I watched him disappear from the room and quickly jumped up. I was weaker than I had previously thought, using most of my adrenaline to try to flee the medical bay and from struggling to get out of his grip. There was a large bay-type window overlooking a manicured garden that did not appear to have any latches or handles. The other two well-hidden panels hid a bathing chamber and something like a closet.
Cursing under my breath, I rushed back to the window and began feeling along the sides for a seam.
"It does not open," his deep voice said from behind me. I whirled around to face him, my face paling to find him leaning casually against the wall. I had not even heard him come in, yet there was a tray of food sitting on the table beside him. "This is my den and, as such, is the most fortified. One could crash their shuttle against that window and it would not crack."
I still stood with my back to it, in case it did magically pop open, and weighed my chances of being able to avoid him should he lunge for me.
He sighed and brought the tray over to the bed, placing it on top of the covers, far enough away that I would have to sit to reach it. "You need to eat something or my venom is going to make you nauseous."
Gross. The last thing I wanted was to have his venom in me at all, let alone sitting there giving me grief. It might actually be a good idea for me to accept his offering if only to dilute the chemicals coursing through me and to give me enough energy to escape later.
Those gold coin eyes watched me like a cat as I slowly moved to the edge of the bed and carefully put one knee on it, sitting with the other to my chest. The plate held nothing identifiably edible and I raised an eyebrow at him, receiving a small smile in return.
He pointed to a purple berry or fruit the size of a mandarin orange. "This is a quka. They are very plentiful in this area. We use them for their pigment, but they have been deemed appropriate for consumption."
"You do not know if they are bitter or sweet?"
"We did not take them with us when we went among the stars so you may be the first to decide," he shrugged, pulling out his tablet. "It does not appear appetizing to me, but I would like a thorough description to send out."
My advice was going to be used for the human women to determine what they could and could not eat. I sucked in a huge breath and picked it up. "Okay, well, it feels like a peach..." I brought it to my mouth and bit in, expecting the texture to be similar. My teeth pressed through something like a rind, though it was not bitter and found a deep burgundy flesh beneath, not unlike a pineapple with tiny black seeds. "There is an edible orange-like rind and it feels like eating a pineapple but tastes like a pomegranate or cherry. Sweet."
His fingers flew over the screen, expression curious and confused, but when he looked at me, it changed to softness. I flinched as he raised his hand toward me, but allowed him to sweep off a stray droplet on his grayish finger to analyze. With some trepidation, he licked it, tipping his head to one side. "You know of so many fruits. They all taste different?"
"Do people taste different?" My tone was resentful.
"Yes," he answered easily.
"What does this quka taste like to you?"
"Too sweet. Too concentrated. It might-..." He stopped himself and shook his head, gesturing for me to try something else.
I finished the quka, too hungry to nibble on things, and picked out a long, green stalk of something that I imagined looked like celery with aloe vera spikes on the edges. This, I was dubious of and with one bite which produced some yellow slime from within, I sputtered and spat the rest out.
"No, no," I waved my hand, trying to wipe my mouth with my thin purple dress. "That's really bad. Yuck!"
"I will note that this compares to a 'yuck' and categorize it as something that may need to be further cooked or processed first," he nodded.
Next, was a yellow thing resembling a lemon that had been pulled at either end and had a knob just like a corncob with holders in. When I bit this thing, I found its rind to be like thick paper, and inside were slices of a pale banana if bananas were much more firm. "Um...Peel it first, there is a husk. The meat is whitish and tastes like oatmeal, but I'm not sure if it is a fruit or vegetable."
He had me go through two more things, one of which was basically a sweet potato in a shade of dark red, and a cluster of grapes that were bright orange, but tasted like popcorn. My belly was full of strange foods, but at that moment there had been no cause for vomiting or cramping.
"Now that you have been nourished, you should bathe. You smell of stasis fluid and fear. I will not have your fear in my den."
"There is always going to be fear in your den," I muttered.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Outwardly, I was hoping to show how tired I was with my full belly, while inwardly I was scrambling to make a plan. My eyes were squinted with "sleepiness" while I watched him stride into the bathroom and run the water, or whatever liquid was made for bathing here.
"D-do you have the flowers?" I asked sporadically.
The Admiral leaned out of the doorway to tilt his horned head at me. "Flowers?"
I blinked. He looked clueless. "Yes, flowers. You...do know that humans ceremoniously bathe with flowers prior to their first...well...s...you know..."
The Admiral smirked, eyes flaming. "Oh, my dear. Do you think I'm so easily fooled?"
My heart plummeted. If I could not get him distracted, there would be no chance to slip out because it sure seemed like he was bound and determined to get business happening one way or another. I frowned, feigning confusion.
"You think I should believe that this is your first time mating?" He said, tilting his horns toward me when he gave me a disapproving look. "We observed mankind. You do not have destined mates and so do not wait for the duthralia as we do."
My mouth opened and closed. I could not believe that he just assumed I had spread my legs. Yes, it was totally possible, except given the fact that I was eighteen when the wars started and twenty-two now, there had been no time to do anything but survive.
"What are you thinking? Would you like to forfeit your ruse?"
I clenched my jaw and exhaled through my nose. "I'm thinking that I am very disappointed and insulted. I had hoped to...had hoped for...I'm not even sure what I was expecting for my first time, but it was not that."
Running the fabric of the bed between my fingers I focused on the strange combination of texture. It was a combination of fleece and silk, fuzzy and soft like a jersey sheet, but heavier.
He growled softly, urging me to look at him. "I do not like this feeling. If this truly is your first mating, I will treasure and respect it." He bowed at the waist until the tips of his horns glinted at me, before leaving the room entirely.
Oh? Was there a shred of decency in the male? I did not dwell on the thought and waited three breaths before I rushed out of the room. Seeing no one, I sped down the stairs and passed through three or four large rooms before I found a way out the back. Unfortunately, it went straight to the gardens where the Admiral was leaning over a few unnaturally massive flowers, chin in hand.
I backpedaled, running to the front of the house without a care how much noise I made and went right out the main door. All I could see was a circular fountain surrounded by cobbled ground and a long road or driveway leading away from the house. Anticipating that I only had a few minutes left before he discovered my absence, I veered off onto a side lawn and the forest beyond.
Here on Varkar, the grasses were long and not mown, the trees had bark that looked to have been dipped in ink, and the foliage was in shades of blue and jewel green with zigzagging designs across. Though I longed to stop and admire the exotic life, I needed to get as much distance between myself and the native predator as possible. So I tripped, stumbled, crashed, and blundered through that beautiful and sparkling underbrush, stubbing my toes and cutting the soles of my feet to avoid being mounted and humped like a dog.
A distant roar prickled the back of my neck and I got a new little burst of adrenaline that shot me, arms flailing, over a creek to land on the other side on my stomach, something slithering away inches from my face. Groaning, I rolled over and used a sturdy shelf mushroom that was glowing yellow to help me push into a standing position.
"Crap," I breathed as my glowing palm started to tingle like it was covered in carbonated water. Well, it was either poison or...no, most likely it was poison.
I rubbed it ardently on my shitty, thin dress and kept moving though my feet sure felt like they were shredded like taco cheese. I did not need to worry about it for long because something slimy wrapped around my ankle and brought me down so hard it cracked my back. Instantly, another one went around the opposite wrist and sunk into the squishy soil like Devil's Snare. Was this some sort of trap?
A deep growl resonated from the brush, except it was not the growl that made me tingle and shiver. This one prickled my skin with apprehension, especially as an ugly head pressed into the open space. It was shovel-like with boney knobs jutting from its prominent skull, except those protrusions had little horns and spikes on them like the Varkari did. Two sets of yellow eyes locked on me, the same color that I now realized blended in with the stripes on the leaves around it.
The same color as the Admiral's eyes.
Cursed evolution.
When it opened its mouth, I was less than pleased to see that it had two rows of ridiculously sharp teeth. Honestly, what creature needed that many? It slowly advanced with a low hissing sound like steam seeping out of a kettle. I flipped onto my back, but that meant my wrist was squeezed tighter and the other leg was being pulled diagonally, but at least I could attempt to deliver a kick to the face.
Not terribly far away I heard a gutteral sound like a short roar or chuffing from a big cat, repeated three or four times. By the tugging sensation behind my navel, I knew it was the Admiral and he was calling out to me, beckoning me.
The warthog paused, one clawed foot raised and swiveled its bat-like ears in the direction. It seemed to become nervous, which quickly changed to desperation.
Suddenly, it lunged at me, taking a mouthful of my dress and trying to rip it away. I kicked its stupid face as planned, but did not expect it to open its mouth at the last second so its teeth grazed my ankle. I yelped, mindful not to be loud enough to attract the Admiral and bared my teeth at the beast. It opened its maw again to screech at me in frustration, circling around to one side. It did not want to get in close to me, something that had to do with the fact that it would also end up as plant food, but clearly did not have time to wait until I started to decompose.
"Come on, you stupid bitch," I growled at it, straining against the plant which was now sending a new tendril across my abdomen.
With another bark, it dove again for my tied up wrist and I punched it in the nose, getting another squeal, but also making it furious. It shook off the sting and lunged for my face this time, mouth wide. There was a second in time where I realized that I could not defend against this and that I was going to die and in the next second, two clawed hands were catching the top and bottom of the mouth, before ripping the head clean in half.
The Admiral roared loudly enough to shake the trees and many alien-birds did take flight as he flung the carcass off into the jungle. Then, he turned on me.
Up until now, when he was angry, I knew it. I was afraid. But this rage, muscles bulging and spikes sticking up out of his shoulders, spine, and arms, was terrifying. The look in his flaming yellow eyes made me truly think he was going to kill me, too. Or leave me where I lay.
He stood there, looking down at me, for too long.