Page 12 of Married to the All Hallows' Eve Alien

“If only the Empire would give humans citizenship,” Ash comments. “That’s the only thing that would really end this.”

He’s not wrong. The laws passed by the GC were only a slight deterrent for law-abiding galactic citizens not to keep humans as pets. “Or if Earth were to join the GC.”

“They’ll be forced at some point,” Ash says.

We’re both quiet then, knowing it’s just as unlikely humanity would take its place in the GC as the Empire would grant humans citizenship. Both make it more difficult to convince human women to marry us and something neither of us will ever have a say in.

We are servants to the Empire. We took an oath to protect humanity not only for our lives but our sons' and grandsons lives. This makes it a prestigious position, but also difficult because it’s a generational commitment. It’s also challenging because we live on the outskirts of the galaxy, and even though we are sanctioned by the High Priestess herself, our mission must be kept secret from most of humanity. At the same time, we must marry and have families with human women.

I rub my eyes. I don’t have the energy to think about this anymore today. I’m so tired, I have to get some rest. I touch Ash’s arm as I pass. “Walk in the goddess light,” I say as I leave the officers’ common room and head down to my quarters in the single men’s wing. On my way, I pass Caroline with her young sons in the corridor.

“The goddesses shine their light on your family,” I say.

“They certainly do,” Caroline responds in English without using the proper reply, which makes me smile. She’s holding her younger son, and he’s pulling on her brown curly hair.

I hadn’t expected her to stop, but she does, and out of politeness, I stop too. Technically, Commander Fox runs the base, but Caroline is the only woman here. Therefore, depending on the situation, we unofficially treat her as our faux-Head of House and/or mother. “Have you decided on a costume for Halloween?” This is definitely a motherly question.

“Knight in shining armor.”

A smile crosses her face. “That’s a classic,” she says approvingly. “I’m sure you’ll easily find a damsel in distress to rescue.”

“So it doesn’t have to be a woman dressed as Guinevere or Rosamond?” I ask, recounting what Ash had said about Halloween costumes. As usual, we have slightly misunderstood the culture.

Caroline quickly explains the character of a knight in shining armor while balancing her boys on her hips. Now that I fully understand, I’m happy I chose this costume instead of the sexy wolf.

“What was your second choice?” she asks, as if reading my mind.

“Sexy wolf.”

Caroline laughs out loud. I ask her to explain, and she shakes her head. Then, when she gains some composure, she says, “Just remember to tell anyone who asks you painted your skin grey because you’re a knight from the fairytale ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and were turned to stone. It’s much better than saying you’re a ‘dead’ or ‘zombie knight.’”

“Thank you,” I say and bow. I want to go to sleep, but as she’s a woman, I can’t leave this conversation without her ending it first or dismissing me. I know she knows this. She’s been married to an Alliance man and has lived on the base for almost five years. She speaks our language and understands our culture.

Jostling her children, she says, “I’ve got to put these two to bed. Goodnight, Sem.” As she passes me, she says quietly, “Enjoy New Orleans.”

As children are apt to do, her boys repeat the secret words loudly, “New Orleans! New Orleans! What’s New Orleans, Mommy?”

Of course, Caroline knows I will look for Ivy Jefferies—my other half. Even though I’ve tried to keep all of this a secret, there are never any secrets in the Empire among those who live together. In a way, this makes me feel cared for. I suppress a smile as I walk toward my quarters. Through my exhaustion, I let my mind wander. I replay the fantasy that Ivy will recognize me immediately, just as she did when I first rescued her, and then we’ll immediately pick up where we left off.

Eight

October 31, 2023, All Hallows’ Eve

Ivy

“We’re all going as something from a fairytale, so you can’t back out now and be a vampire again. Come on, Ivy,” Scarlett says to me over video. “You promised you’d do this with us. Like all the Grim fairytale women out for a night out.”

“Rosamond, though?” I look at the hand-made costume. It’s a far cry from the clothing I usually wear for Halloween, especially this year.

“You can totally pull off Rosamond.”

“It’s not about pulling it off.”

“I know you don’t like to wear anything low-cut …” her voice goes soft, “especially after what happened. But we’re all going to be there, and I promise nothing, NOTHING is going to happen to you on my watch. I purposely didn’t make it very revealing. It’s Empire waist and only shows a hint of cleavage.” I look at the dress. It’s so low cut it’s definitely showing more than a hint of anything.

When I don’t answer immediately, Scarlett adds gently, “I don’t mean to push Ivy, but I think it’s time for the next step. But if you really want to be a Victorian full-covered black lace vampire, that’s okay too. I just thought, well, I’m trying to be helpful…” she trails off.

She’s referring to what Scott had done. Not just the date rape, but when I thought the worst was behind me, to add insult to injury, he told his friends, many of our mutual friends, that I was ‘begging him for sex,’ then just regretted being such a ‘slut’ afterward. Sometimes I think I was a fool for not going to the hospital and doing a date rape kit or filing charges with the police, but I remind myself that at the time, I didn’t have the emotional energy and hoped it would just go away. That I could just forget about it. I hadn’t expected Scott to preemptively tell everyone I was a ‘lying slut.’ In the end, and maybe that’s how it was always going to be, no matter what, his word against mine. I have to be strong. There’s no alternative. I’m lucky to have such supportive friends like Scarlett. She never doubted me.

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