Alien's Bride: Lisette (10 page)

“
Why? Is this
normal?”

“
No. I’m sick.”

Jorenkis picked up his pants from the
floor. Lisette averted her eyes as he donned them.

“
Shit. I don’t know what to
do. Do you have to go to the clinic or something? They don’t have
any human cures there. You’re not supposed to get sick.”

Lisette’s annoyance got the better of
her. “Why are you here?”

“
Why am I here? Puh.” He
leaned back in consideration. “Why am I here? Yeah. Exactly.
Why?”

Prax-Denay would know how to help her.
It was only a few more steps to his quarters. She tried to stand
but her legs felt strained. She leaned back in the chair to
recuperate.

“
It’s your fault I’m here,”
Jorenkis said at last. “You put the idea of happiness in my head
and then fucked it all up. I wanted to be in love and have a wife
and have heirs and a dynasty. Then you turned out to be
defective—just great. Just what I wanted them to send me. So I
thought about all the work I was going to have to do to make you
right, all the shit I’d have to go through for my whole life. The
misery you were going to cause me. I just gave up. I gave up on the
whole idea. And then I thought, maybe I can still have love and
happiness. Maybe I had to give up the dynasty—for now—but I could
still be with someone. So I went to Tiltawhirl and I said let’s
try. Let’s be together.”

You’re gay?
She had to think this in English. Lisette realized
there was no word for homosexuality in the Dak-Hiliah
language.

“
It was great in the
beginning. He was already everything you weren’t, and besides that
we came from the same world. We understood our culture. There was
none of your stupidity with the head bobbing and mumbling. I kept
telling him how happy I was that he wasn’t broken like you. But he
was broken—even worse than you. He was selfish and full of himself
and expected me to be the one to make all the sacrifices for our
relationship. He wouldn’t give up his stupid Penstick game even
though it was obviously ruining things for us. Why did he even
agree to be with me if that was more important to him? I was so
stupid I’d combined our housing. Now all my belongings are at his
place and I have no intention of seeing him but the robots I sent
were blocked out and he said if I want my stuff I have to come get
it myself. And most of it is just junk, but my shintella
crystals—gods, if he smashed them I will war with him for the rest
of our lives. I don’t care who his father is. Also my red cloak and
the medtanium armor. I need that stuff back. Though I guess I could
go to Fenterill for another suit of armor, but who wants to go
through hyperspace on the shit transports we have here? Besides, I
have a perfectly good suit right at his place and he knows it’s
mine, so—”

Lisetted doubled over in
pain.

“
Oh, gods, what’s wrong with
you? There’s no human diseases here.”

“
Something…I
ate.”

“
What? Do you do, eat off
the floor of the lab? Actually, I bet Prax-Denay got you infected
with some experimental garbage in there. That’s the only
possibility. The food you eat here is sanitary. The robots test
it.”

“
It wasn’t…the lab. There’s
containment for anything—”

He groaned. “What then? What makes
human’s throw up?”

“
Either…bad food,
sickness…”

“
Not possible. Not
likely.”

“…
pregnancy…”

Jorenkis froze with his mouth dropped
open. Lisette leaned up. His shock was renewing her
nausea.

“
I can’t get…”

“
Yes you can. I made sure a
specialized surgical robot came with you from Earth so your
reproductive organs could be altered during your language surgery.
There was no way I was going to let them send me a woman who
couldn’t breed with us.”

Lisette’s heart raced with
instant panic. When was her last period? Not
since…
oh God.

Jorenkis’ face turned more somber than
she’d ever seen before. “Listen to me. I need you to tell the
truth. Have you and Prax-Denay slept together? Don’t bother lying.
I’m going to have you tested no matter what you say.”

Lisette stared at him. She felt cold,
as though ice were in her stomach. She drew her lips closed to
swallow but there was no spittle. If she had a mirror she’d have no
doubt her face was tinged green.

Jorenkis turned away from her and put
his forehead in his hand. “I can’t believe I fell for it. All that
self-righteous posturing—I really believed him.” He looked back
toward her with a gleam in his eyes. “It was rape, right? He raped
you?”

“
No!”

Jorenkis frowned.

Tears welled in her eyes. “I love
him.”

“
Whatever. He still
blasphemed against the druid.” Jorenkis stood on the couch and
shrieked with laughter. “Yes! Oh, he’s going to crash down so hard!
This makes up for everything. Fuck my armor! Now I can get a new
set when we go to the capital for his trail. I’d give up the armor,
the cloak, even the damn crystals in exchange for this! You’re
ruined Prax!” He turned around and screamed at his door. “Hear that
Prax-Denay! You’re ruined!”

Lisette rocked back and
forth.
No…no…please no.
Let it be a nightmare.

Prax-Denay opened his door enough for
one auburn eye to shot daggers at Jorenkis. Lisette felt like
vomiting again.

“
I know you’ve been fucking
her!” Jorenkis said. He jumped off the couch and ran for the
stairs. “I’m going to tell Lord Drathek. Oh, this is so rich! I’m
waking him up. He won’t mind. Now this—this is
happiness!”

He laughed all the way to the front
doors. Lisette heard them chime open and then thud close. After
that there was a silence so terrible it felt like she’d fallen into
an abyss.

Prax-Denay emerged, gathered her in his
arms, and held her.

***

The first thing he did was give Lisette
a cure for her morning sickness. She protested that it might hurt
the baby. He assured her it would not. It was always used with
Dak-Hiliah women without consequences and her reproductive organs
were the same as a Dak-Hiliah female now. She felt her nausea
disappear after the first gulp.

Then that they sat together on his bed,
facing each other but separate. Prax-Denay stared downward. She’d
already told him of the horror that transpired. He held none of it
against her. If Jorenkis hadn’t found out now he would have learned
later anyway. It was his fault for not making sure she hadn’t been
altered. He was the one who’d made the assumption that damned
them.

All Lisette wanted to know
was,
what now?
She
didn’t dare ask, and Prax-Denay wasn’t speaking. He must have
feared the worse. She wanted, desperately, to know what that was.
Especially when an unborn child was now involved.

“
If there was none of this
other trouble,” he said, “suppose I was of the same race and status
as Jorenkis and our marriage was fine for all concerned, would you
be happy you were pregnant?”

“
Yes.” She said it with
fervent passion. “I…want to have your children.”

He closed his eyes and tears streaked
down his cheeks. Lisette began to cry also. Appalling thoughts came
into her head: she was going to lose both him and her baby. They
wouldn’t kill her—but Prax-Denay? He was probably going to be
executed. She would have a forced abortion. Each horror snowballed
in her mind. She covered her face to sob.

“
Can we run away?” she said
while snuffling.

Prax-Denay soothed her hand. “I can’t,
Lisette. Even if a place for us existed—I can’t leave.”

The words were too resolute for her to
argue. She only continued to sob. Prax-Denay wrapped an arm around
her. His touch warmed her as always, but could not relieve the pain
in her heart.

She left many things unspoken because
they were so attuned not everything needed to be said. He had to
know she would stand by him no matter what the cost. She didn’t
want to fathom what that cost might be. Living with him in the
slums was fine. It was actually her best case scenario. Getting
forced to have an abortion, however—she couldn’t bear to think of
it. This was an accident, yes, but it was with the man she loved
and wanted to share her life with. She already cherished what grew
inside her.

Please, oh please. Don’t
make me abort.

And yet—if that’s what it took to make
everything right? Abortion and then sterilization—wasn’t that
better than Prax-Denay being executed?

She never wanted to have to make the
choice, but she knew—she would do it for him. Even if broke her
heart into a thousand pieces. She had to suffer now, too. She’d
played her part in all of this. Lisette felt just as culpable as
Prax-Denay.

They didn’t work that day. Prax-Denay
forced them both to eat. After that he sat with her in front of a
console. He showed her pictures of their High Council, the seven
member body of government who ruled the Dak-Hiliah. They would be
the judges at his trial.

“
Matoranis,” he pointed to a
lean pale blue man wearing something like a silk turban who looked
to be in his 80s. “He’s my sponsor. He arranged for me to leave the
slums on planet Fenterill, our capital, and work in this lab. That
was nearly twenty years ago, and it wasn’t an act of charity. The
last scientist working in this lab had retired. The facility and
all its fine equipment was going to fall into disuse unless a
scientist was installed here. None of the scientists from Fenterill
wished to transfer since Paggellatin is practically a wasteland
now. Fenterill is where most of our population resides. I proved my
exceptional knowledge and skills at the Etiken school. Matoranis
said I should be allowed to work in the Paggellatin lab since there
aren’t any women left on this planet anyway. The rest of the
council agreed. Usually Etikens have to be castrated in order to
earn the right to leave the slums. I’d refused. Fortunately, our
dwindling population made them desperate enough to make an
exception for me. Matoranis was commended for this when I developed
the Instajant vaccine. It was the ultimate vindication for both of
us.”

Lisette stared at Matoranis hoping to
see something in his face indicating compassion.

Prax-Denay pointed to Elentinus.
“Here’s your Lord Elentinus. My brother, Hor-Denay, is his
manservant. He accepted castration in order to work for him. It
always made me sick that he had to endure that.”

Lisette bit her lower lip. Hor-Denay
had encouraged her to marry Prax-Denay. She swallowed down this
morsel of information. Why say something that might cause animosity
between the brothers? Hor-Denay had obviously been naïve about the
reality of the situation.

“
Lord Elentinus is the
acting Viceroy of planet Earth in addition to a High Council
member. He’ll be the one who decides your fate. His authority over
you Earthlings is absolute. No one can challenge whatever decision
he makes.”

She felt a tiny swell of relief.
“He…he’ll probably go easy on me.”

“
Not probably. Definitely.
He’s famous for being compassionate.”

Prax-Denay’s voice lacked all
reassurance. Of course she wanted to know if the unborn child would
be okay. Elentinus wouldn’t force her to abort if she didn’t want
to, right?

But the baby’s not an
Earthling.
Lisette cringed.

“
Um…Elentinus, I mean, if he
knows I love you, won’t he go easy on you, too?”

“
Call him ‘Lord Elentinus.’
Omitting the titles of your betters is almost as severe a crime as
blasphemy in our shallow society. If Lord Elentinus was the only
man on this council he’d find a way to absolve me of all wrongdoing
and let us live together with our children in peace back in this
lab.”

Lisette balled her hands against her
chest. Her eyes welled with renewed tears.

“
But there are six other
council members to outvote him, and they all despise him. Why do
you think he hides floating around Earth’s orbit rather than living
on our home world? If he stands up for us the rest of the council
will vote for the harshest punishment just to spite
him.”

Her face crumbled.

“
Lord Elentinus will assert
his rights over you since none of them can challenge him on that.
He won’t intervene on my behalf. He’ll vote in the most
compassionate way, but what the rest of the council decides will be
final.”

“
Will Matoranis stand up for
you?”

Prax-Denay grumbled in consideration.
“I don’t know. When I do good, such as creating the Instajant
vaccine, it reflects positively on him. The same goes for when I do
bad. I may have humiliated him. I don’t know how bigoted he and the
rest of the High Council really are. All of them have castrated
Etikens as servants.”

Lisette felt stricken.

“
In our ancient history
Etikens were portrayed as beasts who couldn’t control their sexual
urges. The truth is, no Dak-Hiliah man does well at controlling his
urges. The higher castes strove to pretend they were above base
desires. Etikens were traditionally poor and uneducated. They had
no need to pretend they had more control than what was true.
Etikens had sex freely and frequently. Few were married. Few were
monogamous. But there were no more Etiken rapists than there were
rapists in the higher castes. That was a monstrous rumor based on
bigoted assumptions.