Juliet's Tryst

Chapter 21: Earth, As She Knew It

"You cannot just go around killing people like that," Juliet paced back and forth in Dee's kitchen, wringing her shaking hands. They had not stopped shaking since they came back to the condo.

"I do not believe you understand the reaches of my power as Ruler," Dee said, preparing something that looked like a cup of tea. The kitchen smelled of chamomile, and something slightly bitter. Juliet no longer believed she understood anything at all. 

It seemed that the human façade that Dee upheld in the early stages of their meetings was slipping. Dee seemed to be growing taller, and more defined. What once was height difference of two heads, became two and a half. Juliet was surprised to find that out of all things, this annoyed her the most. To her, Dee grew more magnificent and dangerous by the second. Juliet hated that her physical attraction to her only grew, even though she just witnessed the murder of another being. Stupid daeestra. Stupid human hormones. 

Juliet tugged at the necklace around her neck, wishing that she could take it off for just a second. Dee's face snapped to the motion, looking up from the tea making. 

"If you try taking it off again, I will string you up by your wrists and hang off the balcony for everyone to see," Dee said with a playful undertone.

"Oh my," Juliet said, sounding  like a scandalized old lady. "You can't..."

She stopped in defeat. Yes, she could. Dee placed a steaming mug in front of her, the bitter smell becoming more prominent in the proximity. She leaned in towards Juliet, their faces millimeters apart. Juliet could not help the fact that her eyes strayed towards Dee's lips, thinking only of her after what just happened. Dee placed a gentle, warm kiss. Juliet promptly melted into her. All of her muscles relaxed at one, sure of their safety. 

"Something for your shock," she said. "A peace offering to your nerves. Drink it." 

"What is it?" 

"Paiyia, a root from back home. We use it help sleep, but in humans it only has a calming effect." 

"How do you know the effects on humans for everything?"

"Testing."

 Testing, like the vaporized man. Juliet took a gulp, wanting all of the relief the root could afford her. A sense of calm did wash over her, but also a sense of clarity. 

"Are you going to explain what happened?" Juliet asked. Dee turned back and started to cook again. She took out an assortment of greens, roots and spices. When she placed some water on the countertop, it began to boil almost immediately. 

"I have made the decision to colonize this planet forever. My palace, will be a central structure of power and communication with Kyria."

"You weren't here for forever before," Juliet asked, taking another huge gulp of the cup trying to stop the anxiety in her chest from blooming. This was so much bigger than her. Dee was so much bigger. 

"No. This was only meant to be a refuge from the war. Although, Kyrions were never ones to give back things they like. Kyria, directly translated, means The Conquroress. A Kyrion is by nature, a conqueror. It's how we got into the mess at home in the first place." 

"You've conquered other planets?"

"Many of them. Although, we do not hold centralized control. We tend to merge with the population and become something new. Just like Kulon can hold many forms, so can we." 

"So, one of them fought back."

"Yes. There is no gray area, we provoked the war and now must pay the price." 

"If you have no control over the other planets, then it wasn't even your fault, was it?" 

"No, but my responsibility is all of the Kyrions no matter where they are from. So it is my war to finish." 

"But you're the Ruler, you can't stay here." 

Dee laughed, making Juliet fall out of her intense thinking. 

"My dear, I can do anything. I want to make Earth the second Kyria- with Kulon running through its veins. I will marry our two planets together, and that means we can be together in all ways- not just in our physical bodies." 

Juliet clutched her mouth in horror, eyes as wide as saucers, not quite the reaction the alien was hoping for. 

Yes, Dee was everything to her. But Dee was also the end of the world. The end of Earth. 

How could she have been so stupid? Dee... The Ruler...  The bona fide leader of the Kyrions... She was what humans have been terrified of all along. This was what was speculated on by leading scientists at the beginning, whose cries of terror were silenced by the great technologies the Kyrions brought to them. These technologies were used to make humans complacent, grateful. 

In Juliet's mind flashed one of the newscasts that was shown in the months after they arrived, words burned into the corners of her soul.

The Kyrion have not made clear the intention of their arrival on planet Earth. Scientists speculate that they are looking for something, something to allow them to stay. We can only hope they find nothing.

"Wait, am I the reason this decision was made?" 

Dee looked at her suspiciously, obviously hoping for a better reaction. She looked like a groom jilted at a proposal. 

"Yes. Why are you looking at me as thought I am Riyuklanin?" 

In that moment, Juliet desperately wished she never took the stupid class which led to the stupid bookshop in the first place.  She wished Dee was just another human. 

She could not allow this happen. She would not be the reason for the end of the world. 

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