Wed to the Alien Prince by C.V. Walter

Chapter 14

Prince Serogero returned to the quarantine rooms disturbed and gratified by the speed with which his people responded to his news and his requests. The absolutely idiotic grin on his valet's face when he asked him to prepare enough clothes for him to stay in quarantine for at least a week told him how long they'd been looking forward to the news that he'd brought a mate back from the planet.

The idea had been suggested before that he go to one of the neighboring planets they had hunting rights on and make use of them. When he'd pointed out that he, as a member of the royal family, was specifically prohibited from taking a bride from a nearby planet, his people had grumbled but mostly let it drop.

When he'd told them to start packing for the ship and that they wouldn't be back, he had so many volunteers to join him, he'd regretted the necessity to keep his entourage small. It was a miracle that his father hadn't found out about their planned voyage before it had left but it seemed that it was more important to the people who couldn't go with him to keep his secret than to get their revenge for not being included.

Once again, the suggestion had been made that they stop off at a nearby planet to find him a mate before they reached their final destination. And, once again, he'd denied them, this time with the very real chance that doing so could lead to problems for their escape. They had to be far enough away that his father could not find them before he was comfortable taking a mate.

Besides, they wouldn't be close enough to any of the other planets long enough to land much less woo likely females if they wanted to have enough fuel and supplies to make it to their destination. He wasn't sure how many of his people knew how close they were budgeted to get out this far. Or what they were going to need to move on to their next destination.

There were so many considerations but he'd at least made his people happy with one thing; he'd found a mate and brought her back to the ship. That she not only made him happy but also seemed willing to help where she could was a blessing he'd not thought to hope for. The significant looks he was getting from his valet when he asked him to order the traditional courtship meals be prepared were enough to make him laugh and sigh.

He hoped she'd not only consent to stay with him after all of it but that she wouldn't hold it against him if he sped up the process a bit. She wasn't exactly a war bride and he needed to open negotiations with her planet sooner rather than later but he didn't want to short her the courtship she was due.

Maybe, he thought, as he waited for the decontamination scan outside the quarantine wing to finish, she would consent to an abbreviated courtship now and he could do it properly after they were Joined. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, he knew. His grandmother, though technically a war bride, had been a princess of her people and could have expected a full two years of courtship rituals and negotiations before she Joined with whoever she had chosen.

That hadn't happened, for multiple reasons, not just because she refused his grandfather for political reasons. The recognition that had happened between them was the strongest either line had felt in generations and it had happened by accident. Exactly how had been lost to rumors and myths by the time Serogero had heard about it but as far as he'd learned, their hands had brushed at an official event when he'd been reaching for the same thing she had.

His grandmother had left for her home country within the hour and his grandfather had spent the next three years pursuing her until he'd left a bloody trail through a continent to get to her. When he'd finally gotten to her, he'd declared that the last three years were her courtship, and any negotiations would start with her country surrendering to his. To hear the servants talk about it, they were just as likely to walk in on them trying to kill each other as they were to walk in on them being romantic and loving.

As much as he admired the passion, and knew that his family had literally been bred to feel everything more strongly than the rest of their people, he dreaded having that kind of relationship. And his father had, as well, especially when his strongest recognition had come from a maid on his best friends country estate.

As much hope as his mother had when she'd realized what was happening when the Crown Prince grabbed her hand was just a taste of the crushing despair that would take over her life when she understood the reality of what her life was going to be like. The most gorgeous fabrics, made into the most recent fashions, and all to be worn in the maid's room off the nursery. Beautiful, fancy bed clothes for his father to see when he couldn't keep himself away from her. And a lovely, appropriate Empress when her mate ascended the throne and took a bride that had been found for him through the algorithm.

Serogero hadn't been teasing Kaelin when he told her he would make sure she could join him anywhere he went, even if that meant making her a traveling barrier to keep her safe. And he would stay with her until she was released.

The light changed and told him he was free to join his mate in her room. He hated how small they were but enjoyed the chance to be as close to her as she would allow. They'd made progress on the shuttle, he knew, and he wanted to keep pushing. Except, he didn't want to scare her with too much...

The smile she gave him when he walked into her rooms pushed all thoughts beyond how much he adored her from his head. She was so beautiful. So lovely. And so his. There was no room for doubt for him. Whatever else happened, she was his, no matter what he had to do to make that happen.

"You're back early," she told him, closing the device she had been reading from.

"I told you I'd be back as quickly as I could," he said.

"True," she agreed and stood. "I just wasn't expecting you to be able to be back this quickly. I'm not complaining, just pleasantly surprised."

"I'm glad it's a pleasant surprise, then," he told her, taking the few steps to cross the room and pull her into his arms. "Have you eaten, yet?"

She shook her head and he bent down to kiss her softly. When her arms wound around his neck, he couldn't help but deepen the kiss. They were both breathless by the time they separated.

"Did you ask something?" she asked, her eyes unfocused and her voice breathy.

"Yes," he said and kissed her again. Serogero knew he needed to feed her, needed to take care of her, but there was nothing more important in that moment than holding her as close as possible. He was tempted to start removing pieces of clothing but that would involve letting her get further from him than he wanted right then.

A knock on the door forced him away from her, especially when it came again and he had to answer it to tell whoever it was to go away.

His valet was standing at the door with a tray and a smile on his face. He was very carefully not looking into the room when he handed over the tray to his annoyed and slightly dazed Prince.

"The dinner you asked for, your highness," he said.

"Um," Serogero said, looking down at the tray in his hands. "Thank you, Brinker. I hadn't expected it quite this soon."

"I thought it best to not wait," Brinker told him. "You wouldn't want your lady to go hungry, would you?"

"Is this...?"

"I took the liberty, your highness, of making sure it was exactly to what someone of your station should expect for his first courtship dinner," Brinker said. "And warned the cook that he'd be fixing the rest over the next couple days."

"Brinker, she hasn't agreed," Serogero started.

"Because you haven't asked," Brinker told him. "And she can't until you do. This will let you start."

Prince Serogero looked at his valet for a long moment then nodded his head. "Yes, you are correct," he said. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Brinker, I appreciate it."

"I expect you to make more work for me in the very near future, your highness," Brinker said with a mischievous grin, and turned on his heel to leave.

Serogero watched him leave and took a deep breath. He turned to face Kaelin with a smile on his lips.

"Did someone bring dinner?" she asked. "I thought we were supposed to be in quarantine."

"We are," he said. "There's a decontamination field just outside the quarantine rooms that my people have to go through in order to come in here. And he couldn't come through the door, anyway, but he brought dinner."

"Oh," Kaelin said. "I guess that makes sense. I didn't see anything but I guess I wouldn't have since I don't know what I'm looking for."

"It wasn't active when you were coming back here," he said. "And I honestly didn't think he'd be following me with dinner. Especially not this dinner."

Kaelin followed him to the table and looked over his shoulder. "Is there something special about this dinner?"

"Yes," Serogero said. "And I will explain what each of the dishes means in turn while I feed them to you but there's something we must discuss first."

"Alright?" she said and he could see the confusion in her face.

"I think you know what I want from you," he told her. "But this dinner would mark the first step in starting a formal Joining between us and between our families. While I understand that certain of my fellow country-men have been less than upfront about their intentions when starting this, I cannot."

"Joining is like marriage for your people, right?" Kaelin asked.

Serogero nodded. "Like it, yes. But not exactly. It's a formal acknowledgment of a bond that already exists. There are different traditions around it but that's what it comes down to."

"And you think we have that bond," Kaelin said. "And want me to agree to having the ceremony and all the things that go around it."

"I know we have that bond," Serogero said.

Kaelin nodded and he could see her thinking. "Alright," she said. "And you want to go forward with formalizing it and the first step is this dinner."

"Yes," he said.

"Does agreeing to this dinner commit me to anything?" she asked.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's an opening move in a negotiation, essentially, the first of which have to be taken between us. Even on my planet, the first parts of this would be between the two people who are to be Joined."

"But not everything?"

He took a deep breath. "There would be negotiations between families once the two parties agreed to pursue Joining. Things that each side will give and agree to in order to make it easier for the couple to create a family once they're Joined, and which will help each family in the process, ideally."

"Which means that you're going to need to contact my parents," Kaelin said. "Do you want to start with my mother or my father?"

"We can't contact them together?"

She smiled at him. "I'm sure Molly's told you about this thing called divorce. My parents got divorced after my little brother was born. They can work together as a team but you're not about to get them in the same room for this kind of thing without some serious negotiation first. And that's probably going to have to come after they realize I'm not on the planet any more."

He nodded. "What do you suggest?"

"Why don't we discuss it over dinner? I understand the courtship meals are delicious."