The Gigolo's Bride (The Necklace Chronicles) (11 page)

Their official joining ceremony would take
place on a stage set up near the landing platform. As soon as they
exited the ship, they were going to be joined together as husband
and wife, and Ashleigh would become a permanent citizen of the
planet Norlan.

Eden had taken her into the viewing room once
more the week before they were due to land on the planet, when the
large purple and green orb was visible. It amazed her to know she’d
traveled to such a far place. When she was a child, she’d had many
dreams about the stars as she listened to her grandfather tell her
the stories of the skies while she sat on his back porch and drank
hot cider. The stars were different here than in her own solar
system, not just white but often vividly blue or yellow, depending
on whether they were a star or planet.

The day of the landing, Sloan joined her in
the room to help her get ready. They didn’t have a tradition of the
man not seeing the woman until the ceremony, but she had wanted to
surprise Eden so she kicked him out of the bedroom while she
prepared. She wondered how many women who had been abducted
actually really loved their mates. Once more, she was struck by how
lucky she was to have been paired with a sweet man who would do
anything for her.

Thoughts of her mother and friends flitted
through her mind and she caught herself feeling morose. Although
the dress that Eden had given her was beautiful, it wasn't the one
she had expected to wear. Her mother had saved her wedding dress so
that Ashleigh could wear it. The pure white satin gown had long
sleeves and a train, with a veil covered in delicate crystals that
matched the pattern on the bodice. When she was younger and had
fantasized about what her wedding would be like, she hadn't
anticipated a group affair, but instead her and her future husband,
standing at the front of the little Methodist church where her
parents and her grandparents had both tied the knot.

She'd pictured her mother standing up for
her, in absence of her father, the sweet sounds of organ music, and
Gwen by her side as maid of honor. When she'd thought she might
marry Tate, Gwen had promised her a wild bachelorette party. They'd
talked about raising their kids together and staying friends their
whole lives.

It wasn't just that she missed her family and
friends. She missed Earth and all the things she'd grown accustomed
to. Microwave meals, cocktails on Friday nights, long discussions
about books with her book club friends.

The brush that Sloan was using on her auburn
hair slowed and then stopped. “What are you thinking about?”

“Hmm?” She looked back at Sloan, who sat on
her knees behind her on the bed.

“You look so sad.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about my mom. We
weren’t on the best of terms when I was taken, and I’m sure she’s
worried. Do you know how much time has passed on Earth?”

“Many years. I don’t know what the
translation is, but I think it’s safe to say that your family has
most likely accepted that you were abducted and won’t return.”

Emotions she hadn’t realized she had never
really expressed rose up in her suddenly, and she dashed off the
bed and into the bathroom. She fell to her knees and buried her
head in her hands, her sobs echoing around the small room. She
didn’t think her mother would ever just accept her as being gone,
and it grieved her to realize that she would spend the rest of her
life never knowing what happened to her only child.

Eden’s arms wrapped around her and hugged her
tightly. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” The stiff fabric of his
marriage tunic was rough against her cheek as she turned into him
and cried. He held her quietly, tightly, letting her have the time
she needed to get out all the emotions she’d kept unintentionally
bottled up.

When her tears had dried and her rioting
emotions were under control, she sagged against him, grateful for
his strength. “There are times, love, that I wish things were
different for our people, that there would be a way for the males
to stay on Earth and bond with their females before taking them
away, to give them time to say goodbye. If I could change things
about how you were taken, I would, but I would never give you up.”
He cupped her face and kissed her tear-stained cheeks. “I know it’s
not the same, but I’m your family now, me and Sloan, and when we
have children, we’ll have our own family together. Whatever happens
from now on, we’re together, and that’s all that matters.”

She knew she couldn’t go home, and if she’d
been given the chance, she would have declined. But the realization
that life had continued on Earth at a much more rapid pace had left
her reeling and opened the door to the floodgate of her emotions.
She ran her thumb across his cheek and stared into his eyes, amazed
at the love and acceptance he had for her. She'd thought she'd
known what love was back on Earth, but she realized she truly
hadn't until she had loved Eden.

“I love you so much, Eden.” She kissed
him.

“I love you, too.”

Shooing Eden from the bathroom once she had
collected herself, Sloan helped her cover the evidence of her tears
with makeup and finished her hair. The gown that Eden had bought
for her prior to the trip was beautiful. A perfect shade of ivory
to match his tunic, the strapless gown hugged her upper body before
flowing like a satin waterfall down her legs and pooling at her
feet, which were enclosed in matching sandals. The gown split up to
her knees as she walked, the smooth fabric a stark contrast to the
stiff material of Eden’s outfit. She had never taken off the
necklace that had been used to take her away, and now it was paired
with a clip, which Sloan used to hold her hair away from her face,
and a ring, the large blue stone edged on either side by two
lighter blue stones.

When the time had come to leave, all their
belongings were packed up and waiting at the door. The company that
ran the “extraction flights” would pack up the furniture and other
items and deliver them to their new home within several hours.

There was a chime that alerted them when the
guards were there to escort them to the stage for the ceremony.
Captain Riya and another male with blue hair were standing in their
uniforms outside the door when Eden opened it.

“Eden,” Captain Riya said, “are you and your
bride prepared for the bonding ceremony?”

“Yes, Captain.” Eden squeezed her hand.

“Ashleigh, do you come willingly, to join
with this male?” Captain Riya asked.

She looked up at Eden quizzically, and he
smiled. “He just wants to know if you’re going to try to run
away.”

“Oh.” She grinned. “I’m not running
anywhere.”

Captain Riya smiled, but there was a sadness
behind his eyes. She wondered if any of the women that had been
with her in that metal room had said they weren’t willing, and what
happened to them when they did. And she wondered why he hadn’t been
mated yet. Sloan followed behind the guards as she and Eden walked
down a long hallway to a transport, which moved down several
floors. When the doors opened, they were in a huge bay in the ship,
a wide ramp open to the ground. Beyond the opening, the land of her
new home stretched out before her, a vibrant wonderland.

She knew the ship had landed in the capital,
Kyvern City, which was where the
Bordelayz
was located.
Their own home city of Polona was a short drive away. The bright
sunshine caused her to shield her eyes as they adjusted to the
cityscape before her. All the buildings were short, not more than a
few stories high. There were no skyscrapers. In the distance she
could see mountains, underneath a pale purple sky dotted with puffy
silver clouds.

“The sky is amazing,” she said as she took
Eden’s arm, and they walked down the ramp. Ahead of them were more
couples, hundreds of feet apart, as if the guards had purposely
timed their exits so that the women couldn’t speak to each other.
Ashleigh was pretty sure they had.

“What color is the sky from where you are
from?” Eden asked.

“Blue, but it changes with the weather.
Sometimes it’s very bright blue in the summer, and sometimes it’s
gray in the winter. I like the purple, though. It’s cool.”

Eden winked at her, and she grinned. This was
her wedding day. Even though she wished her family knew she was
safe and that her mother could be with her today, she was happy,
and ready to embrace her new world and life.

With the guards on either side of the two of
them, they stopped several hundred feet from a stage where a group
of men stood on a raised platform. Ashleigh looked around, noticing
how far apart the couples were from each other; each couple paired
with two guards. She scanned the crowd for Kate, but didn’t see
her, and she vaguely recognized some of the other women from the
room.

Before she could wonder about Kate further,
one of the men on the platform stepped forward and raised his hand.
The whispering in the crowd quieted, and he spoke, his voice
amplified as if by a microphone, though she couldn’t see one.

“Face your intended,” he said with a gruff
voice. She and Eden turned to face each other, and as he held both
of her hands in his, all thoughts of anything except him slipped
from her mind. He was so handsome. So sweet and amazing. If she had
sat down to write a list of qualities for her future husband, Eden
would have had them all, along with other qualities she hadn't
known she wanted, like his compassionate nature, his creative
spark, and the sexy way his eyes fluttered closed when he was too
worn out from making love to keep them open.

“By the sun that lights our days and warms
our planet, you are bound this day to each other, for the span of
your lives. Come good or bad, you will walk through life as one,
never separated, until death sees you into the beyond. Do you,
males, take your brides as your own? Do you swear on your life that
you will cherish and protect them, until your last breath?”

Eden’s voice was soft, but she heard it. “I
swear.”

She faintly heard the echo of the other men
speaking.

“Do you, females, take your husbands as your
own? Do you swear on your life that you will love and honor them
and take their people as your own?”

She’d never been more sincere in her life. “I
swear.”

“By the power of the position of magistrate
of the capital city of Kyvern City, I bind you together as husband
and wife. Bonded forever.”

Eden pulled her close, sliding his arms
around her before he pressed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her
arms around him in return, reveling in their first kiss as husband
and wife, as a cheer went up from the crowd.

They smiled together, breaking the kiss, and
then when no one moved away, she said, “Is it time to go home
now?”

“Not yet. You have to be registered as a
citizen. It will take just a little while longer, and then you can
see your new home.”

A little while turned into an hour, before
three men with graying dark brown hair stood in front of them. They
used a wand to check the stone on her necklace against Eden’s
bracelet, and then they pricked her finger using a small black
device that looked like a blood-glucose meter. They nodded together
after a moment, and one of the men said, “Welcome to your new home,
Citizen Ashleigh." He nodded and turned with the other two as she
rubbed the tip of her finger where the tiny needle had pierced her
flesh.

"What was with the blood thing?" she asked as
Eden turned her around gently and they began to walk away from the
ship, two guards still with them.

"First they checked the necklace and my
matching bracelet to make sure that they still identified us as
belonging together. Although there are identical necklaces on other
brides, yours is coded to my bracelet alone. And the blood was
matched to the medical records from your intake exam."

"So you wouldn't try to switch me with
another bride?" She glanced up at him as they walked along a grassy
area towards what looked like a parking lot, with the cars hovering
several inches off the ground.

"Exactly. If your blood hadn't matched what
was on record for you, we would have had a problem."

A door on a small blue vehicle that was
shaped a bit like an egg slid open when they approached. Eden told
her that it was coded for him and would be for her as well, once
the moon cycle had passed and she was free to be out in the
city.

He helped her inside, and she smoothed the
skirt under her as the door shut, sealing her into the two-seat
vehicle. The front panel was lit up with buttons, gauges and
lights, and when Eden sat down in the other seat, he waved his hand
over one gauge and the car hummed to life. She felt it lift
slightly higher from the ground, and he fiddled with some buttons
and then turned his attention to her as the car moved away from
where it had been parked.

"You don't have to drive?" she asked
incredulously. He reached for her hands with both of his.

"No. The
hover-machen
is fully
computerized. I just entered our destination, in this case our
home, and it will drive us there by the safest, fastest, and most
convenient path. It is powered by the sun; small panels embedded in
the roof gather power and store it. How do
hover-machen
s on
your world work?"

She had no idea how to explain gasoline,
engines and steering wheels. Outside of turning the key in the
ignition, she had no clue how that all worked anyway. She had never
even changed her own oil. She explained what she could about manual
steering and rubber tires, and he listened intently, never taking
his eyes off her. It was really disconcerting to her that he paid
attention to her completely and never looked at the road, but after
several minutes passed with a lack of devastating crashes, she
began to relax.