Page 21 of Ahelno
“You are wise to see this is not your decision alone to make,” the Sapari said. “I will speak to the King about it. It is a small matter, but we are always interested in new trade items.”
I tried not to bristle at the delegate referring to M’Pak as a “trade item.” M’Pak didn’t follow the conversation, but he sensed the direction of my thoughts. He started to growl. “No growling,” I thought at him. “I don’t want the delegate to think you can understand the conversation. I’ll explain later.” He cough/huffed and settled back down. I could tell he was feeling sulky. I would need to slip him some treats when we left the party.
A male Sapari joined our conversation. “I have heard many of the Ptexari refer to you as one of their fabled Lumanela,” he said. “Is that what you are?”
“I’m a human from Earth,” I replied. “I’d never heard ofthe Lumanela before I got here. The way they’re described makes me wonder if their stories of the Lumanela might be based on some contact with humans or a human-like race in their past, but I honestly have no idea.” I shrugged.
“Well, you are certainly beautiful enough,” he leered at me. Eww. “Your hair shines in the light, and your eyes are a gorgeous color. I wish we could see what was under your garment. Why don’t you come to my room later and let me show you why the Sapari are such legendary lovers.” He reached out to touch my arm, and I stepped back instinctively.
M’Pak growled and lunged, pinning the Sapari delegate to the ground, fangs around his neck. It happened so fast that it took a moment to register what happened.
“Get this beast off me!” the male yelled.
“M’Pak, Off,” I said, then repeated the words in my mind, with an added, “Thank you.”
The King and Sapari ambassador quickly crossed the room. “What is the meaning of this?” the ambassador exclaimed. “How dare you attack our delegation!”
“That beast should be put down!” the Sapari on the floor cried. “He tried to kill me!”
“If he wanted you dead, you would be dead,” I said flatly.
“This cannot stand,” the ambassador told the King. “This beast must be euthanized if our talks are to proceed. There must be punishment for the commission of this crime against us.”
“Now wait just a minute,” I said. “M’Pak was defending me from your delegate. That man made a pass at me and tried to touch me.”
“What do you mean by ‘made a pass,’ Andie?” the King asked.
“It’s um, an unwanted sexual advance. Like, he asked me what I looked like without my clothes on and asked me to come to his room. When he tried to touch me, and I recoiled, M’Pak lunged at him. He held him down, but notice he didn’t press his fangs in. He just held him on the ground until we told him to let him up. M’Pak didn’t do anything wrong!” I was close to tears. They couldn’t take M’Pak from me, they just couldn’t!
Surprisingly, the female Sapari stepped up. “The human’s account is true. The beast remained calmly at her side throughout our earlier conversation. Jalek did make inappropriate comments to her, but it wasn’t until he tried to physically touch the human that the animal reacted in her defense. Ironically, I was just speaking to her a few moments ago about training more of these Granthorto serve as guard animals for export. I still think they could be a valuable commodity,” she said, eyeing M’Pak thoughtfully.
“I don’t know that we are ready to consider that,” the King said, taking in the scene. “So, Ambassador, it appears that it was one ofyour partywho attackedmine. Andie, do you wish to pursue charges against this male?”
“Ah, no. I’d be satisfied with him being kicked out of the party.” I said. Ok, I admit it, I was pretty smug when I said it.
“Agreed, Ambassador?” the King asked.
The ambassador, who until that moment believed he was going to have the advantage in their trade talks, was visibly irritated. “Of course. Most generous. Jalek, return to your rooms. We will discuss our own internal disciplinary measures later.”
“Still, there must be some concessions in our trade talks,” the King said. “As you yourself stated, we cannot allow thisattack on one of our delegation to pass without consequences.”
The Ambassador sighed, gruffly. “Indeed.” Once again, I had to admire the way the King took advantage of a bad situation. Truly, he was a master manipulator. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, when it seemed like I was always the one paying the price.
CHAPTER 23
One day, I woke up and realized I washappy.
It had been eight months, give or take, since I landed on Ptekennan. I had a lovely home, full of trinkets that I found in the market or the Capital. I had close friendships with Kashtinela and Camavel, and had been developing friendships with several other young women in the village. I completely adored M’Pak, my huge furry companion who followed me everywhere. I had developed a keener interest in cooking, largely driven by my desire to find foods on Ptekennan that I actually liked. Camavel was also showing me a form of weaving that I enjoyed. The vegetables and ovinas in my gardens were thriving.
I enjoyed my visits to the palace. The King was unfailingly kind and courteous, and most of the guards knew me by name and gave me friendly nods when I came by. I had even developed a friendly relationship with the palace chef, who was also an offworlder, an intimidating blob with tentacles called a Septure.
The first time I saw her, I barely contained the scream bubbling up from my gut. She came into the receiving room one day after lunch with the King and Princess to inquire if I liked the food, and if there was anything else she couldprepare for me. I spent many afternoons in the Palace kitchens with Selica the Septure, learning about Ptexari and offworld dishes. Watching her use her tentacles to chop vegetables, pull down ingredients from shelves, and stir sauces simultaneously was both dizzying and inspiring.
In the evenings, I practiced the flute Kashtinela had gifted to me. I also found some offworlder music that I could play through the comms panel. I learned a few songs well enough to sing along, so it was Alien Karaoke in my cottage almost every night. It felt good to sing again.
And that’s when I realized I was happy.
My nightmares were few and far between. I can’t say that I had fully worked through what happened to me, but I hadn’t let it stop me from moving forward. I had made a beautiful life on Ptekennan for myself. It may not have been what I had planned, but for the moment, I was content.
