The Cosmic Princess

Live Free or Die Hard

"How do they do that?" It didn't make any sense. Creatures who had never interacted with individuals like Othana suddenly hated her and her kind. How?"

"Fear mongering." She chuckled, but there was no amusement and was said as if it was obvious. "You plant a seed of doubt dear Avril, you water it with lies and superstitions, and you watch the flower full of ignorance and hate bloom and multiply. Then when they come for your people, they murder, rape, and conquer and then blame you because you were born as you were. That is how you successfully conquer a group of people without any repercussions." Othana laughed, but it was a pained sound. It was something you pushed when it still hurt you, but you were so used to being numb to it that at times you forgot how to display how you really felt. "Smart bastards, smart greedy bastards they all are."

"So how did you end up here?" My words were almost reluctant, realizing I was going to hear another story of the Dynoats. Death and destruction was all they brought. How many people would die till someone finally beat them?

We entered yet another cavern. The walls were made purely out of crystals themselves that reflected off a sun pocket above that made the area shimmer in a splay of colors. The gleams caught against Othana's hair jewelry making them sparkle along with the room. A body of water that was a deep blue had occupants swimming in it. At our entrance, though, they paused their actions and turned to us. Sea creatures curiously eyed us. Some were completely submerged in the water with only their eyes above while others were less submerged. Gills and fins decorated their bodies. One creature who looked at us quietly, with its eyes and top of the its head visible only, had tentacles protruding from the top. A feminine liked creature with a curvy body was the next I noticed. Her skin was a light-greenish blue that varied along her face, torso, and arms. Dark green gills protruded from her cheeks. The most astounding thing to me though, was that instead of hair on her head, tentacles of varying length fell down her shoulders.

Othana raised her hand into a wave and the creatures waved back while I gawked like some idiot before Othana began walking again.

"Sorry, I have to make my daily rounds to make sure everything is fine. Yoth, Leng, or Rahum normally does this, but two of them are out and one I just can't find." She tisked. "How did I end up here you were saying? Well they came in the night, they had already conquered other worlds so they had weapons we had never seen before. We were the strongest in our world and they made an example out of us. We put up a fight, but it was not enough. I had 21 sisters and 13 brothers. By the end of that night, my brothers were all dead and I only had 8 sisters left."

I gasped covering my mouth as I turned to her. Her face was neutral, yet she couldn't hide the anguish no matter how hard she tried. Eyes glassy, they stared forehead refusing to meet my eye like making eye contact me with me would be the catalyst that would break the numb barrier she put around herself. "Like many of those here, they abducted a bunch of us, but like the many races that didn't make it, we weren't able to withstand the atmospheric adjustment. Many of the survivors from the first attack perished, asphyxiated, as soon as we hit the atmosphere. I watched all my sisters die that morning. My dad had been killed right in front of me the night before. The only reason why I am here today is because my mother used the last of her magic to save her last child before she too succumbed to Deteria."

Dewy eyes stared at blank eyes, yet she wasn't the one holding back tears. "Othana. " I breathed, not even imagining the horrors she must have faced.

"I acted like I was dead. When they dragged us all out prepared to leave us to rot or to be eaten by the monsters that roam these lands, I took my shot. They never noticed. I ran for days, fed off wildlife. I barely made it, until I stumbled into a cave. From there I built." With small smile, she waved her hand around as if showcasing me the cave. "from the stone up."