Page 21 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

Other Kiphians feign nonchalance out of politeness, but I can see them secretly drinking her in as well. I feel a proud sense of possessiveness, and at the same time, I want her to enjoy herself.

We approach each other. I can’t pull my eyes away from the way her body moves under that dress. We look at each other in silence.

“You look extraordinary.”

Zaya’s eyes look me up and down, and I can tell they’re lingering on my toned muscles. “You clean up nicely yourself.”

I’m about to say more when Hanai, wearing a dark blue dress of her own, enters the hall. A servant is pushing her on a hover chair, used by those who can’t stand on their own. My heart drops. She looks so weak.

If Zaya has the same reaction, she doesn’t show it. She immediately walks over to Hanai with a huge smile on her face. Before I can make it over, the pair of them are laughing.

Then the Thane walks in. The entire hall falls quiet. All eyes are on him.

“Be seated. Welcome, honored guests.”

Everyone quickly moves to their seats. I push Hanai’s hoverchair over to the long table. I sit on one side of Hanai, while Zaya moves to sit on the other, but a Duke tries to take the seat first.

“I’m sorry, my dear Duke,” I say. “But this seat next to the Princess is reserved. Please sit on my other side if you would like.”

Zaya smiles and takes the spot next to Hanai, and the Duke bows.

The servants burst into the hall with plate after plate of dinner, and we enjoy the full complement of food. We begin with a soup dish made from roots grown in the underside of caverns, said to have magical properties — although, depending on who you ask and who’s selling it, everything in the Mountain Kingdom does. That’s why I’m still skeptical of this mineral cure. But I’m willing to try anything.

A salad with greens from the apex of Taro’s Peak, a holy place for the Mountain Kingdom, arrives for the next course. A wild goose, a yarfo, is served next, with fermented jellies baked in berry vinegar for more than a year. For dessert, it’s a cornucopia of cakes, pies, fruits, and custards that could feed an entire family for a year.

The hall is lively, especially near us. Many from the Kingdom come to greet me and Hanai, and also to satisfy their curiosity about the exotic guest next to her. Others in our Kingdom sometimes forget that we still exist, since so many of our subjects took a hands-off approach after the calamity.

“Nobility of the Mountain Kingdom.” The Thane stands up about an hour into the dinner. He holds out his glass of wine. “We are here to celebrate Prince Taurek, who is about to set out on a noble journey to obtain medicine for dear Princess Hanai, his daughter.”

Everyone at the feast turns to look at me, give knowing nods of approval, and applaud. I stand up to address the crowd.

“Thank you, thank you, kind friends. I’m honored to share this last evening with you before the arduous journey ahead. I hope that I shall come back with the cure for our beloved Princess Hanai. She is the true guest of honor at this evening’s feast. As is the Thane for giving his blessing for this undertaking. To Hanai! To the Thane!”

They raise their glasses. Hanai and I smile, along with my father.

Once the toasts die down, in a voice barely above a whisper, Hanai speaks into my ear. She looks like she’s holding onto life by a thread.

“Papa, I’m so tired. Would you mind if…”

“Of course, my darling, you should go to sleep. Here, we’ll help take you…”

I spot Sarna by the door, and Zaya leans over to help with the hoverchair to take Hanai to the other side of the room.

Our hands grab the back of Hanai’s chair at the same time. Her fingers graze mine ever so slightly, but it’s enough. A jolt spreads across my body. My spine starts to heat up.

Oh, no. This is the last thing I need right now. Please, Divine Ones, no. Let this be a mistake.

10

ZAYA

Hanai can barely hold her body up as Sarna pushes her away from the feast hall. The banquet hall seems somehow emptier without her presence, even though it’s full of hundreds of revelers.

The gown makes all of this seem real. It makes my role feel important, even historic. I feel like I’m part of something more important than myself. I don’t know who the dressmakers were, but I’m grateful that the royal family happened to have a few dozen options left lying around. I wonder if it’s the mother’s.

Once Hanai disappears from view, I turn to face Taurek, but he’s looking away and occupied by his thoughts. With the journey and his daughter, as well as the experience of attending this banquet, a place he must have shared memories with Hanai’s mother, I’m sure there’s a lot on his mind.

Even he’s entitled to a few minutes of peace. Even if he robs me of so much of mine.

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