Page 1 of I Married A Lizardman

Chapter 1

Susan

Iwalked fearfully into Kayog Voln’s temporary office at the Harvest Fair. Most of the other patrons were indulging in the various treats offered in the many stalls or enjoying the entertainment from live shows and buskers. I was trying to secure my ticket out of the human colony of Meterion. As I had never left my home world, or even traveled to other cities, it frightened me in more ways than one.

However, with my 25th birthday looming dangerously close, I could no longer delay in making a decision. We lived in a matriarchal colony where the first daughter inherited the lands from her mother, and the second daughter served as backup and Superintendent for her elder. It made sense as the second-born had every interest in ensuring the good management of the land that could default to her should anything happen to her older sibling. But a third daughter was merely an extra mouth to feed and too great a risk of more offspring vying for the precious land.

It sucked all the more that, of all my siblings, I was the one truly passionate about farming. They just lucked out in the semen race lottery and were now enjoying a free ride to a life of comfort and security. I didn’t hate my siblings, but I might as well have been a stranger to them. In their eyes, I was merely an employee with an expiry date. And that date was coming hard and fast.

I peered around the small kiosk of the mating agency. It looked simple with its white walls, barren but for a giant screen and a small desk with a couple of guest chairs. It had visibly been whipped up quickly and would be taken down just as fast. It didn’t try to sell you fantasies or illusions. It was a reality check in a box.

Multiple agencies always attended the fair. The others were fancier, colorful, with the portraits of breathtaking potential partners of every species. Over the past four years, their representatives had all grown extremely familiar with my face. All of them, but this one, had essentially told me I had more chances of waking up one day with a pair of golden horns and a forked tail, than I had of finding a match. A common farm girl of average beauty, without wealth, minimal education, and not particularly refined or wordly didn’t exactly figure at the top of the list of their males looking for a partner.

But this agency ran by the Temern—a bird-like bipedal species with empathic abilities—would not only serve anyone, but always ended up making a match, even with the most unlikely cases. Then again, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Most people referred to the PMA—the Prime Mating Agency—as the final stop of the desperate and undesirables. Desperate certainly matched my situation. Undesirables defined the candidates up for grabs. It embarrassed me that I concurred with that definition. I had never considered myself an elitist, but it was true that the species represented by the PMA didn’t have people knocking down their doors to be paired with them.

With a name like Prime Mating, you’d think you were getting the best of the best. But in this instance, Prime was referring to the Prime Directive. The agency represented planets still considered primitive but whose population had been exposed to other alien cultures when the Prime Directive had been violated under whatever circumstance. Not only did those species rank low in the technological scale of the galaxy, most of them also didn’t quite fall under the stunningly attractive category.

I couldn’t wait to see what primitive species, if any, I had been paired with.

Kayog gestured for me to take a seat, the stiffness of his beak-like mouth making his smile fairly discreet. He looked like a bird of paradise with his golden feathers, maroon wings, and long, fluffy, white tail that reminded me of the train of a wedding gown. His silver eyes observed me with a kindness and wisdom that spoke of his venerable age, despite his youthful appearance.

I settled in front of him and clasped my hands on my lap, feeling both nervous and excited by the news he had for me. When I had received his com requesting for me to drop by, I had known he had something to propose. In my current state of desperation, my answer was already predetermined. The candidate would have to be beyond freaky for me to say no. It certainly helped that, as empathic creatures, the Temern agents personally met each of the candidates to assess their compatibility with the potential partners. I didn’t quite know how their psychic power worked, only that whenever they told you someone was a fit, you could be certain that relationship would work out.

“Greetings, Susan,” Kayog said with his melodic voice. “It is good to see you so well and under such good tidings.”

“Goodtidings?” I asked with far too much eagerness.

He gave me that stiff smile again which, this time, had taken a sympathetic edge.

“Good indeed,” he replied with a sliver of smugness. “I have searched long and hard to find an appropriate match for you. I am happy to report that my search has been successful. He is your perfect partner, although you may not see it at first.”

I shifted in my seat, sensing I wasn’t going to be too impressed by what would follow.

“The candidate is located on Xecania,” Kayog continued. “He is an Andturian Hunter, leader of his clan, and owner of the most fertile lands in the entire solar system.”

My eyes widened upon hearing those words, and I perked up, my interest suddenly skyrocketing.

“An Andturian?” I asked.

Kayog smiled again, tilting his head to the side in a fashion reminiscent of the way birds often did when observing something they didn’t quite understand.

“He is what you would describe as a lizardman,” the Temern agent said, passing his hand over the small holographic display on his desk.

It immediately projected a 3D image of the said lizardman. The label had been accurate. Tall, lean but muscular, the Hunter was covered in green and black scales. Although reptilian, his face didn’t have the long snout that I expected, but looked rather flat, almost like a human’s but without the pointy nose. Two slits served as nostrils. I couldn’t quite describe the appendages dangling from his head, almost like scaly dreadlocks instead of hair. Smack in the middle, a frilled membrane started at the back of his head, the length of his nape and down between his shoulder blades. A thick, long lizard tail protruded behind him. Impressive claws tipped the five digits of his hands as well as his webbed toes.

He was naked but for some tribal adornments, a leather harness across his chest, a weapons belt, and a pair of wristbands. Nothing about him screamed wealth or advanced technology.

It is the PMA for a reason.

I swallowed hard while taking in the appearance of the being I would likely be calling husband in the not-too-distant future. Suddenly, all my excitement at discovering a foreign world and about new beginnings filled with hope and possibilities started fading away. Could I truly go through with this? I’d never considered myself a superficial woman, but could I actually mate with a being such as he?

“I can see this was not what you had envisioned,” Kayog said in a gentle voice.

My face heated with embarrassment. I didn’t mean to appear ungrateful or elitist.

“Do not apologize,” he said when I opened my mouth to do exactly that. “He does not correspond to the usual human aesthetic for beauty. Within his people, he is considered a prime specimen. Biologically, both your species are fully compatible. However, his genes are dominant, which mean any offspring you will have will be 100% Andturian in appearance. Although he is a Hunter, the Andturians are a peaceful people. He may not be a fancy match, but he is your perfect match.”

“What makes you so sure?” I asked, unable to hide my dubious tone.

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