Page 34 of Bred by the Alien Prince

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you’ve been looking all over the place, and you seem tense and wanted me to remain quiet while in the room. I admit I wouldn’t be much help unless it’s others like me.”

“Humans.”

“Uh, yes...” He replied, surprised.

“The alien I’m dealing with is clever and knowledgeable. He knows what you are.”

“How? Does he have other humans, too?”

“Maybe.”

“Then why not go get him? You have soldiers here.”

“The first time I’ve ever heard the word human was from my second Swarti. How come he knew and I didn’t?”

“Oh.” He said, the realization hitting him. “Wow, so everyone backstabs everywhere, huh?”

“Looks like it.”

“So, what do we do? Escape to the ship?”

“No, it’s still refueling; it will take a while before it’s ready to lift off, I have no idea how many spies are on my ship besides Swarti, or maybe he’s not a damn spy; maybe he’s just outright betrayed me. It’s not like I haven’t seen his malice toward me.” I spat. “But running away from my ship over some spies and a bastard is too cowardly. I need to figure out what to do next; don’t worry about it.”

“You know, I’m not as innocent as I may seem. You don’t need to put me into some precious little box and tell me not to worry. I’d rather know what I’m in for.”

“Oh, I know you’re not innocent. I would go into details, but I won’t since we’re not talking about sex.”

We both laughed.

“I just mean I’m capable of thinking on my feet, and I can wiggle my way out of trouble, too.” We continued to stroll along until we encountered a boardwalk overlooking the crystal blue water. “I wasn’t supposed to be here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“My people put together a massive colonization initiative.” He placed his arm on the railing. “All those who wanted to go had to apply, show them why they should consider us. My sister was studying to be a doctor; they would have chosen her in a heartbeat, but I dropped out of school, had no direction, and placed all my eggs in that basket. I applied; they rejected me.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding where he was coming from. “How did you get here?”

“To sneak onboard, I paid someone to make me a fake ID.”

I laughed loudly, not giving a damn if spies and assassins were on me. If there was any more of a reason to like him. “That took balls.”

“The worst part was hiding until take off. I was so afraid I would be caught and made to disembark. Being so close to something and unable to have it hurts. But not only was I not caught, but I made myself useful a few months into the journey by becoming an RA.”

“RA?”

“Resident Adviser I was in charge of Resident hall floor five sector fourteen.”

“So, you’re a leader,” I said almost proud.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I felt good being in charge of my own area and helping out. There was also the chance of running a housing unit when we touched down planetside if I did a good enough job. But I don’t know, being on a new planet with so much to see and do, I didn’t think I would be happy doing that. I would have taken it anyway if I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do there. Better than nothing.”

“Where is this colony, anyway?”

“Oh no!” He laughed. “I think you’ve gotten more than enough information from me.” He looked around, and his eyes fixated on a small shop nearby; in the window display was an array of beautiful, colorful jewels.

I followed him there, making sure I scoped the area as before we entered the small, dusty, smelling shop.

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