Princess for the Alien Commander by Tammy Walsh

Ikmale

I couldn’t getSofia off my mind.

All morning, I’d been floating above Sheer Mount, which translates to Cloud 9 in the human tongue.

The night had been long and far more thrilling than I expected.

Even now, I considered canceling my meeting with the Prime Minister and heading upstairs to enjoy a replay of the previous night’s events.

My body still ached and I wasn’t sure I could repeat the performance but I sure would give it my best try!

I scooped up a handful of traditional meat pastries for breakfast—they were a mixture of the best of both kauah and human cuisine.

I munched happily on my breakfast and slurped on a cup of freshly brewed coffee as I headed to the front room where I usually took my meetings with the Prime Minister.

It was also where my father used to meet past political leaders in his day.

I recalled running through the front room as a child and playing with my friends—often with the Prime Minister’s children—and raced between my father’s legs and under his desk.

I never paid attention to their conversations.

All that mattered was escaping my friend.

He’d introduced a brand-new game to me called “tag.”

I waited behind the desk, peering over it, looking out for the Prime Minister’s scrawny but surprisingly quick son.

When he entered the room, I quickly ducked down, squealing with excitement, and gave away my position immediately.

As his son bolted toward me, I ran from the room, emboldened by my superior knowledge of the castle.

I should have been able to evade him indefinitely, but he was faster than me and it made for exciting games.

After my father passed away, his duties passed to me.

Suddenly, the games I played weren’t fun.

They took on a more serious tone and involved psychological espionage.

I was much better at tag.

When I entered the room, the Prime Minister stood and not only shook my hand but performed the traditional kauah salute too—another mixture of our customs coming together.

“Thanks for meeting me,” he said.

He sat back down as I took the chair on the other side of the desk.

I fell into it and finished off the first pastry and got to work on the second.

“Did you have breakfast?” I said. “We have some wonderful pastries this morning.”

The Prime Minister shook his head.

“I already ate.”

His tone was serious and somber, as usual.

No, more than usual.

He didn’t meet my eyes and only stared at the table’s surface.

“I feel I must apologize.”

“What for?”

“For arranging the marriage to the princess to take place. It was my idea to try to bridge the gap between humans and the kauah. I had no idea the king intended on trapping you, using his daughter to lure you as bait…”

He shook his head in disbelief.

Surely by now he knew what the king was capable of?

I sensed his sincerity was genuine and I put my pastry down to talk more seriously with him.

“I don’t blame you for what happened.”

The Prime Minister raised his eyes to mine.

“You don’t?”

“The dras were threatening to attack and there was no other option on the table, was there? Besides, the princess has turned out to be a most… pleasant companion.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” the Prime Minister said, not seeming to pick up on the quirk of my lips. “The king is very distraught she is no longer with him. He apologizes for his actions and requests she be returned to him immediately.”

I snorted.

“He expects me to hand her back to him?”

“She is his daughter.”

“And now, she is my wife. I’m afraid she no longer belongs to him.”

The Prime Minister frowned.

“I thought you would prefer to see the back of her.”

I would, but only while I’m riding her.

“You intend on keeping her with you?” the Prime Minister repeated.

“More than intend. She will stay with me at the castle for as long as she wishes. She will be safe here and no longer used as a pawn in the king’s schemes.”

The Prime Minister still seemed troubled by my decision.

“I realize the king isn’t the most pleasant of rulers we’ve ever had—”

“Now there’s an understatement,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ve had shits that were more pleasant.”

The Prime Minister grimaced at my turn of phrase but I didn’t care.

I had learned there were plenty of good humans out there, just as there were lots of good kauah, and I wouldn’t hand the princess over to the king for anything.

The Prime Minister leaned back in his chair and pressed his lips between his fingers.

The idea of me holding onto the princess clearly hadn’t dawned on him before.

“This is an interesting development…” he said.

The Prime Minister was a gifted politician, a master at weaving webs of deception, but I would not entertain them if they involved Sofia and her health and safety.

She was my wife now and I would take care of her the way a wife deserved to be taken care of.

I scooped up my pastry and set to demolishing it.

”What are you scheming now?”

The Prime Minister took a moment before he answered, his eyes darting to and fro as if looking at a situation from many different vantage points and trying to identify its weaknesses.

“Perhaps the situation could be reversed,” he finally said.

“Reversed how?” I said, licking the gravy off my fingers. “I won’t allow the princess to return to her father.”

I opened my father’s cigar box and tilted it toward the Prime Minister, who shook his head.

“The daughter of the king is exceptionally valuable,” he said. “Maybe not to the king—”

“Maybe not to the king?” I snapped. “Did you know he beat her before our wedding?”

The blood drained from the Prime Minister’s face.

Uptight and professional, I imagined violence detested him.

“She was having second thoughts about the wedding and decided maybe she didn’t want to marry a stranger—or an alien species or the supreme enemy of her father. Who could blame her?”

“I… I had no idea. I never thought he was capable… I mean, there’d always been rumors…”

I waved a hand to dispel his pity.

“As I said, she will no longer be subjected to such cruelty. She will always be safe and welcome here at my castle.”

The Prime Minister wet his lips with his tongue.

“Still, she is an important piece in the puzzle before us. Even if she is not so important to the king as he makes out, she may be of significant value to the people.”

I frowned at him.

“Until just a few days ago, the people had forgotten they even had a princess. How can she be important to them now?”

“Humans have a long memory. The royal family has an important place in their hearts. Yes, they may have forgotten her, may have gotten used to her not being around, but they loved her brother, and if she were to show herself to the public more often, they might begin to grow close to her.”

I puffed on my cigar and blew a cloud of smoke.

“That would mean entering human territory? Out of the question.”

“Only temporarily. Think of it this way, wouldn’t you rather have a princess beloved by the people and with the strongest claim to the throne?”

My eyes snapped to his, beginning to get the drift of his latest scheme.

“You’re saying that when the king is gone, she would become the ruler?”

“I’m more than suggesting it,” the Prime Minister said. “The monarchy has been an unbroken line for centuries. It will continue down, handed to the next in line to the throne. She has the strongest claim. If you keep her safe, she would become the next queen. And that would make you—”

“The king?” I sputtered.

That didn’t sound right but I knew little about how the royal family worked.

“Only one of royal blood can ascend to the throne,” the Prime Minister said.

“Then what would I be?”

“You would be given the title of a duke. Sofia would have all the throne’s power but you would be at her side. And you, being a kauah, means you could join your forces with hers and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity.”

My feelings toward Sofia had only ever involved her and never stretched to include the throne or the union of both our people.

Oh, I had hopes our coming together would help repel the dras but never had I thought it could be everlasting peace.

Then another thought sprang into the forefront of my mind, causing me to choke on my cigar.

Concerned, the Prime Minister hastened over to slap me on the back but I raised a hand to stop him.

I came out of my choking fit slapping my knee.

“It’s hilarious!” I said. “Damn hilarious!”

“What is?” the Prime Minister said.

“Don’t you see? The king intended on using our marriage against my people! Instead, he may have handed the keys to the crown to me!”

I wheezed with laughter and didn’t straighten up for another ten minutes.

Finally, I wiped the tears from my eyes and extinguished the cigar in the bone ashtray.

The Prime Minister returned to his seat, carefully watching me as he did so.

“This is something I’ll have to talk with Sofia about,” I said. “I won’t put her in another situation she doesn’t want to be in.”

“Even for the benefit of the kingdom?”

“No,” I said flatly. “Not even for that.”

The Prime Minister nodded his head thoughtfully.

“Very well.”

He got to his feet and slipped his hat back on his head.

“In the meantime, I’ll feel out some safe locations for the princess to visit. The sooner we can get her seen by the public and adored, the stronger the bond between her and the people and the easier it will be for her to ascend to the throne when her father relinquishes control.”

I snorted.

“We both know the king will never relinquish control. It’s only death that can wrench the crown from his hands.”

The Prime Minister’s eyes met mine and glinted darkly from beneath the wide brim of his hat.

For the first time since I’d known him, he didn’t have the appearance of the bumbling social climber I’d always thought of him as, but a feral beast in a cage pacing to and fro, waiting for the perfect time to lash out and strike.

“Good day to you,” the Prime Minister said, tapping the brim of his hat and marching out of the room.

Had I misjudged the Prime Minister?

Was he more dangerous than I’d assumed?

I decided to tread lightly with him in future and share all his schemes with Sofia.

God knew she had to be better at this politicking stuff than me.

I scooped up my coffee and downed a large lukewarm mouthful.

Footsteps came running into the castle and skidded to a stop outside the room.

A young lad leaned inside, clutching his cap in his hands.

“Permission to come inside, sir?” he said breathlessly.

“What is it?” I said.

“It’s the dras! They’ve been spotted in the forest not more than two miles from here!”

I dumped my coffee on the desk and marched toward the exit.

“Alert Bena and my honor guard!”

The young messenger took off at a sprint as Bakerfield exited the kitchen wearing an apron.

He liked getting his hands dirty—so long as the “dirt” was flour.

He was a whizz when it came to bakery products.

“Is something the matter, sir?” he said.

“Only the dras making a nuisance of themselves again,” I said. “They’ve been spotted in the forest. Tell Sofia to stay in the castle and not to go out any further than the flower gardens.”

I wouldn’t let her get hurt for anything.

I’d given her my word I would protect her and keep her safe from harm and I fully intended on keeping that promise.

“But sir, she’s not here,” Bakerfield said.

“What do you mean she’s not here?”

“She went out riding not more than an hour ago.”

My heart leaped into my throat.

“Did she go alone?”

“No, sir. She went with Camila.”

Camila?

She might be a tough old bird but she wasn’t going to put up much of a fight when the dras were concerned.

During this entire time, the dras hadn’t allowed themselves to be seen by my scouts or soldiers.

There had to be a reason why they’d allowed it to happen now.

Could it be that they’d come looking for something—or someone—in particular?

In my heart, I already knew the answer.

They’d come for Sofia and unless my racing heart was wrong, they had found her.

“Ready my okmath!” I bellowed. “We’re hunting for the dras!”