Wed to the Alien Prince by C.V. Walter
Chapter 28
Serogero started to tell her no, of course not, but stopped himself. Could the bio-nanos do that? It wasn't on any of the known functions of the Imperial Nanos but neither was whatever was happening to Kaelin. Had there been undocumented updates to give the Imperial Family even more of an edge? How long ago had they been done?
"Honestly, I don't know," he said with a sigh. "I'll bring it up with Mintonar. It does seem like the kind of thing we would do, doesn't it?"
"A little bit, yeah," she said. "And if someone did do that but didn't tell anybody, just assuming it would only be a small enhancement that nobody would really notice except the people directly involved, how would you have known? Is that kind of thing likely?"
"I want to say that it's not but, given what we've learned over the last few days, it's not impossible." His fork clinked against the plate and startled him.
Serogero looked down at his plate and realized it was empty. He hadn't realized he'd eaten everything and Kaelin was almost finished with hers as well. How much time had he spent thinking?
Kaelin giggled and he looked up at her. She held a bite from their breakfast on her fork and had pointed it at him. "Would you like the rest of your breakfast?"
"What?" He frowned at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"You were focused so hard you weren't eating anything. I switched our plates and was going to start feeding you if you didn't come back soon."
He smiled at her. "And here I was talking about how hard members of the Imperial Family are to fool."
"I don't think it would have worked if you were expecting me to do something to your food," she told him. "In fact, the only reason it did work was because you trusted me. And I was only doing it to make sure you ate."
She brought the fork closer and he leaned down to take the bite offered. He watched her face the whole time and she flushed with the eye contact.
"I think," he told her after he finished chewing. "That if we carry on like this, we won't make it to your fitting. I should finish feeding myself just to make sure you make it in time."
"That's probably a good idea," she said, her voice soft and breathy. "Brinker didn't specify a time but it would be rude to keep them waiting."
"Yes, it would. I'm tempted to anyway, just so I can taste you all over."
She flushed again and he marveled that it was possible to like her more now than he had when they'd first met. The first hit of lust with the Recognition was so strong, it was nearly over-powering. Now, he didn't even have to touch her to feel a bolt of desire that put Recognition to shame.
The urge to lift her out of her chair and spread her over the table so he could feast on her before losing himself in her hot, sweet embrace had him gripping his fork until the handle bent in his palm. It took all his self-control to slide the plate back to his side of the table and take her fork from her fingers.
Serogero laid his fork to the side and bent his energy to finishing their meal. He hoped the fitting didn't take long. He had plans that involved pulling her out of the beautiful day dress and spreading her out on their bed.
How his father could have put aside his mother after feeling this way about her, he couldn't even imagine.
With his last bite, he put the fork down and stood, offering Kaelin his hand. She slid her fingers across his palm and he worked not to grip her too tightly. He helped her out of her chair then pulled her against his chest and kissed her. His lips were closed, his teeth clamped, to keep from deepening the embrace and breaking his resolve.
When he pulled away, she whimpered, her eyes closed, cheeks flushed, lips red and soft. He looked closely at her upper lip and schooled his face when her eyelids fluttered open. One of the things she'd wanted had happened, at least, and he needed to make a note to tell Mintonar.
"Are you ready?" he asked her, stepping back and offering her his arm. "May I escort you to Miss Trina?"
She blinked and looked down at the proffered appendage. "Yes, I am," she said. "Thank you for offering. I appreciate it."
Kaelin put her hand on his arm and he felt a thrill run through him. She wasn't even touching his skin. He marveled at her effect on him yet again and had to pull his attention back to the corridor to keep from missing the turn to go to the storage bay that had been turned into a workshop for Miss Trina.
The space was one of the strangest ones they'd had to build on the ship to accommodate the women who were brought on board. He knew there were similar places on their home planet and had been shocked to find out there wasn't already one on the ship. Then he realized that most of his people wouldn't have gone to a tailor or anybody else for alterations. Clothing was purchased and sized in the store with the finishing done by very specialized machines. As people grew, they'd just replace the clothes. There were so many crates of excess clothing on the ship, it was likely most of the crew simply changed out sizes rather than find ways to adjust.
Even he had fallen into the habit of having Brinker pull another size for him rather than go to the trouble of altering anything but his most favorite items. Now they had an actual alterations shop on board and it made him wonder how many people were going to use it for the first time. And if Trina was willing to show anybody else how to do it.
So much of their lives on their home planet had been manufactured and they had the tools to replicate a lot of the basic necessities when they found their new planet but there weren't a lot of artisans on board. It was more concerning than he wanted to admit that they hadn't thought about needing people like that and spent more time recruiting them. If they would have had the time to recruit them.
There was a chime on the door to the storage bay that had been added a few days ago. There was a hand-written sign next to it that read "If you don't have an appointment, do not ring the chime". It was written in both English and Orvax, both of them in Brinker's handwriting.
"It's a good thing we have an appointment," Kaelin remarked. "I wonder how many people have been coming by and bothering her that she would need a sign like this."
Serogero rang the chime and was greeted by a smiling Brinker.
"Your Highness," he said, backing up and bowing them in. "You got here much faster than I anticipated."
"Oh? Did we come at a bad time?" Serogero asked. "I'd offer to come back later but we have plans after this."
"Plans?" Brinker asked, blinking. "There's nothing on my schedule about plans after this. I made sure to keep you as free as possible so Princess Kaelin could have as much time with Miss Trina as possible."
"We've made our own plans for after this," Serogero said. "Plans that do not require participation from anybody else."
"Oh!" Brinker said, his eyes widening. "Then we'll make sure to get you done as quickly as possible."
A white-haired woman about Kaelin's height wearing a long tunic and black yoga pants bustled up behind Brinker and pushed him gently out of the way. "I'm Trina," she said, holding a hand out to Kaelin. "You must be the Princess."
"Kaelin," she said, taking the other woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Molly talks about you a lot."
"She talked about you a lot, too," Trina said with a smile. "She was always sharing pictures of you being awesome and telling us how proud of you she was. There was a lot to be proud of, too."
Kaelin flushed and Trina took her arm and led her gently to a low pedestal. Serogero was very familiar with the pedestal she was on and watched the lights move over her body as they took in every possible measurement and angle.
"Have you seen Molly much since you came onboard?" Kaelin asked.
"Some," the other woman said, and moved one of Kaelin's arms. "Not as much as I'd like to but I understand that we're all busy right now getting everything set up for official first contact."
"I'm sure it doesn't help that she's been holding my hand through a bunch of the medical stuff," Kaelin said, and Serogero could hear the guilt in her voice.
"Stop that," Trina said, looking up from the padd that was recording the information from the pedestal. "You're in an unfamiliar situation with way more issues that me. You needed a friend and Molly's a good one to have around for this kind of thing. If I wanted to spend more time with her, I know where she is and can do so."
"So why haven't you?" Kaelin asked gently.
"Oh, no you don't," Trina said, shaking a finger at her. "I'm an old woman and I know all those tricks. Mostly, I like my privacy and spending time with my fabrics. And there's so much to explore here just in the textiles, I could get lost in that cargo bay of clothes and not notice for days. So, I'm happy by myself and can and will go find my friends when I want company."
"I refuse to believe you're old," Brinker said from behind her. He was holding a dress that he could have easily put on one of the dozen racks nearby. There were several that were designed just for holding a single dress.
"Believe what you'd like," Trina told him, taking the dress. She held it against Kaelin and nodded, handing it back to Brinker before making a note on her padd. "I'm a white haired old lady. I have a daughter and two grandchildren. I've lived an amazing life and now I'm on an alien spaceship making a wedding dress for a Princess. I could drop dead after the wedding and die a happy woman."
"After the wedding?" Kaelin asked.
"You are not allowed to die at all," a voice said from behind them. Serogero looked, startled at the lack of announcement and how quiet the captain was.
"Are you illiterate?" Trina demanded, not looking at the captain. "Did you not read the sign?"
"I do not have an appointment thus I did not make use of the chime," Captain Cretus said.
"You are the most irritating man," Trina snapped at him.
"So you have said," the captain responded, his voice cool.
"Did you want something besides making me crazy?"
"I wanted to make sure the Prince and Princess made it here and did not need to be summoned by a more commanding voice than Brinker," the Captain said. "Because it was brought to my attention that there were things they needed from you besides the dresses and they might not have realized they needed to ask for them."
Trina turned an expectant look on Serogero and he suddenly felt like he was being scolded by one of his nannies.
He thought about it for a few moments then nodded. "We're sending an expedition to the planet," he told her. "While there are funds available to us, I understand that we're also in need of trade goods that are easy to transport. It was suggested that you might have some ideas about the kind of things that would work."
He could see the glee that started with the twinkle in her eyes and became a very large, toothy grin.
"Oh, I definitely have ideas," she said. "In fact, I have one of them here. I was tempted to ask about altering it anyway because the decorations were just way too over the top for your Princess but I wasn't sure if they had any significant meanings."
Serogero nodded and Trina hurried off to pull something from one of the many racks that looked to be over flowing with clothes. The dress she returned with made his jaw drop.
It was the gown his step-mother had worn to the party to celebrate her coronation. A much more political affair than the celebrations of her marriage, the dress had been gaudy and expensive, with a net of semi-precious gems that covered most of it.
"Where did that come from?" Serogero asked, turning to Brinker, who managed to look entirely too innocent.
"It was in storage with the rest of the Imperial wardrobe," Brinker told him. "They'd made a copy to put on the display at the palace so this one wouldn't fade. I can't imagine how it got slipped in with all of your official clothes, your highness, but as soon as I found it, I put it aside for your future Princess."
"Brinker," Serogero started, the warning in his voice usually enough to make his valet flinch.
"No, sir, I won't apologize for taking it. Someone should get some use out of it and if Princess Kaelin chooses not to use it then maybe one of your daughters will but it was too precious and too beautiful to let her keep it."
"It sounds like there's some bad feelings behind this dress," Trina said. "The lace on it is gorgeous and a great color for Kaelin. I've never seen the stones on the netting, though, and that was my real question. I'm going to have to cut this down for her to wear anyway and the stones would just overwhelm her. It's a great show of wealth but not a great show of fashion, if you understand me, and there are better ways to make a statement with jewelry for a broadcast."
Serogero shook his head. "I don't want her to wear that dress."