Plutonian

Chapter 4

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I will have to fight someone in the pits tomorrow and if I lose I will go back to being a slave but Stela wastes no time in diverting the attention back to her.

"Does that mean if nobody chooses me as a lover I go back to being a slave too?" She spits the word 'slave' out in disgust despite the fact that we were slaves only until this evening.

Sergeant Atmos only nods his head in response. 

"Who will I be fighting?" I finally ask. I feel a burning sensation in the back of my neck like something is burrowing into my skull and my hands are shaking slightly. I place them behind me so that he wont notice.

"You will be fighting the trainee who got in last month. Don't worry we always place the newcomers against the weakest trainees, if we didn't we wouldnt have any fighters. Now come along, I will show you to your room and then we will visit the army training ground," He says proudly as he looks my way. "Just to give you some motivation of what you could be a part of."

I nod my head slowly.

"While Aria trains this evening, the two of you will be prepped for the gala dinner tomorrow. All paramours and fighters are invited to mingle with Plutonians during this prestigious event. That will be your chance to captivate your suitor," He explains and the two girls nod their heads in unison. "Aria if you win your match tomorrow, you will be presented as an official fighter at the same time."

Once he shows us our extremely spacious single bed rooms, we head off to the back of the building and walk about a yard until we reach a heavily guarded gate.

Two Plutonians cross check and scan all of us before we are made to enter. My heart is beating so hard I am afraid the scanners might pick it up but once we enter the training facility I know I have made the right choice.

The training ground is much larger than my field of vision, it could be well over the size of fifty training centers. I see fighter jets, space pods, bottle air-crafts, space discs and other types of space crafts all over. There are about a hundred Plutonians and a few humans doing drills together. On the other side there are some shooting at targets and a few running around the field.

"Beautiful, isn't it?," Sergeant Atmos murmurs and I nod my head slightly.

So many ships. So many ways to escape. Yes, it is beautiful. 

I look at the far off wall and then at the ceiling. Everything is sealed from the harsh weather and there is green algae all over the walls and floors to give us more than enough oxygen.

There is only one problem. There is no exit route. I look at all the walls closely, trying to spot a break or separation but there is nothing. A rush of panic runs through me like a jolt of electricity and then a deafening sound echoes through the air. 

I cover my ears with my hands and watch as all the soldiers run to a corner. They are organized and extremely systematic as they arrange themselves in rows. They then take out rubber masks and place them over their mouths and noses.

"You girls are in luck today," Sergeant Atmos shouts over the booming alarm. "A few ships are landing and you are about to witness it."

A soldier rushes over and hands us masks as well. We follow Sergeant Atmos and secure it around our mouths and noses.

I glance at the two girls who look just as excited as I do and suddenly the ceiling above opens. A rush a cold air engulfs us and my hair whips in my face but my eyes remain open as I watch five ships appear at the gap in the ceiling.

The scene is breathtaking. Five ships arranged in a perfect "V" hover in the air and then they descend simultaneously landing on the ground with barely any sound. 

The ceiling shuts and the ship in front that seems to lead the others opens first. I notice a symbol on its body that isn't on any of the others.

Three soldiers walk out and the first thing I notice is that they are extremely young. They could not be a year or two older than I was.

"It's the Trinity," Stela gasps and I turn to her.

"The what?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes at me and continues to stare at them. "They are Plutonian royalty. How could you not know that?"

I stare at them curiously. How was I supposed to know who they are?

My eyes flit from the two tall slim boys to the girl who walks slightly behind them. She has a limp and it is obvious from the way she is clutching her side that she is in pain. 

The boys look angry as well. One of them barks orders at the soldiers from the other ships while the other one stays silent. His glare however is enough to make me wince and thank my lucky stars that I am not on the receiving end.

"Royalty?" Cassandra asks. 

"They belong to a long line of army generals. These families have lead the Plutonian army for centuries so these three are naturally in line to take over which I suppose makes them royalty," He eyes Stela who stares at them like they are Gods and shakes his head. 

"I hope you are aware that your job as a paramour is less about romance than it is about survival. Everyone knows that the single most important role of a paramour is reproduction to repopulate the diminishing Plutonian empire," Sergeant Atmos clarifies, eyeing Stela worriedly.

"And just so you know that one has never slept with a human," He points to the one glaring. "And the other one shouting loves human company at night but there's a fine line between the humans he sleeps with and the humans he kills. You will not be able to serve your purpose with him and for your sake I hope he doesn't choose either of you."

Stela frowns at his words and replies. "Creation requires romance. That being said I wouldn't mind sleeping with death if it meant having the pleasure of being with Lazarus IX at least once." 

This time all three of us can't hide the disgust on our faces. 

"They look so young," I say and as they walk closer I can see why Stela is so smitten. Despite the obvious frowns on both their faces they have a boyish charm set against exquisite features that make them better looking than any Plutonian or human I have ever seen, not that I have ever admired a Plutonian. The girl is equally as striking despite the pain etched across her face.

"Lucian X turns twenty this year, Lazarus IX is twenty one years old and Luna V is nineteen," Stela says. I wonder how she knows so much about them, I'd never known of Plutonian royalty but I suppose there was hierarchy in every population. There probably would be on Earth as well.

When they pass us my eyes fall on the one glaring. His expression does not change, it seems painful and I catch a clear stone dangling from his ear as he walks. 

I must have been staring quite obviously because he suddenly looks my way. My body feels like jelly and my knees shake as he holds on to my stare until I quickly look down. My cheeks are burning when I finally look up and I am thankful that they have left. What just happened?

Now that they have gone, everyone returns to their previous activities and some soldiers proceed to relocate the ships. 

"Well that was eventful," Sergeant Atmos says. "It's not everyday we see the Trinity back from a mission. Now come on girls, it's time to prepare for tomorrow."