The Perfect Prince (2 page)
Read The Perfect Prince Online
Authors: Michelle M. Pillow
embarrassment. Nadja politely turned away from the woman’s hazel stare.
Nadja didn’t look around again, slipping down the metallic passageway to her own room. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and took a deep breath. Seeing the wedding gown on her bed, she blushed. Her heart beat erratically inside the walls of her chest and her eyes teared up with nervous fear. Praying she did the right thing, she took a deep breath. It was time to see her future.
* * * *
Nadja’s future came in the form of a reddish-brown planet surrounded by a blue-green dusk. Stars were beginning to show overhead, winking down from above as they framed a large spotlight moon. Alien trees grew high with enormous canopied leaves. The trees towered over the planet’s surface with trunks nearly a fourth the size of their spacecraft. The forest stretched out around them on one side. A mountain grew high in the distance on the other.
Nadja was near the front of the line of brides. Her wedding gown was of a light green silk and gauze. She never dreamed it would be so revealing before she put it on.
Lying on her bed, the dress looked like there was more to it than there actually ended up being. The elegant material waved in the cool evening breeze, clinging to most of her body before flaring out in thin strips over her calves and thighs. Nadja shivered, suddenly feeling like an offering.
The gown pulled low on her chest to reveal an ungodly amount of cleavage. A belt looped across the back, growing from the sides to wrap around her wrists. From there they crossed up and over the arms to lock above the elbows. They effectively held her arms down at her sides and made free movement impossible. Nadja’s beauty droid had to dress her or else she never would have figured the straps out.
She had silk shoes of a matching green on her feet, and a short veil of the same that fluttered around her ears, tickling her face. Her head swirled with fear. She felt too exposed as her eyes moved directly before her.
The bachelors of Qurilixen stood lined up like half-naked soldiers. The men were fitted shoulder to shoulder in two lines to form a center aisle. Nadja gulped. They were exquisite.
Music and laughter resounded over the campgrounds. Behind the stoic lines of bachelors, other Qurilixian men cheered and posed. Nadja guessed they weren’t part of the actually ceremony. A bonfire burned brightly behind the rowdy men, presided over by couples in throne-like chairs. The couples kissed and petted each other freely and no one but the brides seemed to notice it.
The smell of burning wood and fresh air was stirring intoxicatingly around Nadja on the breeze. Pyramid tents spread out over the field, their colorful banners varying in size and design, with torches intermingled between to light the paths around them.Nadja swallowed, fighting the urge to run away. What had she done?
Standing like bronzed Gods, the grooms held perfectly still in their lines. The warriors were tall--some seven feet or more. Their jaws lifted. Pride radiated off of each and every one of them, as they waited for the brides to walk through so they could choose their mates. The men were completely naked except for a fur loincloth wrapped around their thick waists and a black leather mask that hid their faces from view, reaching from upper lip to forehead. They had two pieces of jewelry--a bracelet of intricate gold around their sinewy biceps, and a crystal necklace about their necks.
Dusk quickly turned to night as the brides waited to begin. Nadja had expected warriors--but this? Not a one was overweight, or too short, or disfigured in some way.
She saw a few battle scars, but that was it.
Firelight illuminated their oil-glistened flesh. From solid neck to muscular legs, they were perfection. Nadja was horrified. She didn’t want perfection. She wanted the middle-aged doctor with the friendly smile and kind eyes. Not a demanding warrior who exercised too much and was assuredly self-absorbed and vain.
But still, through her disappointment, she had to admit that the men did make the blood race in her veins. Perhaps it was the setting that made her heart beat faster and her body quake with unfamiliar sensations. Or maybe it was the erotic smells of fire and food combined with the foreign rhythm of their tribalistic music. Everything around her was so primal and barbaric.
On the journey over the ship conversations had almost always turned to sex, and Nadja learned more than she had cared to from some of the other women. But now, looking at the flesh and bone before her, she could see why the women had been obsessed.
Nadja saw a man in a pilot’s uniform returning up the docking plank with his clipboard. He nodded in a businesslike fashion to the brides, his shipment having been made. Soon the line was moving forward and the surrounding campsite became deadly still except for the music. Nadja felt her feet being forced to move with the line. She didn't look around as she kept her eyes on the red earth.
Soon the lustful gazes peeking out from the walls of heated flesh forced her to glance up. The men’s mouths were firm lines of deliberation and their eyes shone like the sun reflecting on water, boring forward in golden concentration. Her mind went momentarily numb as a spell was cast over her senses. Her lungs expanded, trying to fill with air. She tried not to stare at them too long. She tried to keep her eyes forward, but then….Nadja’s heart stopped in her chest and her ears were plagued with silence. She was sure she was dying, drowning in the liquid pool of dark green eyes. Somehow her feet kept moving. Her body was too stiff to do aught else but follow where she was led.
Her limbs didn’t obey her half-hearted commands.
The warrior who looked at her was one of the tallest in the line. Her mind screamed no, but her body demanded, yes him! The crystal about his neck pulsed white as she stared. Her body lurched in hot physical response. When his lips parted in breath, she felt as if he kissed her. She could feel his mouth’s texture, so real against her lips that it stole her breath. Never had lust hit her so powerfully or so swiftly. No, it was all wrong.
He wasn’t the right type. He wasn’t what she was looking for. She had it all planned out on the ship.
The man bowed to her as she walked by. There were promises reflected in his aggressive gaze as it dipped boldly over her form. When his notice made the slow journey back up, she saw manly possessiveness through the narrow eye slit of the dark mask. In that heated moment, Nadja knew she had been chosen.
* * * *
Olek of Draig felt his body sing with liquid fire, filling him with a deep longing.
The creature before him was tall and slender, a great compliment to his height. She had the perfect coloring of a solarflower--the white porcelain skin of the petals, light blue eyes of the center ring, and light brown hair of the soft velvet stem.
Her figure was slight, begging for a man’s protection. Her face was reserved, her eyes confident, yet refined. Olek could imagine putting his arms around her, pulling her into the folds of his chest. His fingers curled, instantly wanting to touch her hips only to glide down her long legs to worship at her feet. His body stirred beneath the fur loincloth.
It was going to be a very long night.
To his surprise, she swallowed nervously at his attention and tried to break the contact of their eyes. The crystal pulsed on his neck, holding her to him. He was pleased by her modesty as he sent her a kiss. Her cheeks flamed slightly with a blush and Olek could practically taste the her sweetness on his mouth.
Bowing to acknowledge her as she passed, Olek gave his eyes the pleasure of watching her walk away. Her nature was composed, dignified. He grinned happily. She would make him a very fine Princess.
The line of brides filtered through, and soon he could no longer see his future mate on her way to the feast that had been prepared. Turning to follow his fellow bachelors to give thanks, his smile never wavered. The Gods had indeed blessed him.
What a strange way to pick a life partner, Nadja thought, trying to take a bite of Qurilixian blue bread. Her hands shook too badly, and she was forced to set the slice down. She had thought there would be more to the choosing than an actual line--like maybe a little talking or dancing as they got to know each other. She had to hand it to the Qurilixian men. They knew what they wanted and they obviously just took it.
A large buffet had been prepared, spread over the long, wooden table to which the brides were directed. It was a veritable feast of roasted two horned pigs, cheeses and blue bread, strange fruit, crusted pastries. Nadja even thought she saw white chocolate at the far end. It was too far for her to reach, and she was too nervous to ask one of the servants to get her some.
To her surprise, Morrigan chose to sit beside her. Glancing over, she followed the woman’s eyes to where she stared at the married couples feeding each other by the firelight. The brides, nervously eating in isolation, didn’t draw notice from the jovial Qurilixian couples.
Nadja picked up a silver goblet of wine, gratefully swallowing the sweet liquid the serving men had poured for her. The servants were fully clothed. Nadja saw that the style seemed to be long hair for both sexes. The women wore dresses of flowing material. The men wore simple tunic shirts and breeches, definitely appearing of a Medieval Earth influence.
“Where do you think they went off to?” Morrigan asked quietly. The woman sat next
Nadja, surprised the woman was speaking, quickly swallowed and opened her mouth to answer. She knew that the men went to prepare for the night’s events. Her words were cut off by a servant who filled her half-empty goblet.
“They go to make offering to the Gods,” the young man answered for her. Nadja lowered her goblet to the table when he’d finished filling it. The servant topped off Morrigan’s goblet, urging her to drink with a movement of his hand. The man had a thin scar across the tip of his nose. He scratched absently at it, as he answered, “They ask for blessing this night in finding a wife.”
“Oh,” Morrigan said. The servant again motioned for Morrigan to drink and she did so with a look of annoyance. The servant smiled and wandered off.
“Are you nervous?” Nadja asked in a hush, not touching her drink. She was too apprehensive about the size of her suitor and the wine was starting to affect her thinking.
When Morrigan didn’t answer, Nadja giggled in nervousness. “I can barely sit still. I think this drink has a lot of liquor or something in it.”
Morrigan still didn’t answer, only continued to drink as she helped herself to blue bread. “Rigan,” Nadja began in a hush. This was too much. She couldn’t follow that gigantic man back to his tent. It was all wrong. He didn’t fit the picture in her head. She wouldn’t know what to do with a man like him. He was too big, too warrior like. She had expected someone small--more academic in nature. She had her fill of tough guys while living under her father’s rule.
Morrigan quietly looked over at Nadja’s pale face.
Nadja’s wide, blue eyes glanced around full of fear. Leaning forward, she bit her lips and whispered, “I’m scared. I think I’ve made a mistake. Do you think they would let me go back to the ship?”
“What’s wrong?” Morrigan asked, her eyes narrowing in concern. She leaned forward to hear Nadja’s frightened whisper.
“I.…” Nadja paused and shook her head. Her eyes teared in anguish as she thought of the invincible body of pure sinew and flesh. Hearing the sexual jokes around her and seeing the couples kissing on the throne chairs, she knew she couldn’t go through with it. Gulping, she managed weakly, “They’re very big, aren’t they?”
“Who, the men?” Morrigan questioned needlessly.
“Yes,” Nadja whispered. Swallowing over her tensely thudding heart, she began to pant. The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became. Surely a man his size would injure her. Her head began to spin. “Do you think they will … will hurt us? They seem bigger than most Earth men.”
Morrigan looked at the woman in surprise. “Nadja, have you been with a man before?”Nadja shook her head, embarrassed. Her father was a doctor. Every morning up until a month ago she had been given medical checks. If her virginity had been compromised he would have known and would have been livid. Whoever took it would’ve ended up at the wrong end of her father’s scalpel and she’d have been locked in punishment for the rest of her life. She’d barely even been kissed, too afraid the medic unit would report the foreign germs on her mouth.
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