Her Alien Abductor (Aegarian Saga) (21 page)

“Family pictures … like your photographs, but all the images are stored inside.”

Kaya nearly dropped the box, knowing the face of her love was inside, not knowing if she could stand to see it just now. The Empress had come to move behind her and took it from her hands. “Maybe it would be good for you to know him more, to see how he grew.”

“So I can love him more and it can hurt more?”

“No, so you can mourn him for the man he was.”

The Empress pulled her back onto the bed, and they lay back against the pillows together, as the elder woman turned the machine on and holographic images started to appear above it, lit up and in full three dimensions so it almost looked like one could reach out and touch the person in front of them. She went through random images of people Kaya had never known and then finally one rested on a little boy with familiar eyes. The Empress had been right; he had been a beautiful child. Kaya got to see Besh grow up before her eyes, his firsts, his wins, all his special moments he had shared with his family.

Then she saw something that unnerved her. “Empress, who is the man with Besh in the last photo?”

“First of all, please call me Mata. Empress is too formal for my daughter, hmm?” She smiled down at Kaya. And then sighed when she turned back to the last image. “He is my eldest son, Taroth. He died several years ago on Earth.”

“On Earth?”

“When we sent the scouting party to Earth to investigate the experiment, and to see if it still continued, Taroth was a curious warrior, always at the ready to charge into the next battle, which his father hated, as Taroth was expected to be the heir to the throne. We constantly worried about his safety. But Fatel hoped the trip would appease him some. Little did we know he would never come back.”

Kaya knew the face looked familiar, but could not remember where she had seen it or if she really had. She could not voice her thoughts, as it would be unfair to bring up such pain when she was also struggling with a newfound heartbreak. This woman had suffered the death of two sons. Adding insult to injury was not Kaya’s style, especially since this woman had shown her nothing but kindness, so she dropped the subject.

They continued to look at image after image, Mata explaining this one and that, especially when there was no familiar face in a particular shot, effectively introducing her to many of the family members she had not been able to meet yet. She saw the look of love on Mata’s face as she reviewed the pictures of all her children, and it made her think of the children she would not have with Besh.

No, she could not keep dredging up what ifs or she would not survive. “Mata?”

“Yes?”

“I think I want to remain in the Empire. I have met the most wonderfully warm people on both planets I have traveled to, and I can’t imagine not staying here, close to Besh’s memory. But I would like some time on Earth soon. Collect my life and some of my prized possessions, spend a little time with my few friends, and tell them my goodbyes, so they won’t worry about me. Would that be possible?”

“I don’t see why not, but I am sure the Emperor would want you to wait until the Bel Tak have been rounded up and we have secured the Empire before you left. But I am sure you can go immediately once they are sure it is safe to.”

“Which reminds me. What happened to Dak and Dar Jin? Were they among the dead on board?”

“No one has told me either way. I’m sure when I find out, you will as well.” Mata looked troubled, as if she were hiding something. “You know, maybe I will accompany you to your Earth, so I can see the place you grew up in, get to know my daughter a little more? Of course, only if you would want the company. I would understand if you needed time alone, but then again, this may not be the best time for you to be alone too long.”

“I think it would be wonderful to have you come along and see my world. To be honest, maybe we can take the time to see places even I have not seen before!”

Mata smiled. “It’s—how do you say—a date!”

****

Mata left Kaya soon after the suns set, telling her she was exhausted from the grieving she had done. Mata had one of her lady’s maids sleep in the adjoining room, to listen in if Kaya needed anything through the night.

Kaya slept fitfully, tossing and turning all night, hearing Besh calling her name over and over. She awoke several times throughout the night, thinking she was hearing him there in her room. But whenever she opened her eyes, she saw nothing but herself sitting in the empty room.

She awoke the following morning, more exhausted than ever. Her stomach was tied into knots, and she felt nearly dizzy, even lying still in her bed. She jumped from the bed and ran to the dressing room where she retched the contents of her stomach, what little she had on her stomach. She was miserable, and she sank to the floor and wept, even though she had no more tears to shed.

****

Kaya spent the next few weeks waiting to hear if she was free to return to Earth. She was ready to see her home again, to ground her in reality again, because her life was starting to sound like a really bad romance novel. She wandered the palace and the parks outside, looking at the beautiful spaces, but not really registering anything. She continued to feel unwell, her grief taking a physical toll on her body. Besh’s voice still plagued her sleepless nights, making her weaker and weaker. Mata had voiced her concern for Kaya’s weight loss and pale appearance, urging her to eat at every turn.

Mata finally won out and had her checked by the palace wi’ mia. Wi’ mia Donnel came to her room the morning before she had planned her vacation to Earth. Mata had been worried the trip would be too much for Kaya’s weakened state. The news the wi’ mia gave her was welcome yet unwelcome at the same time.

She was carrying Besh’s child.

Chapter Twelve

Kaya smiled as Mata swirled around in her living room two weeks later, looking at all of Kaya’s various mementos. Her diploma from cooking school, her family photos, her trophies from her various cooking contests she loved to enter. Her home was filled with a life that seemed unreal to her now. It was almost as if she did not exist before she met Besh, and it scared her how stereotypical that sounded. A woman can stand on her own two feet, but the love of a good man, the right man, a man who would stand behind a strong woman, could make a woman feel ten feet tall and bulletproof.

“Kaya, what is this?” Mata was staring at the television remote, so Kaya walked over and used it to turn the television on. Mata squealed with delight as she pressed all the buttons to see what they would do, smiling brightly when she saw something that interested her on the screen. Kaya smiled, seeing the television through Mata’s eyes, and realizing it was pretty cool. Mata slid down to the sofa and got comfortable, not taking her eyes away from the screen. She hoped she would not make her mother-in-law into a couch potato.

Kaya walked through her house like she was looking through the life of a stranger. She stopped here and there to collect a photo, a memento, anything that reminded her of her family or friends that she would like to keep with her. A photo of her own mother when Kaya had been a baby came into view, and Kaya snatched it. She wished her mother had been still alive so she could go into her arms and feel healed. Besh’s mother had been so kind and generous, but it wasn’t like her own mother’s love.

After an hour of sifting through her memorabilia, she gathered the items she decided she could not live without into two small boxes and stepped back into the living room.

There, Mata and the two guards who had accompanied them to her old house were sitting glued in front of the television. Kaya walked into her kitchen to say goodbye. She had handpicked her beautiful kitchen and loved the convenience of the equipment and storage. She walked through, gliding her hand over the hand-cut countertops, loving the feel of the cold marble under fingers. She had spent countless hours designing this kitchen, and it was her favorite room in the house.

She stopped at the end of the countertop where she saw a large stack of mail and her answering machine.
Who has been bringing in all my mail?
Her machine was full, so she pressed the button to listen in as she began opening the assorted letters, bills, and junk mail. The first three messages were telemarketers, and she quickly deleted them. One would think that once a planet was invaded the telemarketers would leave people alone, but instead they found new things to sell the masses.

She sifted through the correspondence, disposing of the junk mail first, and separating the rest into bills and personal. She heard four messages from her friend Katie, and three from her friend and head waitress, Heather, all worried about where she was. She had forgotten about her few employees in her small café, when she was abducted. She hoped they had fared alright. She would call them immediately after she went through the mail and messages.

A large package caught her attention, so she paused her messages and opened it. It was from a local attorney’s office, one she was unfamiliar with. She pulled a large stack of papers from inside and started reading them with interest.

She nearly fell over when she realized what she was reading. Besh had paid off her home and business, paid every debt she had, started a large savings account in her name only, started a fund that the dividends would pay for each of her monthly expenses and retained an accountant to pay those expenses. He had paid her four employees each six months severance in order for them to find new jobs or to wait out her choice. He had created a safety net larger than she could ever want or need. She burst into tears and slid to the floor because she loved him more at this moment than the moment she Joined with him.

Not for the money but for considering her needs. She hadn’t expected him to pay all these things, but the simple fact he cared enough about her to give her a safe place to land touched her. He had truly been determined to allow her to come home if she had chosen to. If she’d walked away from him and the life they’d been about to share, he would have honored her choice.

She’d been free all along.

****

Kaya wiped the tears from her face as Mata came looking for her. Her mother
-
in
-
law slid down to the floor beside her and pulled Kaya’s head onto her shoulder. “What’s going on here?”

Kaya handed her the documents and let them speak for themselves. After a few moments of perusing them, Mata sighed. “I never thought him serious when he said you could go home if you chose to, but evidently he was. He made sure you would never suffer financially in your world.”

“He always seemed to expect my needs before I even thought about them. And if I had chosen to come home and not Join with him, reading this would have made me want to turn around and come back to him. For caring enough to consider my needs so completely.”

“Maybe he hoped it would make you change your mind?”

“Perhaps. But either way, he did it, and I love him more for it.”

Kaya stood up and finished her mail and messages, while Mata returned to her couch potato status for a while longer. Kaya called her friends and employees to let them know she was alright, and everyone wanted all the juicy gossip, so she spent nearly an hour recounting most of the tale to them over the phone. She felt better knowing they had been taken care of and bad because she had not been the one who had thought to do it. But at least they were covered.

She finished arranging her belongings and readying herself to leave this house for quite some time. She did not know when she would be back again.

She walked into the living room to see the three still sitting in the position she had left them in hours ago, eyes still glued to the images on the screen, and had to laugh at the sight before her. She left them and walked to her bedroom. Kaya had not adjusted to the fact she would be sleeping alone.  How strange it was for her to miss sleeping in his arms when in fact she’d never truly done so.  It had only been in her dreams, realistic or not. 

She crawled into her big empty bed and sighed, pulling a large pillow into her arms and hugging it to her body. She always seemed to feel tired in the last few weeks, so she surrendered to her body’s need. She had more than herself to worry about now. The baby she carried would fill part of the void left behind by Besh.

****

“Kaya?”

Kaya bolted upright in her bed when she clearly heard his voice. As her eyes cleared through the fog of sleep, she saw a shadow at the end of her bed. “Besh?”

The figure slid into the bed beside her and pulled her into his warm arms. Was she dreaming this time, or was this like the times before?

“Oh, dear Princess, you thought I was dead, didn’t you?” the figure whispered into her ear.

“Yes,” she whimpered as she pushed her face into his broad chest.

“Well, you little bitch, you have ruined everything for me. Now I will show you my brand of retribution.”

The man clamped his hand over her mouth before she could scream and alert the others. He put a chemical laden cloth to her nose and almost instantly she went limp in his arms.

****

Kaya awoke sitting on the floor inside a small spacecraft. She looked up into the dirty, bloodied face which looked much like Dar Jin. It had to be his father, Dak. Besh had told him about the man in her dream. If he were alive, who else was?