Nanny For The Alien General by Athena Storm
Keilon
I’m at the cold, dark bottom of Astral Lake. The surface seems very far away. I have been swimming toward it for hours, I think. Maybe days. Maybe minutes.
For some reason, my polarized vision will not work. The thin membrane all Water Kingdom Kiphians have adapted refuses to slide into place.
Fortunately, I must be getting close to the surface – I can see the sun, now! It is bright. Beckoning. Guiding me to air and safety and warmth.
I am nearly there! If I just stretch out my hand…
My eyes blink slowly open. I am not at the bottom of the lake. I am lying on my back somewhere. And it is not the sun above me, it’s…
It’s a pair of the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. They are bright, stunning, hazel eyes. Their color is a mixture of the green and brown of the woods, mingling together in one shimmering gaze.
They are a beacon even more captivating than the sun in my unconscious imagination. Even better, that was an illusion, a trick of my mind. These are real.
I feel a smile forming on my face. My eyes adjust and my field of vision expands. Which is when I realize the eyes are not Kiphian. The person above me is not Kiphia.
A human female!
What in all the Four Kingdoms? There are no humans here, in Cytheira. I want to leap up, put some distance between myself and this human woman, figure out exactly what is going on.
Yet my muscles refuse to respond.
“Shh, it’s OK,” the woman says. Her voice is soothing. Like clear river water flowing over rocks, smoothing them. It calms me before I even realize it. “My name is Serafina,” she continues in the same tone. “You were very badly injured, but I think you’ll be OK.”
I hear footsteps, getting close. Again, I want to leap up. Again, my muscles fail me. Fortunately, it’s not more humans approaching. My children appear at my bedside.
Thank the Divine Ones! They’re safe!
Then it all comes back to me. Ribbon Lakes. The painful bites of the Mizonzs. Barely making it to shore.
“You got bit a lot,” Emex says. I note there’s more fascination in his voice than concern. I decide to chalk that up to his being young.
“There was a lot of blood,” Belanna adds. “Sera helped you and took care of us.”
“Oh? Then I’m grateful.”
“Give us a moment, kids,” the human says gently. To my amazement, Emex and Belanna listen to her without complaint and move away from the bedside.
I study the woman more closely. It’s hard to imagine that she was able to save me and get me from the shore to this cabin. Clearly that’s what happened, however. It’s certainly impressive. And I was certainly lucky.
“Thank you for your help, miss.”
“Serafina.”
“Yes. But I must get going. It is imperative I return to Evervale.” I wonder how much the kids have told her about me. Until I am more aware of the situation, I decide it’s best if she does not know who I really am. I can only imagine what sort of trouble a random human finding out I’m King could bring. “How long have I been here?”
“You’ve slept for two days.”
Two days! I can only imagine how frantic things are back in the palace. My ministers must be out of their minds. Do our allies know I’m missing? Worse, could our enemies?
“You’re too weak to get out of bed, right now,” the human tells me. I realize I’ve managed to prop myself up on an elbow and am once again struggling to move.
I grit my teeth. What does a human woman know about Kiphian strength? I’ve suffered injury before. I’ve worked through pain before. I won’t have someone tell me what I can and cannot do. Nor will I simply lie down and accept that I’m powerless.
My mind and my will are as strong as ever. My body appears to have a different perspective on things, however. As I struggle to move, I feel a sharp, tearing pain in my side. I wince in spite of myself.
“Oh great. You’ve gone and opened one of your wounds.” She reaches for me.
“No,” I say, flinching away from her. That turns out to be a dumb move. The sudden movement sends new waves of pain through my body. I feel myself begin to sweat. I do my best to cover my discomfort, though I can hear it in my voice as I tell her I need a comm-pad.
“A comm-pad?” she repeats.
“Yes. Immediately.”
She laughs, sharply. Despite it’s abruptness, and its seeming defiance of my authority, I find myself enjoying the sound of her laughing.
Focus, damn you.
“What’s so funny?” I inquire.
“Well, I don’t have a comm-pad.”
“Then I ask that you find someone who does.”
“No one around here has a comm-pad.”
I am incredulous at that information. How could there possibly be no comm-pads? I’m not at some fancy, ‘unplug’ resort of the kind the Tree Kingdom royalty like to vacation at. If anything, a quick scan tells me I’m in some poor cabin of some sort. Surely there are Kiphians with comm-pads she can contact.
Unless… there are no Kiphians nearby?
“Where am I?” I ask, my voice low, concerned for the answer.
Serafina hesitates. Then she begins to explain where I am.
What I hear almost makes me wish I was back unconscious, thinking I was drowning at the bottom of Astral Lake.
I am on an unknown island. In the middle of remote Fogfrost Lake. And the island is populated by nothing but humans?
Were I a gambling man, I’d consider this a good day to play the numbers. After all, I’ve landed in quite a trifecta.
I am not a gambling man, however. I am a King, with royal responsibilities, royal duties.
Except, for the moment, I also appear to be royally fucked.
