Page 23 of Alien Knight Steals the Bride

A deep, gravelly voice slowly pulled Torrin back to reality.

“That was quite an introduction, young Knight,” the voice echoed off the walls, “I’m Taeger. Loratha, Mover of Mountains, has chosen you. She is yours now. Treat her well. It is good to see her returned after so long missing. The last time I saw her, she belonged to a friend of mine. A royal.”

“Loratha.” Still dazed, Torrin responded as was tradition, “honors me.” He put a hand to his pounding head. “Where did you come from?”

“We’ve been following you since Mora Five. Come,” Taeger urged, “you must gather your wits. My men on the outside said your woman is entering the residence along with about twenty other women in the parade. They have been unable to pass through the scanners on that side, even though they are cloaked. We’re dealing with much more advanced technology than we expected. She’s on her own until they can get inside through the rear entrance, as we did.”

Torrin’s mind cleared at the news of his woman, his heart pounding with mounting terror. “Juliette is here?”

Chapter Eleven

Cappra – The Parade

Juliette shiveredas a chilly gust of wind whipped her hair into a tangled mess. There had been no time to change her clothing before following Torrin, and the thin sarong she’d been wearing could either stretch to floor length, leaving her shoulders and arms bare, or shorten to mid-thigh and provide long sleeves. She’d opted for the long sleeves, which meant the cold wind went straight up her dress.

As the parade dispersed, she, along with twenty or so other young women of varying species, were ushered inside the Ambassador’s residence. They were escorted through a large entryway into a sizeable banquet room, complete with comfortable sitting areas, refreshments, and a large table laden with delicious looking snacks. The other women dove into the food, eager for a taste of luxury while she and her new friend Balinora hung back.

Juliette fidgeted, trying to finger comb a few of the snarls out of her hair as she looked around at the ornate interior of what she could only describe as a modern alien castle. She should have stopped to braid the unruly mass, but she’d been intent on following Torrin. Fat lot of good that had done her.

Looking down at her trusty flower clogs, she groaned, reminded all over again of the blisters on her feet.Yes, that’s right, blame the shoes for not being able to keep up,she chided herself.Certainly wasn’t the fact that while you’re a human of average height and well, let’s face it, average athletic ability and speed, you never stood a chance against that tall, gorgeous hunk of alien man who clearly was in top condition and had some sort of alien superspeed on top of it. Should’ve turned around as soon as you lost track of him, not wandered the rest of the way into the city without a clue where to go or how to find him. Now you’re cold, and tired, not to mention lost. If it hadn’t been for Balinora pulling you into the parade, you’d probably still be wandering around.Juliette groaned again. Her feet really did hurt, and she was starting to feel a bit off, probably from those disgusting mushrooms her friend had insisted on purchasing for her. Food poisoning was still a thing, wasn’t it? She shifted from one aching foot to the other.

“Did you say something, Ju-Ju?” asked Balinora, either unable, or unwilling to say Juliette’s full name, probably due to the mouth full of piranha teeth. Otherwise, Balinora almost looked human, with long, willowy arms and legs. She was pretty, with large lavender eyes and long, silky white hair. “Maybe that translation fungus I bought for you isn’t working yet. I didn’t understand you at all. Eat some more.”

Juliette protested, “No, no. It’s working fine. See? I was just making noises. Nonsense noises.” Shuddering at the thought of eating another one of the slimy mushrooms from the upscale shop they’d dashed into during the long parade route, she knew she couldn’t do it. “Really. Thank you, but no more.”

“Oh, you sound so cute with your human accent!” she squealed, clapping her hands quietly.

“What do you mean? I don’t have an accent,” she said, frowning. “Do I?”

“Yes! Isn’t it wonderful? So much better than that nanotech everyone gets nowadays, unless you can afford the really good stuff that sounds real instead of flat and robotic.” Balinora hugged Juliette gleefully. “Oh, they’re sure to pick us both now!

Juliette hugged her just as hard. “Wait. I told you, I don’t want to get picked. I don’t want to leave Cappra without my friend. I just want a quick look around inside this guy’s house to see if he’s inside.”

“But Ju-Ju, I thought maybe once we got inside and you saw how pretty it was, you’d change your mind and want to come with me,” she whispered. “Please?”

“Balinora,” Juliette said, suddenly worried for the girl, “how old are you?”

“Fifteen,” she confessed.

“What?!” Juliette was about to say more when a blue man with yellow, wolfish eyes entered the room and clapped his hands. All eyes turned to him as he began what was obviously a frequently repeated speech, his monotone doing nothing to inspire her.

“Ladies, we are pleased that you have come here today seeking a new life. A new beginning. Once you pass through our testing program, you will be placed in the appropriate category and we will give you further instructions from there. Your first exam will be medical in nature. Please disrobe and don one of the examination gowns we’ve provided for you on the table to your right, then proceed through the door.”

As the other women in the group began obediently disrobing, murmuring in confusion, Juliette quickly pulled Balinora to the side, uneasiness turning into outright fear. Whispering urgently into the girl’s ear, she said, “We have to get out of here. No way am I submitting to some kind of creepy alien probe, and neither are you.”

Balinora shook her head defiantly, tears gathering in her eyes. “No Ju-Ju. I must do this. I must be chosen. You don’t understand.”

Gathering Balinora into her arms, stroking her hair soothingly as she would any distraught child, she tried to reason with the girl. “Sweetheart, I know they told you this is the interview process, or beauty pageant, for some sort of off-world modeling job, but where I come from, the only type of people who lure children like this are very, very bad ones. I can’t believe your mother agreed to let you do this.”

“She didn’t. That’s just it,” Balinora shuddered, tears flowing more freely as she hid her face in the crook of Juliette’s neck, her hair obscuring her next words. “She disappeared last month. She was looking for work. I-I saw one of the fliers hidden in her bedroom. If she came here, I’m sure they chose her. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I thought if I could just get to wherever they sent her, everything would be fine again. I don’t understand why she didn’t take me with her, unless she was still mad at me for sneaking out of the house?”

Juliette held the girl tighter, her heart breaking for the child, for she knew, or suspected, at least, what the girl didn’t. Balinora’s mother was probably dead or sold into slavery. “No. No. Shh,” she crooned, rocking the girl side to side. “She would never do that. We’ll find out what happened to your mother, but please trust me, this is not the way to do it.” Her hands were shaking as she urged the girl, “Can you do that for me? Can you trust me?”

Balinora nodded, sniffling.

“Good. Alright then,” Juliette whispered, looking around the room for a way out. “We passed a stairway on our way in here. If we can get back to that, maybe we have a chance.”

“What about your friend?” she asked.

---