Wed to the Alien Prince by C.V. Walter

Chapter 29

Kaelin's face fell with his declaration. Trina was right, it was a fantastic color for her, and her fingers itched to touch the fabric.

"If you can make her something else out of the fabric, use it for that," the Prince followed up. "And get rid of the netting all together. The stones are semi-precious on our planet, chosen because they sparkle under the lights more than anything, but I'm willing to bet that they'd be unique on your planet and good for trading. Was that your question?"

Trina nodded. "I'd need a few tools but I could make some very small, lovely pieces that would travel well and be worth trading for. From the fabric and the jewelry. How much time do I have?"

Serogero looked at the Captain who nodded. "Twelve hours," he said. "The shuttle to the planet is leaving a little after that but twelve hours should give you enough time to get them packed and on board."

"I'll get to work," Trina said. "Princess, if you're willing to wait a little longer for your fancier dresses, I seem to have a deadline."

"Of course," Kaelin said, startled that she'd even asked. "This is way more important than dresses I won't need for a while. Mostly I wanted to talk to you about the wedding dress, anyway."

"You're going to need about a dozen dresses for this wedding," Trina said with a smile. "And you're lucky you're asking me this on a spaceship. I'd sworn off making wedding dresses. I'll get started on some sketches in a day or so. Do you have a preferred silhouette?"

Kaelin felt herself blushing and couldn't make eye contact. "I always wanted a strapless princess dress for my wedding."

Trina smiled at her. "And you would look lovely in one. Alright, give me a couple days and I'll have you back to go over the initial sketches and trying on the first few court gowns. We'll have something appropriate for you to make your worldwide debut in."

"Thank you," she said, accepting a hand from Serogero to dismount the little raised dais. She'd seen them in bridal stores and had always hoped to use one. The lights on it to measure her were a little disconcerting but it seemed to take a lot of physical strain off Trina if the seamstresses she'd seen before were any indication.

It suddenly hit her that it would, in fact, be a world wide debut. Whatever came next, it wouldn't be as simple as a call to her mom. Something must have showed on her face because Trina gave her a soft smile.

"Just us girls for the dresses," she said. "I'll have tea and we'll look at pretty pictures until you find one you like, alright? You're going to be an amazing princess."

Kaelin wrapped the woman in a sudden hug and felt her chuckle in surprise. "Thank you," she said, her voice soft. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes.

"Hey, you already did the hard part," Trina told her. "Now we're going to play dress up to appease the masses. Whatever they think, you've already got your prince."

She squeezed her briefly then let go. "I'll see you in a couple days," Kaelin said. "Good luck with your deadline."

Trina smiled at her and she let go. Captain Cretus had been correct, they had needed to talk to her about the mission but she'd forgotten. She suspected Serogero had, as well. Somehow, though, she doubted the Captain had been there because he knew they'd forgotten.

With a deep breath, she turned back to Serogero, who was doing his best to not hover at her. He held out his arm and she tucked her hand into his elbow. The little squeeze she gave him as they turned sent a thrill through her. It was a small sign of affection that she could give him and nobody else could see. And he was hers, her husband or whatever his people called it, and she could give him whatever signs of affection she wanted to.

He led her out into the corridor then turned to look into the workshop, obviously waiting for something. A moment later, a visually irritated Brinker joined them.

"She's busy, Brinker," Serogero said, a chuckle in his voice. "As much as I applaud your devotion, I would not have her put off the work she's been asked to do for our convenience."

"I wasn't trying to ask her to do something for the Princess," Brinker said, pulling himself up. "I was trying to guard her time and space from others who would intrude on them."

"Oh?" the Prince asked, his eyebrow raised. He gave the door to the workshop a speculative glance then shrugged. "The captain knows how important this mission is. I'm certain he would not do anything to interrupt her work."

Something hard hit the wall next to the door before it slid open and Captain Cretus stepped quickly into the hallway. He gave a guilty start when he realized he'd walked out into an audience.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Prince Serogero asked, a smile playing around the corners of his lips.

"We were discussing her need for a better, more comprehensible sign," The Captain said. "One that she can change based on her need for remaining uninterrupted."

"Seems like something that could be made fairly quickly," Serogero said. "If there's someone available to do so."

"I have people I can assign to it," the Captain said.

"You'll need to have it in English, too, until the humans learn to read your language," Kaelin said. "If you'd like, I can write it out and they can copy it?"

"I'll have Aidan help them," the Captain said. "He's been asking to get more into what is available on the ship. It will give him something to do and keep him out of trouble."

"Oh," Kaelin said, surprised that her offer had been rejected. It was a new experience for her. "Alright, that makes sense. Aidan's a good kid."

The Captain bowed stiffly to both of them and turned to walk off down the corridor.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kaelin asked. "Should I not have offered to help?"

"You did nothing wrong," Serogero said and kissed the top of her head. "You are welcome to help with anything you want on the ship. I suspect the Captain is suffering a bit of frustration."

"He made assumptions he has no right to," Brinker said sharply. "Something Miss Trina has reminded him about repeatedly. He knows the sign was put up specifically to address his intrusions."

"Is this something I need to address?" Serogero asked, his voice suddenly very controlled.

Kaelin shivered. She couldn't explain exactly what it was about his tone of voice that made her think of the ancient princes who could casually disembowel their enemies in the middle of the throne room but it was the first image that leapt to her mind. It was a good reminder that, as gentle as he was with her, he was born and bred to be a very scary and commanding person.

Brinker let out a gusty sigh. "No, your Highness, he hasn't crossed into anything like harassment and she hasn't complained about him being anything more than irritating. They spar verbally when he comes to see her and she wins more often than not. She has repeatedly told him she is not interested in everything he is offering and he's reiterated that he's willing to wait until she is."

"She is interested in some of what he wants, though?" Kaelin asked. "That's interesting."

"Is it?" Serogero asked.

"It is," Kaelin said. "I don't think it's going to require your intervention, my love, but it might need mine. At the very least, I'll find out if she's really bothered by him and needs a firmer hand telling him to go away, though I seriously doubt that's the case, if Molly was relaying her stories accurately. Trina's a force to be reckoned with and doesn't usually have a problem getting rid of men she doesn't want hanging around."

"She also doesn't eat often enough, doesn't sleep enough and doesn't let anybody help her with anything, even when they know what they're doing," Brinker said.

"I'll talk to her about that, too," Kaelin said with a smile. It was obvious the valet admired the older woman. She didn't think he also had designs on her but it was something she was going to have to ask about. "But later, in a couple days. Please do make sure to bring her food occasionally with my compliments. I think she'll probably take that better than if someone is nagging at her to heat."

Brinker bowed. "Consider it done."

Serogero tugged gently on her and she looked up at him. "Since your fitting was cut short, I think it would be best if we placed our order with the chef and then make our way to our own plans. Don't you?"

She flushed and nodded. "Yes, I think that would be an excellent idea."

"I can place an order with the kitchen, your Highness's. I'll take the opportunity to order regular meals for Miss Trina, as well, and see about going through the clothes storage for anything that could be spared for her to take apart for more trade goods."

"Make sure you're taking care of yourself, too, Brinker," Kaelin told him. "Some of that can wait."

"Thank you, Princess," Brinker said. "I will do that but, with all due respect, it would be a relief to know that I've done as much as I can before I get some rest."

"Don't over do it," Serogero told him. "If you damage yourself, you'll be less use than if you rested for a few hours. I suspect I haven't given you enough to do so you have found yourself hovering over Miss Trina."

"I don't hover," Brinker sniffed, his dignity offended. "I might have noticed she had a habit of ignoring or changing the lighting to keep it from reminding her that time was passing when I brought her things to be altered for Princess Kaelin. If she does not take care of herself, the Princess will be left without a suitable wardrobe, and as she won't take care of herself I have determined to help her where I can to make sure that my official charges are taken care of."

"Am I your official charge?" Kaelin asked, amused.

Brinker gave another gusty sigh. "Ideally, we would have a body servant for you, too, your Highness, but we did not think to bring anybody who would be appropriate and it would not be right to press anybody else into the position and away from their current duties. Thus, until we find a suitable person, you're stuck with my poor efforts."

"You've done fine, Brinker," Kaelin assured him.

"Far more than it would be fair to expect," Serogero echoed. "Do not injure yourself on our behalf. Anything beyond the immediate needs can wait for a few days. And that includes your immediate needs."

"Thank you, Highness," Brinker said.

"You're excused, Brinker. Put in the orders and get some rest before you deliver them. Or leave orders for someone else to deliver them."

Brinker bowed and left. They started walking towards their rooms, taking their time since they weren't far, and enjoying the act of walking together.

"That was very well done," Kaelin told Serogero. "Do you do that often or is this a new development because of me?"

"I am not some evil taskmaster who tortures his servants," he told her.

"But?" she prompted.

"But no, I don't usually have to tell Brinker to take care of himself. There hasn't been much for him to do on this ship and I think he was very excited to find someone to keep him busy," Serogero said. "Though I worry about his attachment to Miss Trina."

"I don't think he's a rival," Kaelin said. "But I do think he's going to irritate her with his care if he's not careful. Right now, though, he's doing things the Captain would like to and it's going to put him in a very awkward spot if the Captain ever decides he's done being polite."

"What makes you think he hasn't?" Serogero asked.

"He's not singing soprano," Kaelin said with a laugh. She looked up at the Prince and noted his confusion which made her laugh more.

"You will explain that," he told her.

"I will," she acknowledged. "But later. Sometime when you're not planning on being naked around me."