“Does it look like I have clothes to fill a closet?” she suddenly turns to ask him, her tone harsh but quiet. Az almost walks straight into her and has to jolt himself to stop. She plucks at the ratty dull white gown we’ve all worn and washed, day-in-day-out since we were stolen from our home planet. I would categorize them somewhere between a hospital gown, and a t-shirt dress in appearance, and are what we tended to wear day-to-day, unless an important buyer was coming to the store, or you were being loaned out to, say, a pleasure club. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t need to take your room-”

“You sure? It’s one of the nicest-”

“Az!” Vel comes hurrying back to us once she’d realized we’d all stopped following her. “You’re bothering the humans, leave them be! And for the love of the four, would you please put a shirt on. We are not in a tournament changing area. We are on your brother’s ship!”

Az shrugs his big shoulders and holds his hands up. “I just think Lois would be more comfortable in one of the royal rooms on board, and I’m just sayin’ that mine is one of the nicest, and it’s hers if she wants it.”

He stands there, smiling down at Lois, his hands on his hips now, like he’s waiting for praise or something.

Lois shakes her head, her red hair swinging with the movement. “I wanna continue bunking with Niska and Jaya,” she tells him. I could kiss her. I’d not really considered it, but as soon as she’d said the words, I knew I felt the same. We’ve shared a tiny little cell for months and seen each other get low and scared. I’m not sure I could have made it without these two, they feel like family to me now - just as close to me as any of my family or my best friend, Polly. So yes, absolutely, I want to continue sharing a room with them both.

“Oh,” Az says briefly glancing at Jaya and I, as if he’s only just remembered that we’re here too. One of his hands absently rubs across his broad chest a little subconsciously as the poor guy really does look like Lois took the wind right out of his sails. “I mean, yeah… sure. Uh…my-my room is large enough for all three, so… just as long as you’re comfortable?”

He directs the question at Lois, since clearly to this guy, her opinion is of the upmost importance.

“Sure,” she shrugs, giving him a tight-lipped and fleeting smile before she’s avoiding his gaze and giving Jaya and I a wide-eyed look.

Az takes in a breath, puffing up his chest as he nods, seemingly pleased that she’s at least taken him up on his offer in some capacity. He opens his mouth, but closes it again.

And then…

He says nothing.

No-one says anything at all as we all stand here in the middle of the hallway, glancing looks at each other as awkwardness leeches into every atom in our vicinity. Az’s focus remains on Lois, but his chest kind of starts to deflate, and he reaches up to rub at one of his big, spiraling horns, like it was a nervous habit or something.

“So…” he blows out.

But he never finishes that sentence.

It’s Vel who breaks the unbearable awkwardness. “For Goddesses’ sake, Az,” she tuts, gently ushering Lois to start moving again, leaving him behind. “She’s not going to give you her permission. Just… go put a shirt on. You can see her again at dinner.”

“Right-right,” he murmurs to himself, looking embarrassed now as he gives Jaya and I each a little bow before leaving us to the rest of our tour.

“Don’t mind him,” Vel explains as she continues down the corridor, apparently intent on making sure we know every inch of this ship. “He’s a professional athlete, so he’s used to females fawning at his feet. I’m not sure he really knows what to do with one who he has to actually court.”

“Court?” Lois asks. “No. That’s not happening. Not with me” she confirms, waving her hand in front of herself, gesturing to her whole body with animated circular movements. “Niska’s the only one brave enough to put her pussy up on the sacrificial alter with those huge-ass dudes-”

I audibly scoff, even though she’s not wrong.

Lois twists her upper body, reaching out to give me an affectionate squeeze. “For which, I’m eternally grateful. Seriously, Nis, Jaya and I both owe you big time.” She turns back to Vel, “but that’s not what I signed up for, so you can tell him he can quit giving me puppy-dog eyes, ok? That shit won’t work.”

Vel stops walking and cocks her head at Lois. “I do not know what a ‘puppy-dog’ is, or why you think Az is in possession of its eyes, but-” she links her arm through Lois’ and starts walking again. “This is really going to dent Az’s over-inflated ego, hence, I think you are fast becoming my favorite human.”

OceanofPDF.com

10

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter 10 - Niska

“Oh, my God! That looks so pretty!” Lois comments as we all sit on what used to be Az’s bed, but is ours now, for this journey at least. The thing is huge. Like huge-huge. The three of us can sleep in here comfortably and each have enough space to spare.

The room is just as nice as he’d promised, too. The bed is a four poster, but the posts are carved out of a deep, dark wood to look more organic in shape, like smooth, polished branches reaching across to embrace each other. The thick-pile carpet is cornflower blue, and Az was right, the floor-to-ceiling windows have spectacular views of… well… space.

We’re actually travelling through space right now. I was too petrified to really appreciate that the last time.

But that’s not what Lois was referring to.

On our tour, we apparently had one too many questions for Vel, and she’s decided we need a Xaviann 101 class, so here we are.

“Thank you,” Vel beams, changing the projected image that hovers in mid-air in front of us from a rural landscape to that of a cityscape at night with a billion glowing lights. “Xavianns are very proud of our homelands. Nowhere feels quite the same as on Xaavia.”

She shakes herself then, blinking rapidly as her eyes widen. “Oh, I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me… considering.”

Considering us humans are never going to be able to go back to our homelands.

That was made abundantly clear. It turns out very few space crafts or crew have legal permissions to actually travel to Earth. It doesn’t stop the illegal ones, like the ones who took us, but the Intergalactic Peacetime Authorities are very clear; we can’t go back.

“It’s fine,” I tell Vel. Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing and sweet for her to even realize how we may have taken her comment. Most of the aliens I’ve met so far have tended to treat us like possessions, not people.

She shakes her head and smiles. “I still can’t believe we actually have humans joining the palace now. You know, I’ve been a huge fan of your planet and species since I can remember. There’s a whole group of human fanatics that meet virtually. I can’t wait to tell them that I’m actually working with some now. They’re going to want me to bother you with so many questions.” Vel ducks her head, the apples of her gray cheeks tinging pink as she tucks her hair behind her elf-like ears.

“What kind of questions?” I ask, curious now, especially since she seems to have gone all shy about her… human fan club?

“Well,” she taps on her tablet and shifts where she sits demurely on a nearby, high-backed chair. “I’ve been wondering if ‘iced-cream’ really does taste that good? What actually is a ‘Kardashian’? Why does the size of your bodies seem to matter so much to you? What is the fascination with making products out of plaz-tic? And why do your males-”