Assistant for the Alien Prince by Tammy Walsh

Zai

The Royal Pairing Ceremonywas a thing of fairytales.

The tradition was that the crown prince would dance with each of the daughters from the most powerful tribes in the kingdom—whether there was just one of them or dozens, as in times past.

With most of the partners, the crown prince would feel nothing more than the usual giddy enjoyment of dancing with an attractive partner.

But with one, he would feel a spark in his chest that would ignite and bind them.

The female fated mate would feel it too, and a cosmic bond would link the two souls together for all time.

It’d happened when my father was the crown prince.

He had five potential female mates to dance with and felt nothing for any of them until he finally met my mother, the daughter of then-leader of the Leknin tribe.

Like all parents, they enjoyed telling the story of how they met and what it felt like when they touched, the instant spark that’d passed between them and they knew—absolutely knew—they were meant to be together, how every guest had stopped and watched as the spark ignited and glowed brighter and brighter until, like a supernova, it exploded, absorbing everyone present…

They were being figurative, not literal.

I’d seen their dance on old recordings and hadn’t seen the explosion they talked about.

Even when they watched it themselves, they admitted they must have been mistaken.

It’d seemed so bright and real they assumed it’d shined brighter than a newborn star.

In the recording, they were clearly happy in each other’s presence, constantly smiling, and danced perfectly, the crowd that watched them looked on with delight at their pairing.

I didn’t stop at my parents’ Pairing Ceremony.

I went further back through the records and noticed each of my ancestors claiming his mate with a daughter of a powerful alien tribe.

And soon, it would be my turn.

I doubted I would feel any such sensation.

My father was kind and good, and always predisposed to love.

The organization of my Pairing was fully underway and there would be no putting a stop to it now.

A tailor took my measurements to make a fresh set of traditional Ev’vat garments for the ceremony.

I’d said I already had some and didn’t need to have more, but was overruled by Mom and the Master of Ceremonies she’d hired—a female by the name of Th’ena.

She stood to one side, fully engrossed in her tablet screen, issuing orders and preparing the Pairing that would take place in a week’s time.

Organizing such an event was hard, stressful work, but the organizer was up to the task.

She was cool, calm, swift.

And as ugly as sin.

It was one of my mother’s pre-requisites.

She seemed to think I was going to relapse into my old habits and bed the poor girl.

When I confronted her about it, asking her that if I was participating in the Pairing to find my fated mate, what difference did it make who I slept with until then?

“Just because you’ll find your fated mate doesn’t mean things can’t be made complicated before the day arrives,” she’d said.

My mother was nothing if not cunning.

I had to spend a great deal of time with the organizer over the next week, and she would not only organize the Pairing but act as my personal assistant too.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the tailor said, backing away with his measuring tape.

Th’ena tucked her tablet computer under her arm and approached.

“That’s the traditional robes done. Now we need to go take a look at the temple.”

The Temple of Onsheggas was an ancient structure predating all Ev’vat history.

It was the holiest of holy sites and was where all the royal ceremonies took place.

It was also where the kings were buried.

Where my father was buried.

It was a four-hour journey north by shuttlecraft.

If we left now, we could get there by early evening, and that meant staying the night.

I shivered at the thought of having to spend the night anywhere with Th’ena.

No doubt she made plans for everything—including how she ate breakfast and picked her nose.

“Do we have to go now?” I whined.

“No time like the present,” Th’ena said, chipper.

“Fine. But we’re stopping off somewhere on the way and getting something to eat and drink. Make a bit of a day of it.”

Before returning to Cev, I’d been away for four years, and ached to spend some time with the locals and get a feel for how they perceived their crown prince and his coronation.

Surely they would give me a chance to prove myself before condemning me to the trash bin of history?

“I think not,” Th’ena said, shooting down my hopes with a smile that barely curled her thin lips.

I thought not.

Why ruin the Pairing with fun?

“Come,” Th’ena said. “We’ll need to leave quickly to get to the temple before nightfall.”

I hung my head and trailed after her as we crossed the sitting room.

The tailor gathered up his things and hurried ahead of us, belatedly turning at the door to bow to me before leaving.

No fair.

How come he got to escape?

The tailor drew to a stop, surprised to find himself face to face with the Queen.

He performed another bow, this one much lower than the one he’d done for me, before rushing toward the exit.

Mom floated through the doorway and joined us in the sitting room.

“How did the fitting go?”

“Fine,” I said. “It turns out I was right. I am the same size as before and there really wasn’t any need to have new robes made.”

It felt good to be right about something for a change, but my mother looked distracted and nodded distantly.

“Good,” she said. “Good.”

Something was on her mind, I thought. I wondered what it was.

“We were just about to head to the Temple of Onsheggas,” I said.

Mom nodded but kept her eyes firmly on me.

“So I heard.”

“Speaking of which, we’d best get going,” Th’ena said. “It’ll be rush hour soon and we’d better hurry if we want to beat the traffic.”

“Of course,” Mom said, lines of concern like tiny bird feet crinkling the corners of her eyes. “I need a quick word with Zai first. Please proceed into the entrance hall. A shuttlecraft will be waiting for you.”

Th’ena bowed and slowly left the sitting room.

That was how she did everything—slowly, methodically.

The moment she was out of earshot, I sighed and fell into a chair.

“Thank the Creator she’s gone! I know you wanted someone professional, but could you have at least found someone with a little personality? I don’t want to have to travel to the temple with her. Making conversation is like pulling sucib teeth.”

Mom focused on Th’ena as she crossed the anteroom and spoke in a cold, dead voice.

“You won’t be traveling with her.”

“I won’t?” I said, my relief causing me to melt into the chair. “That’s good news.”

Th’ena paused as a pair of palace guards met her in the middle of the floor.

The guards said something, and Th’ena froze before turning slowly toward us, her eyes wide and afraid.

Since I’d met her the day before, she’d always been uptight and jumpy, but now she looked completely terrified.

It was the only emotion I’d seen cross her starch, rigid face.

She turned to bolt toward us, her expression etched with anger, but the guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the room.

Her tablet tumbled from her grasp and smashed on the floor as she kicked and flailed and fought against the guards.

“No!” she screamed. “No! You don’t know what you’re doing! Please! I can explain! I can explain!”

She never got to explain—at least, not here.

Her screams trailed down the hallway as the guards carried her away.

My mouth felt dry, having fallen open and gawping at the scene in bewilderment.

“Mom? What the hell is going on?”

Mom fiddled with her wedding ring and pursed her lips, none the worse for wear, much less surprised.

“It turns out Th’ena isn’t as innocent as we first thought.”

I threw back my head and barked a laugh.

“I knew it! Anyone so uptight and rigid has to be hiding something!”

I grinned at Mom but she didn’t smile back.

That meant it had to be something serious.

“What?” I said. “What has she done?”

Mom dropped into the seat beside me and shrank, taking on the appearance of the old woman that she was.

She never showed any weakness in front of others, not unless she couldn’t help it.

“Mom? What is it?” I said, fearing the worst.

“It’s not what she’s done but what she intends to do. On the journey to the Temple of Onsheggas, she planned on broadcasting your location and helping one of the tribes to kidnap you.”

If my mouth fell any further, my chin would be on the floor.

“Kidnapped?”

It took a moment for the information to process.

“Which tribe?”

“We haven’t ascertained that yet, though Th’ena will tell us. But in truth, it’s likely whoever bought her covered up their tracks well enough to ensure we would never find out who they were. They are committing treason, after all.”

I was silent for a long time, still dwelling on that single word that seemed so alien:

Kidnapped.

Finally, I found my voice.

“So what happens now? Do we need to delay the Pairing?”

Mom shook her head.

“If we give the tribes more time, they’ll only use it to come up with increasingly creative ways to usurp the throne. The ceremony must go ahead as planned.”

“But who’ll organize it? How will we know the next organizer isn’t as corrupt as the last one?”

Mom turned to face me.

She wore a mask of calm.

“We cast our net wider. We’ll recruit a Master of Ceremonies from outside the kingdom.”

Outside the kingdom…

In all our history, there had never been an organizer recruited from an alien race before.

Although we’d been a technologically advanced species for many years and aware of other alien races, we’d remained largely a homogenous culture.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

“We’ll have to be quick,” I said.

“I’ve already posted an advertisement for the very best Master of Ceremonies throughout the galaxy.”

For some reason, at the mention of “Master of Ceremonies throughout the galaxy,” I felt a strange tingle, like sparks issuing forth at the base of my heart.

It wasn’t a sensation I was used to or altogether comfortable with.

Initially, I took it for heartburn but it remained there, thrumming, distant, and low, like a campfire allowed to turn to ash but with the potential to sprout into red hot glowing flames once more.

“We’re going to have to take extra precautions to keep you safe,” Mom said, “let you move under the radar and in disguise.”

I blinked at that.

She’d always berated me for creeping out of the palace without armed guards.

“I’m not sure I know how to disguise myself…” I began before catching the glint of amusement in her eye.

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll come back to you.”

She knew I often disguised myself during my four-year hiatus off-world…

How did she know that?

It was a pointless question.

She always seemed to know everything.

I cleared my throat.

“But there are things I need to do. I need to visit the temple and interact with the media—”

“And you will,” Mom said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “But we must do it carefully and never leave you exposed.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be the king,” I blurted. “If the tribes hate me this much—”

“It is not the tribes that hate you or the people, but a few selfish leaders who would attempt to take over the throne no matter who was sitting in it. Their parents tried to do the same with your father. Don’t take this to heart. Your father had to deal with them too. And look at the bright side: if they’re willing to go to these lengths to take the throne, it means they see you as a threat, and that means you must be doing something right.”

She smiled at me and we shared a hug.

So much for a smooth transition into power, I thought.

The good news was I had something Father didn’t have when he was crown prince.

Mom.

And with her on my side, I didn’t fancy the other tribes’ chances.