Juliet's Tryst

Chapter 23: The Palace

Sunshine peeked through a crevice in the ceiling. The sound of falling water droplets came in and out of her ears. Juliet opened her eyes, inhaling cold and damp air. Where was she?  She propped herself up on her elbows. She was sprawled on a large smooth stone, covered in nothing but a gossamer fabric. Wrapping herself in the flimsy piece of material, she stood up, shuddering at the darkness enveloping everything. It threatened to push out the little spec of light.

"Step forward."

Juliet looked down at her feet to see a river of Kulon passing silently by. The voice was barely a whisper, liquid mimicking human sound.

There was no fear and as Juliet's outstretched toe was about to touch the flowing abyss..

"Wake up! We station at the palace today."

Juliet smiled sleepily. Dee's eager face was inches away from hers. No matter how much she begged, Dee wouldn't tell her anything about the palace. Even in the remaining news outlets and social media channels, nothing was spoken about a possible palace. She assumed that this would change today.

"Am I allowed to bring anything" Juliet asked.

"Yes, anything you desire will be brought to you."

As Juliet went about her morning duties, the dream kept reforming in her thoughts, unexpected and intrusive. She kept away from the Kulon other than the first encounter she had with it. Dee said it was a wise decision to stay away because it might cause suspicion. However, she stayed away because she knew she was buying time before the inevitable happened. What that inevitable was? She had no idea.

 A white flowing dress was waiting for her on the bed, a silent order to wear it. She shuddered, thinking about the glaring resemblance of this dress to the gossamer she was draped in only moments before. 

A car waited outside once they were ready. Dee was dressed in the same thing she wore to the Archive. Black fitted suit, with the shimmering colors of the cape making her look like some sort of fallen angel. 

"We're driving there," Juliet asked, wondering why the door thing wasn't the preferred method. 

"It isn't far, no use bothering your pretty little atoms without cause." Dee kissed her on the cheek. Her appearance was ever-evolving, and in the months they spent together her short hair had quite nicely grown to her shoulders, which were growing more muscular by the day. Juliet was sure that working out was part of her regimen. 

"I guess. It was proven that my atoms can handle themselves quite well," Juliet said. She could not believe herself, already craving the convenience of their technology. 

"Not well enough for my liking," Dee replied. There was a beeping noise, and a hologram of Aloran appeared, sitting in the front seat. 

"Status," Dee asked, the word coming out harsh and angry. This had become the norm since the encounter with the Council. She was on a mission to take back control of the planet, of her subjects. Juliet knew that it was also bleeding into how she treated humans, but was never allowed close enough into her affairs to really understand what was happening. There was always a promise to explain everything to her later. As time passed, Juliet was sure that later was a hyperbolic way of saying never. 

"Everything is ready, the Council is present, as are all the staff. It shall be perfect."

"Don't." Soft. Dangerous. "Try to gain my favor. I am your Ruler as I am everyone else's." 

"Yes," Aloran took an enigmatic look at Juliet and turned away.  Juliet's stomach turned. The hologram switched off. 

"Things are going to change," Dee turned back to Juliet. "I will protect you in any way I can, and you must tell me if there is anything that might threaten your safety."

"A Queen returns to her court," Juliet said. "I understand that it will be like that."

"Not Queen, King. However to you, I am-"

"Protector," Juliet said, eyes glazing over contentedly. 

"Come here," Dee lifted her arm. She tucked Juliet into her side. "You must nap, we still have a way to go."

Juliet didn't need to be told twice after the early morning waking. Dee hummed softly, that same tune she sang to her so long ago. 

...

..

.

"Open your eyes, my alara. We are here."

Juliet sat up, looking to the front of the car. There was a wide expanse of nothing but green, and in the horizon sat the palace. From far away, it looked like a giant, dark coral. However, as they got closer, it looked a lot spikier. It was a dark purple color, with the spikes going in every direction. They were not stationary, moving from side to side, sometimes connecting and other times simply passing each other by. Some were straight, others had curves and kinks. 

It was imposing, dangerous and beautiful, just like Dee. Juliet's wide eyes pleased the Kyrion, who sat up straight, arms splayed out to each side, as if she was already on the throne.

"You are the only one who needs to see this. I can give you everything, and more. I can protect you, love you, and satisfy anything desire you have."

Juliet tore her eyes away as the structure came even closer. 

"I already knew," she said. 

"It is custom to prove one's competence to a mate in proportion to their wealth, and physical prowess."

"So this is...your wealth?" Juliet could barely speak. She shivered at the insinuation of physical prowess. They had been too busy to do anything together, but Dee regularly made sure that Juliet awoke satisfied in that manner. 

"This is just a trinket to me, but a good representation of what I can do." 

"Don't call it a trinket. This is a fucking castle!" 

"Ah, so you've uncovered my ulterior motive. Smart human!" Dee laughed. It was a harsher, more masculine sound than ever. It made Juliet blush in more ways than just her face. How is it that this creature seemed to get hotter the more she knew her. She could be the most lovely stereotypically feminine thing one moment, and then joke about Juliet's mouth around her cock. 

Nothing would ever be boring with Dee. The car finally stopped. Juliet motioned to get out.

"I have one order of business before we enter." Dee was holding a delicate gold chain. "You must have a new one. This one has been compromised by you. It isn't working properly." 

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't report to me if your body is in working condition, essential to keeping you safe." 

Dee gently touched her in the back of the neck- the current necklace falling to her lap. The new one whizzed mechanically as it wrapped itself around Juliet's neck.

"This one has some Kulon in it. Another way of communicating to me."

"How?"

"Not sure," Dee grinned and pushed the door open. There was a line of Kyrions waiting for them at the entrance. They were dressed in dark fitted robes, and were carrying things that looked like weapons. Each had their own, knives, scythes and Kyrion firearms which did not shoot bullets. 

Juliet couldn't stop looking up at the structure, which was a perfect mixture of life and architecture, a dark Sagrada Familia. 

The palace wall morphed and opened, swallowing them whole. 

Highly recommend looking Sagrada Familia if you don't know what it looks like. The palace is like an alien version of the same architecture. 

Thank you for reading! If you have come this far, please consider leaving a vote and a comment. I try to post chapters on a weekly or more basis, so if that is your cup of tea, consider following me- not only to get notified of chapters but also receive behind the scenes updates from me about this story and possible new ones.