Morning Morning
AURORA'S POV
My eyes opened slowly. The room was very bright and quiet. I stayed still for a long time because I did not know where I was.
The last thing I remembered was the dark ship, the heat in my skin, and the crystal bottle I used to stop the itch. My face felt hot just thinking about it.
I sat up and looked around. I was not on a ship anymore. The room was huge. It was the biggest room I had ever seen. The walls were made of a shiny black stone that looked like a dark mirror.
There were long lines of real gold painted into the stone. High above my head, the ceiling was a giant glass circle. I could see the sky. It was a deep purple color, and there were two big moons hanging there like giant white balls.
The bed was very big and soft. It felt like I was sitting on a cloud. The sheets were made of smooth silk that felt cool against my legs. I looked at my body and saw that I was wearing a new dress. It was silver and very thin. It felt soft, like water.
Next to the bed, there was a small table made of white stone. On the table, I saw some glass jars filled with blue water and some white pills. There was a small piece of paper next to them. It said: \[Take these for the fever. They will help you feel better.\]
"Where am I?" I said. My voice was very quiet and dry.
Suddenly, the big doors at the end of the room opened. A woman walked in. She looked like a human, but her skin was very shiny, like she had glitter on her. Three other girls followed her. They were carrying heavy silver trays with lots of food.
"You are awake!" the woman said. She bowed her head very low to me. "We were so worried. You have been asleep for two whole days."
"Two days?" I felt dizzy. I tried to stand up, but my legs felt weak. "Who are you? Am I in jail?"
The woman smiled and started putting the plates on a table near the window. The food smelled so good. There was fresh bread, sweet honey, and meat that smelled like it had just come off the fire.
"My name is Maya," she said. "I am your private maid. The King told me I must stay with you and give you anything you want. I will wash your hair, pick out your clothes, and bring you food whenever you are hungry."
I stared at her. I was shocked. "A private maid? But I am a prisoner. Why are you treating me like a Queen?"
"The Alien King gave the orders," Maya said. She poured me a glass of cold juice. "He was very scared for you. He found you terribly displaced after you passed out. He carried you to this palace in his own arms. He told the doctors they must save you or he would be very angry. He said you must be treated like royalty."
I took a sip of the juice. It was cold and sweet. "He saved me?" I asked. I was confused. The Alien King was the man who stole me. He was the one who fought my Crab King.
The same one that put me in a prison with Nora? The same one that let them perform a humiliation ritual on me? How shocking!!
How could he be nice now?
"He did save you," a voice said from the door.
I looked up and my heart jumped. "Nora?"
Nora walked into the room. she looked great. She was wearing a beautiful green dress and her hair was neat. She ran over and hugged me tight. "Aurora! I am so happy you are okay. You were so sick. Your skin was so hot."
"Nora, tell me what is going on," I said. I pulled back to look at her. "They are being so nice to me. Maya says I am royalty now. Why?"
Nora sat on the bed. "The King is taking care of you, Aurora. Ever since he got to this planet, he has been very kind. He came to this room every hour to check on you while you were sleeping. He even sat in that chair all night to make sure your fever went away."
I looked at the big chair in the corner. I felt a knot in my stomach. I was not happy. I did not want to be here.
I wanted to ask about Kraye, the crab king. I didn't know if I could trust Nora.
"I don't care, Nora," I said. My voice was hard. "He is still a thief. He took me away from Kraye. I liked the Crab King. Kraye was sweet to me. He wanted to marry me and give me a gold crown and freedom. This King Karn just wants to own me."
"Aurora, look at this room," Nora said, pointing to the gold walls and the food. "Kraye kept you in a small room. This King is giving you a palace. He even got you these maids."
"I don't want a palace!" I shouted. I stood up and walked to the window. "I want to go back to the gold ship. I liked the way Kraye looked at me. He talked to me softly. He assured me. This King Karn is scary. He has those red eyes and he is too rude. I don't like him."
Maya, the maid, came over with a bowl of blue flowers. "The King said the room must smell like these. He said it would help your head feel better."
I pushed the bowl away. "Tell the King I hate his flowers. Tell him I want to go back to Planet 444."
Nora sighed. "He won't let you go, Aurora. He thinks you are his mate. He told the doctors that your blood and his blood match. He thinks you belong to him now."
Mate? How was that possible? How could a human and an alien be mates? Gibberish!!
I looked down at the medication on the table. The blue water and the pills. He had saved me from the fever. He had seen me when I was acting crazy on the bed with that bottle. My face turned bright red. He saw me naked. He saw me leaking.
He saw me masturbating!!
"He saw me," I whispered. I felt so much shame. "He saw me doing those things to myself on the ship."
"He doesn't care about that," Nora said. "He says it was because of his smell. He thinks it is a sign."
"It’s not a sign," I snapped. "It’s a curse. I want Kraye. I want to leave this place."
Just then, the room felt different. The air got heavy and it smelled like rain and wood. I knew that smell. It was the Alien King. I turned around and saw him standing in the doorway. He was in his human form, looking very handsome and tall, but his eyes were still that deep, glowing red.
"You are awake," he said. His voice was deep and made my skin tingle.
I stepped back, hitting the wall. "Go away," I said. "I want to go home."
He didn't move. He just looked at me. "You are home, Aurora."