Assistant for the Alien Prince by Tammy Walsh

Zai

Having comefrom the far and distant planet known as Earth, there was little chance Jessica had any knowledge or contact with the tribes of Ev’vat, but my mother thought it best to keep our cards close to our chests in any case.

There was no telling how many spies the tribe leaders had inside the palace or elsewhere in the kingdom for that matter.

We weren’t to tell Jessica anything she didn’t need to know.

We needed to keep her in the dark.

It would protect both her and us.

At least, that was the plan.

I knocked on Jessica’s bedroom door at three in the morning.

When she didn’t respond, I knocked again.

Not hearing a peep, I pressed the door handle and gently eased it open.

The bedrooms in the palace were laid out uniformly.

I could have found her bed with my eyes closed, and with how dark it was, that was essentially what I was doing.

Ten yards ahead, with a slight kink to the left.

I came to a stop and crouched to feel at the bed’s edge.

It was right where I thought it would be.

As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, I looked down on the small figure lying curled up in the bed.

She was sleeping soundly, only the very faintest whisper of her breath audible, the covers barely moving.

With her hair starkly furious about her head and with no brown woolen dress to conceal her body, she was actually quite pretty.

I’d never seen a naked human before.

Maybe now is my chance…

I reached for the blankets and froze.

No, I thought. The old me would have done that.

The old me would have stripped off and slid under the blankets, cuddled up close to her, and gently caressed her awake, and after recovering from her surprise at finding me there, she would calm beneath my touch and realize who I was and let me slide inside her…

That was what the old me would have done.

But not now.

Still, it was hard to suppress the heavy carnal desire I had for Jessica.

I cleared my throat to wake her.

Jessica grunted in her sleep, turned her head to one side, but didn’t wake.

“Jessica?” I said.

She moaned, not quite managing to form a coherent word, but it was enough to make me grow hard against the front of my pants.

If only I was the one coaxing that noise from her…

I took a deep breath, shut my eyes, and found my center.

I spoke louder:

“Jessica?”

She bolted upright, her forehead almost catching me on the chin.

She was groggy-eyed but alert and noticed me standing over her.

Her face curled into a mask of fear as she slid fast across the bed.

One hand found its edge and she almost fell out of it.

I raised my hands innocently.

“I tried to wake you up by knocking on the door but you didn’t. I had to come in the room to wake you!”

Her eyes were wide and broad, her tiny chest panting hard.

She wore a mismatched pair of pajamas—a pair of plain shorts and a T-shirt with some kind of rock band on the front.

It was the first time I’d gotten a good look at her body and was surprised she’d been hiding such luscious curves beneath her brown woolen dress.

Her breasts were large and pert, her hips satisfyingly broad, tapering to a narrow waist.

Her hair was long and spilled past her shoulders, no longer held in place by a hairpin.

“What are you doing in my room?” she screamed. “Get out! Get out! Get out!”

“I just wanted to wake you!” I said.

After seeing her reaction, I realized how fortunate it was I hadn’t stripped off and succumbed to my basic instincts.

She wouldn’t have fallen under the spell of my fame as others had and there was no chance of her giving in to my touch or letting me enter her.

Score:

Bad Prince: Zero.

Good Prince: One.

“We need to leave early today,” I said. “We have to get to the Temple of Onsheggas.”

Jessica clutched her blankets close.

“The Temple of what?”

“The Temple of Onsheggas. It’s the most important religious center in our culture. It’s where our kings and queens are buried and where all the royal ceremonies take place, where mine will take place.”

She just stared at me, either not believing a word I was saying or not understanding them.

I smacked my neck, ensuring my translator was still working correctly.

“I understand what you said,” Jessica said, finally relaxing. “But why do we need to go so early? Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?”

Because we thought you might be a spy.

Because we don’t trust you.

I couldn’t bring myself to say either of those things.

We needed her as much as she needed us—at least, as much as she needed our money.

I didn’t know why she needed it but from the negotiations yesterday, it was clear the amount was important to her.

It was the only reason she wouldn’t bolt right here and now.

She folded her arms over herself, covering her breasts, and I couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

“Fine. Give me a minute and I’ll get dressed.”

I didn’t want to leave her alone—she could easily send a message to a tribe leader at any moment.

I couldn’t afford to take the risk, not when my life was on the line.

“I can’t leave,” I said. “But I can turn around.”

She gawked at me before nodding her head.

“Fine. But if I see you turning around I’ll—”

She searched for the appropriate response but realized the precarious position she now found herself in.

After all, how could she punish me?

I was the crown prince in my kingdom.

Except, she wasn’t completely defenseless…

That body could destroy a man if he didn’t keep his wits about him.

I turned my back on her and stood facing the wall.

She moved slowly at first, the blankets rustling as she hastily changed her clothes.

The bad prince was desperate to admire what he was missing.

I felt like a child left in a room with a delicious chocolate cake in the middle of the table.

And I wasn’t allowed to touch it.

I shut my eyes and tried to think of something else.

Anything else!

Breakfast.

Breakfast was innocent enough, wasn’t it?

I focused on the traditional Ev’vat meat goods found in every hearty breakfast.

It was hard and dense, from the hindquarters of an uvvod, always served with a hot flask of pl’uun coffee.

It was served red-hot, the wisps of steam sensuous and sweet.

It joined with the meat, making it tender and desperate to be consumed…

My eyes snapped open and I growled at myself.

So much for distracting myself!

I stamped my foot in agitation.

The rustling of clothes stopped as I realized Jessica must have heard me.

I almost turned around to apologize but managed not to.

For all I knew, she had grabbed a lamp and was now swinging it toward my head.

But then she would lose the money, and I didn’t think she would do anything to jeopardize that anytime soon.

Finally, she said:

“Okay. You can turn around. I’m ready.”

She wore another full-length dress that concealed every inch of her magnificent body.

It was a little more shapely than the brown one from the previous day but it still concealed far too much of her for my liking.

Her hair was done up again, pinned back with a scrunchy.

Today, she wore a pair of large glasses which I doubted she needed.

She wore them to hide behind, I realized, and I couldn’t help but wonder why.

“I’m ready,” Jessica said.

Yes, you most certainly are…

I approached the door but hesitated before depressing the handle.

“I almost forgot,” I said. “I need to change too.”

Jessica looked at me quizzically as I reached up for the holo-collar at my throat and selected my disguise.

There was a flicker of light as it snapped into place, and as it faded, Jessica’s expression melted.

Her eyes broadened and she almost dropped her bag.

“You!” she said. “It’s you! You’re the guard from yesterday!”

Shit.

I’d forgotten to change the settings.

I hadn’t wanted her to discover I was the one who rescued her yesterday.

There was no need to make things more complicated than they already were.

“Let me explain…” I said, not quite sure how I would do that.

I wore this disguise because I wanted to scout you before we made our agreement…

Neither my mother nor I trust you…

The same old reasons.

But I couldn’t say them.

If I did, Jessica would run a mile.

“Sometimes… I like to wear a disguise when I go out,” I said. “These are uncertain times and it’s good to have something to hide behind so I can mix among the people without them feeling like they have to treat me like a prince.”

It was true, for what it was worth.

So much for keeping her in the dark.

“Why did you have to be the one to bring me to the palace?” Jessica said.

Because I’m not sure if I can trust my people…

“Because I wanted to see you for myself,” I said.

Jessica’s shock wore off and although she threw me the occasional confused look, she seemed to accept my explanations.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?”

“There’s more going on here than I know about but that’s okay. I’m only the event organizer. I don’t need to know about everything else that’s happening. Just make sure to tell me anything that happens that I should know about. I know things are a little unstable right now. That’s why I’m getting paid so much. All I want to do is complete my job and leave. I have things to do back home and a sister to take care of.”

I nodded.

“I understand.”

I liked that she was being more open with me.

It was something that would never have crossed the previous organizer’s mind.

But then again, she had been an undercover spy.

“Shall we go?” I said.

Jessica hesitated for just a moment but nodded.

I held the door open for her and shut it behind me.

Even at this early hour servants were in attendance, carrying out their duties.

The palace guards marched to and fro, pausing only to bow respectfully to Jessica.

I took the quietest route, though it was long and winding, until we reached the underground garage.

The lights turned on automatically, illuminating two dozen vehicles.

Most were royal vehicles emblazoned with the royal crest and would be too conspicuous in public.

I approached the smallest and oldest shuttlecraft which had once belonged to my father.

It was the first and only vehicle he’d purchased himself, and once he became king couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.

He wouldn’t mind if we borrowed it.

“Computer, unlock.”

The shuttle craft’s defense systems eased and the hatch door slid open.

“After you,” I said.

Jessica gazed into the dark innards of the shuttlecraft before ascending the ramp.

I followed immediately after and took the pilot seat.

She sat on one of the seats in the back.

“You can sit up front with me if you want,” I said.

“I’m all right back here, thank you,” she said, dumping her bag and getting comfortable.

I shut the hatch door and prepared to take off.

The wall dropped to allow us to leave and I ascended into the sky, the ship’s cloaking system coming online.

We rose higher and higher until we were far above the city.

Only then did I deactivate the cloaking system as it drained a lot of the ship’s energy.

I deactivated my holo-collar and turned to look back at Jessica.

“We’re on our way.”

Jessica nodded curtly before burying her chin into her arms.

She was here to do a job, I reminded myself.

She wasn’t here to be my friend or conversation partner.

I was to ascend to the throne and become the next king.

I would try to bear that in mind in future.