Page 50 of The Alien I Fell in Love with on Walpurgis Night

Again I’m met with silence.

I sleep in my clothing again, hoping that I might be released. That all of this may be only a misunderstanding.

The next morning, I’m awakened by a guard. He brings in breakfast and a woman in green is behind him. She has a long dress in her arms and hangs it up in the small wardrobe.

After breakfast, the guard leaves, but the woman remains. “Madame Georgiana, you have a guest. You must wash and change into this dress.”

Excited that this may be Axl, I go into the bathroom and shower, then I come out and put on the fresh dress and stockings. It feels good to be clean. The woman then combs my hair and braids it in a style I would have never chosen for myself. “Why did you choose to braid my hair like this?”

“It gives the appearance of being humble. Now I’ll show you the way.”

I follow the woman out of the small room through the large stone palace. I notice that the guards outside my room follow us. I don’t say anything. I use all of my concentration to memorize the way, just in case I ever get a chance to escape, I might have a chance of navigating my way out. But after the fifth turn and every hallway looking the same I give up.

After walking for about ten minutes, we arrive at our destination and I’m shown into a stone walled sitting room with a small table and chairs. The table is too small for dining. No one else is here but me.

“Who am I meeting?” I ask the woman or the guards who followed us, but no one answers me, they just close the door and lock it.

I sit down in one of the chairs and wait. I have nothing to do but stare at the furniture in the room, but at least this is different scenery than the room I’ve been trapped in. I check if there’s a computer in this room and there is, but it’s locked and I don’t know the palace code.

After an hour at least suddenly the door loudly unlocks and another woman enters. I stand. It’s Lia.

“Gods’ be blessed,” she says as she enters.

“Lia, thank you for coming.”

When the door closes and locks she sits down and I sit across from her. Now looking at Axl’s sister across this table from me, I realize how awkward this is. I try to push that feeling down.

“Thank you for coming. Do you know why I’m here?”

“You’re a guest of the Empress,” Lia says, but oddly takes my hand in hers. She writes something in my palm. I’ve never been good at those kinds of games of guess-what-I’ve-written. So I just look at her blankly. She adds, “A lot of people are talking… and listening… to the news about Earth.”

I understand now. We are, of course, being monitored, maybe even by the Empress herself.

“What’s happened on Earth?”

“Alliance Force was unable to save a ship full of humans. Now no one knows where they are. Maybe they are headed here, maybe not.”

“Awful news,” I say not knowing if this is true or if she just made this up to mean something else. How terrible am I at this game without Axl? “When I return to Earth will I have to pass through the Alliance Force again? Is that something I should make an appointment for?”

I see confusion in her green eyes, her eyes are just like Axl’s. She thinks I’m also speaking in code when in fact, I just want to know if I’m going to be released. After a few seconds she says, “I shouldn’t think so. You’re scheduled to leave on the Hio. I believe it’s the same ship you came here on.”

“Yes. The Hio.”

“Will I be able to say ‘goodbye’ to Axl?”

“No need. Your memory will be erased. If you remember any of this, it’ll only be in a dream.”

I can’t breathe. I put my hands up to my chest because I don’t know what to do. “What do you mean?”

“Alliance Doctors will erase your memory. You won’t remember Axl, the Alliance Force, or the Empire. It’s for the best. Then you can continue your life on Earth as if none of this ever happened.”

“Is this what Axl wants?”

Lia looks away. “I don’t know what Axl wants. He’s a man. Men are the emotional sex and can’t be trusted to make good decisions about such tricky situations.”

“I want to at least say goodbye to Axl.”

“He lied to you for his own benefit. Why would you want to see him again? I wouldn’t ever want to see him again if I were you.”

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