Page 55 of Ahelno
“That may be,” I murmured. Desperate to get off the topic, I told Camavel I was expected at the Palace. It was partially true. I had been going to the Palace every day to practice the piano and spend time with Leo. Sometimes, Dakleth, Kashtinela, or King Akapa would drop in to hear me play, but they were often busy with their own affairs. Leo and I usually had the music room to ourselves.
Leo was beside himself that his partners were coming to visit. He had been on Ptekennan for about two weeks, and although I knew he was enjoying spending time with his new favorite human (me), he missed them terribly. He told me about them after I finished practicing.
“Aldrin and Gafand were already a couple when I met them. They own a small Gonchou farm - that’s an animal that grows a lot of hair, which is sold to make fabric - sort of like wool. They had called the local veterinarian, Winhook, to help one of the injured lambs, but he was on call at another farm, so he sent me. Winhook is the one I trained with. They were pretty skeptical of me at first, but I was able to set the lamb’s leg and optimize healing. Anyway, it was late, so they invited me to stay in their farmhouse for the night. We got to know each other, and we hit it off. One thing led to another, and well, I didn’t expect to be invited to join in as a permanent part of a throuple, but here we are.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’ve found love, given everything you went through.”
“Thank you, I do adore them both, and it’s been good for me. Even working as a vet…after Kina I was afraid to approach anyone, and I was still feeling a bit lost. Aldrin and Gafand make me feel like I belong on Coromonn. Like I belong with them. They’re everything to me,” he sighed and looked wistful.
“I can’t wait to meet them!” I said.
“Yeah, about that,” he said. “I don’t know how they’re going to react to you, Andie.”
“What do you mean? You think they won’t like me? Or that I’m trying to steal you away?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I told you how women are treated there. Their women have no education and very little to say. They’re not exactly scintillating conversationalists. They’re treated like objects, and they sort of behave like objects because they’ve never been taught anything different.”
“Oh, right,” I remembered.
“I just don’t even know if they’ve ever had a real conversation with a woman, like ever. They’re not going to know what to think of you or Kashtinela. I’ve tried to explain to them that human and Ptexari females are as intelligent as their males, and they can’t seem to wrap their heads around it.” He took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is… there’s a good chance they’re going to be rude or condescending to you. Please try not to take it personally. They genuinely don’t know any better.”
“I’ll try, but no promises,” I said. “It was hard enough putting up with chauvinist bullshit on Earth. The Ptexari have a more equal society, so I might have a hard time holding my tongue.”
“Yeah, I get it. It’s just a totally differentculture.”
“I know. Ugh. I hate that for their women.”
“Me, too,” he said. The delegation was scheduled to arrive in two days. Leo wanted to go to a spa for full treatment. We weren’t sure what services they might have for humans, but we decided to go see. As we headed out the Palace gates, Andokar stopped us.
“You should have a guard if you are going to wander through the city, Lumanelas,” he said.
I wanted to disagree, but he was right. M’Pak was a good deterrent, but he’d stayed home, and there was a good chance we would get harassed while we were out. The Ptexari were generally courteous, but very curious, and they made no secret when they found someone attractive. I wasn’t sure how they would react to Leo, but Ptexari males thought nothing of propositioning me on the street. It could get a bit uncomfortable.
“Alright,” I said. “We’ll wait.”
I was surprised to see Prince Dakleth stride down the hall. “Come,” he said. “I will guard you in the city.”
“Why are you on escort duty?” I asked. “Don’t you have other things to do?”
He eyed Leo suspiciously and then turned to me. “You are my mate. Guarding you is my duty.”
“We’ve been over this,” I said. “I’m not your mate, not really. Feel free to go on about your day, and we’ll let one of the regular guards take us.”
“No,” he said flatly. No other argument. Just “no.”
I sighed. “Sorry, Leo,” I said. Leo smiled.
“No problem!” he said. “I can’t wait to see how this one acts when you get accosted on the street. Should be entertaining!” He bounded down the Palace steps.
“Ok, fine, let’s go,” I said.
“Are you wearing your sunscreen?” Dakleth asked.
“Thank you, but I don’t need it. It’s a short trip. We’re just walking to the spa and then coming back straight after. I’ll be in the sun for less than 20 minutes.”
Dakleth seemed perturbed. As he was opening his mouth, I interrupted, “But I have been using it when I work all day in the garden. It has been very helpful, thank you.”
“Good,” he replied, and followed me down the steps. We caught up to Leo, who was waiting at the gates.
