layla's body and then helping her out of the tub to carefully dry her with soft, plush towels. They spent a few minutes styling her hair in the braids that the others wore and using soft powders and creams to apply color to her lips and eyes. Finally they dressed her in little more than lingerie and wrapped a purple robe like theirs around her. She was one of them now, a part of a people that she didn't know or understand, struggling to remember what she had left behind and terrified of what might await her in her future.
When they deemed her ready, the women guided her back down the steps away from the tub and through the mirrored room to a door on the back wall. Sylan opened the door and gently pushed Layla through it into a long, narrow white hallway.
"This is Jiri's wing. We are not allowed to step in with you. He may be in any of the rooms, but they generally like the ones at the end of the hall the best. Find him and he will let you know what he needs."
Layla's eyes drifted down to Sylan's arms and saw a faint red glow emanating from the cuffs of her sleeves.
"What does the red light mean?" she asked.
Sylan looked up at her and for the first time the woman's face looked sad.
"Fear."
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Chapter one
I opened my eyes and I could feel this pounding headache that just wouldn’t go away. I wanted to get up, but my limbs felt like they were weighing me down heavily. I didn’t know what happened. The last thing I remember is having a party after hours at the club that I bounced at. I can see the banner with happy birthday Shana written across in bold red letters. I remember taking shots of tequila like I was drinking tap water. I’ve always been known to break free of convention. You may not know it from looking at me, but I can handle my liquor, unless of course I go overboard.
I stared up at the sky and it was such a brilliant blue that it almost blinded me. There is something different, something that I’m not quite sure what it is, but I know that there is something. I feel a cool wind tousle my raven black hair. It feels nice and it’s a momentary reprieve from the pounding drum that is incessantly getting on my last nerve.
I recall seeing all my friends and everybody having a great time. There was this man and he tried to put his hands on me, only to find out that I was not that kind of girl. He left there with a permanent limp and most likely a sprained wrist from when I turned it in just the right way to make him bow down at my feet. I think that most guys believe that I am a lesbian, but they only believe that because they want to.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like guys, but I was particular in who I spent my time with. I certainly didn’t want a drunken slob pawing at me and telling me how beautiful I am. I also didn’t want that guy with the gold chains and the first three buttons on his shirt undone leering at me and telling me that my dress would look good on the floor of his bedroom.
For the most part, I would say that they leave me alone and I must project an air of confidence that either scares them or makes them rethink their approach. Most often than not, I am the one that initiates, but only if I feel that the man is worthy.
My job is very important to me and my two coworkers, Simone and Gary are two of my closest friends. It was them that put on this shindig for me and I could honestly believe that we would be the best of friends for the rest of our lives. All three of us had opened the place together and even though my contribution was more physical at the door, didn’t mean that I wasn’t raking in the profits from my 25%. Nobody knew about our arrangement and that was part of the deal when I decided to jump feet first into this venture.
I heard what sounded like a wild animal, but it sounded like nothing I’ve ever heard in my life. I once again tried to rise up to assess my situation, but all I could do was stare at the sky and wonder where the hell I was.
Back at the club, I saw Simone dancing on top of the bar and slinging drinks like a master mixer. I had to give her credit for going to Bartending School and learning the craft from the bottom up. She became quite the natural at twirling those bottles and not spilling a drop. This was all to the chorus of applause from the crowd. She was the spectacle that brought those men in from the cold. She put on a show that was worthy of her own extravaganza in Las Vegas.
“Shana, you should get up here with me and show them how to shake their money maker.” She was the quintessential blond bombshell with the type of breasts that defied gravity. I could be so bold and join her, but that would only be pandering to the crowd. Besides, they were all drunk and I had no interest in looking down from on top of the bar to see them gazing at me with animalistic desires that were never going to be fulfilled.
“You’re doing just fine on your own, Simone.” She was shorter than me at 5’4, 130 pounds with most of that up front and center. I was a Raven haired vixen and I liked to tease the masses with brief peeks at the good stuff. My claim to fame was tight jeans, because my best asset was my tight and firm ass. My abdominals were flat and were the result of many hours sculpting them in a gym. I was freakishly strong and growing up with three brothers had made it a necessity to learn how to survive.
My father was single and our mother was absent, until we got older and we decided to give her a second chance. For the most part, our father was the one that raised us. He was very hesitant in allowing me to join him and my brothers out in the wilderness. I guess I was a tomboy from early on.
The party was still in full swing at 3:00 AM in the morning and from there, things began to get a little fuzzy around the edges. I got dizzy, but it was nothing that I hadn’t experienced before.
I think I walked out to get a breath of fresh air and then everything went blank. It was like a whole section of my memory had been excised. I couldn’t recall how I got out here in some field in the middle of nowhere.
I was finally able to lift myself up and I saw these weird mutant flowers that I’d never seen before. They seemed to sway back and forth with the breeze, but the petals were moving like they had a life of their own. They seemed to be dancing to their own tune and then this insect flew by and got the shock of its life.
Those odd purple and black flowers snapped forward and grabbed this insect out of the air like it was nothing. I was truly transfixed and I didn’t even realize that there was the sound of hooves on the ground, until suddenly they were right on top of me. It was then that I realized that the blades of grass around me had a different texture with these fine coarse hairs that you could barely see with the naked eye.
I poked my head above them and I noticed a figure kneeling and wearing what I could only assume is red armor. With the sun beating on it, it was like 1000 light bulbs going off in my eyes at the same time. I had to shield my eyes. I was trying my best to understand any of this. I lived in a metropolitan and yet this was some kind of country setting that reminded me of Iowa, but on a different scale.
“Don’t worry, Rankin. We’re just making a pit stop. Those Talons will not come anywhere close to you. Just between you and me, I’ve always thought that those flowers should’ve been banned. Unfortunately, my pleas fell on deaf ears. The council believes that the flowers are a necessity to the natural evolvement of our society. I think they only say that because they know that cultivating the flowers will bring prosperity. It’s just a matter of getting the right equipment to do the job. We’ll be home soon and then you can enjoy the stew that I made. I always make too much.” He was talking to himself and then he took off his helmet letting go a mane of blond hair that fell to the small of his back.
He looked around like he was nervous. He started to pull the armor from his body, until he was standing there with nothing, but a smile. I couldn’t see his face. I did put my hand up to my mouth in complete shock to see him completely naked from behind. He was a Greek god and that was the kind of body that I would like to start exploring in the morning and end up in his arms spooning at night.
“I do have to say that you make a fine sight for a woman that has just woken up.” He was startled and he inadvertently turned and gave me a brief glimpse at his most prominent region. He clamped his hands over it and moved behind the horse. It wasn’t actually a horse and there were two horns sticking out of its head.
“I don’t know where ye came from, but it’s not nice to sneak up on someone.” I don’t know where he got his vocabulary, but it sounded like something you would hear in the olden days. Perhaps I had fallen into some kind of renaissance fair. “Why are you out here in the middle of the day? Curfew has already started. If you’re seen trespassing on private land, you’ll be punished severely.” I was willing to play along, but I also needed to know where I was.