Page 24 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

“Promise.”

Her eyes shift behind me, and she smiles. Turning and looking over my shoulder, I see Zaya knocking on the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yes, of course.” I have to clear my throat to get some semblance of stability in my voice.

“Hi, Princess Hanai,” she chimes in a soft tone. “How are you doing?”

Hanai shrugs. “About the same.”

“Alright,” Zaya responds, walking over and shifting her gaze to Hanai’s hair. “Hey, you know what every Princess needs?”

“What?”

“For someone to brush her hair.” I gesture for Zaya to pick up the brush on the side table, and she smiles as she hands it to me. “Do you mind?”

“No, not at all,” Hanai responds with a cheerful smile before rolling over and facing the other direction. Zaya glances at me, almost with a look that asks for permission. I give a nod and try to hold in my smile.

Zaya brushes Hanai’s hair and gently removes all the tangles. My eyes start stinging, and I have to think about something, anything else, to keep myself from falling apart. My eyes rise to the clock on the wall.

Rylan. We’re supposed to meet him outside in five minutes.

I open my mouth to tell Zaya we have to go, but Hanai starts speaking. “Will you get the roxolite, Zaya?”

Zaya looks back at me with a sad smile, but her voice when responding to Hanai is resolute, without a trace of uncertainty. “Yes. We will. I promise.”

“Sweetheart, it’s time for us to go. You’ll be with us, you know. Every step of the way, and every step back.” I hold her as closely as I can, in a hug that feels slightly too tight for her frail body.

“Alright,” Zaya whispers and pats Hanai’s back. “You rest, honey. We’ll be back soon.”

Zaya leans over and kisses Hanai on the head. Although Kantha was her biological mother, there’s a natural give-and-take in their rapport that even Kantha never had with her. But Kantha is one of those types who never was meant for parenthood. Her new Cloud Kingdom family might disagree, but when it comes to children in this Kingdom, a cloud might have more affection.

I force myself to leave Hanai’s room and try to clear my mind walking to the front entrance. When we reach the doors, Rylan is waiting for us with three chordatas. They’re stomping their hooves on the ground, but it feels like a familiar challenge.

I was always the best at taming unruly chordatas, even better than professional chordata tenders. They called me the chord whisperer. If they wanted to, they could charge me and strike a hole in my chest, but with me, they wouldn’t dare. They know quickly I’m their master.

“Welcome to your rides,” Rylan greets us stoically. “Urtell, Antell, and Entell.”

“And welcome to your riders,” I say to the shaggy-haired beasts, and I walk to the largest one.

“That’s the one I was planning on riding,” Rylan says.

The chordata is already nuzzling me and braying for me to give it attention.

“Apparently the chordata has other plans.” Chordatas choose their master. The dominant chordata chooses the dominant rider.

I look at Zaya, who looks taken aback by the creatures.

“Never ridden one before, Zaya?”

“I have. A handful of times. The chordatas never seem happy about my company, though.”

I walk over to her and place my hands on the flank of the shaggy beast, the smallest of the group. It starts purring and nuzzling my arm.

“How did you do that?” she asks, stunned.

“Magic. Hop on. She’s yours now.”

“Looks like you have ‘middleman’ right there, Rylan.”

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