*Mae*
Do you know that feeling when something starts to go from sort of okay and then it gets bad before everything just goes right down the drain after you pass terrible-ville and shithead land as well?
That feeling like things just couldn't get any worse then what they were already at but, as it turns out, everything can always get worse even if you really don't try at all?
Or if you do try, it still ends up getting worse and worse and you just want to say "fuck it all" and run off into the oblivious abyss and never turn back?
Well, that's basically how I was feeling after we had walked through town and had arrived at this expansive building that Zaxton called the Kingdom's Palace and my world had completely spun upside down from there on out.
But that was only a few minutes down the road from where our current situation was right now.
Right now, we were only heading through the city towards the Palace and if my future self could've talked to my current self, I'm pretty sure I would have backhanded the younger version of myself and told the version that she was being a dumbass and she needed to get far away from this place as possible.
That she needed to do whatever she could to get her ass off this planet and it didn't matter that she was now interacting with the native inhabitants of the planet.
That it wouldn't matter what she felt then versus what was going to happen and how her life was about to change for both the good and the bad as well.
Because no matter what she felt, something bad was going to happen to her.
And I wish I could have told her this but my future self wasn't always a narcissist like my current self was and since that would basically break the barrier of the time space continuum altogether, I was partially glad I wasn't able to talk to my future or past self even as Zaxton and Zion were leading me through the crowded streets of their city because my future self wouldn't have been able to contain her otherwise snide remarks inside her head that nobody else could hear as she, or more like I, watched as many passer-bys openly gawked and stared at us casually strolling through the town.
Though I wish it was a stroll right now.
This is starting to feel more and more like the casual walk to the death chamber with every step I take.
Their stares gave me the creeps and the whispered amongst the natives made my stomach roll and the acid churn inside my veins with bouts of nervous anxiety, the translating device that was hidden beneath the layers of the heavy vest practically attached my skin and being the only thing that could help me understand their language verbally before my brain could begin the process of translating it.
Learning their language was going to take me months if I even had that kind of time, the device was a simpler way of getting the point across and it went both ways too, it wasn't simply for my sole purpose to use alone.
And the words that the device made out on occasion only made me want to clench my jaw harder and stand still so I didn't feel like I wanted to murder somebody.
But alas, I had to keep moving forward, even if their words stung harder than a bee sting.
"What in the Fates….Do you see this as well?"
"Oh goodness! What in the Fates are they doing in the Kingdom? And who do they have with them?"
"It appears to be a prisoner, a male presumably, though it also appears to be of a foreign descent….Do you think it could be female in nature instead?"
"Of course not! Do not assume something that you are unaware of such as it being female! But perhaps…There is a slim possibility of that occurrence happening…"
The voices droned on but the pounding of the blood rushing to my head drowned them out and the world seemed to spin around me as I gulped, trying to keep it together long enough for Zaxton and Zion to lead me towards their higher place of command to see if they could help me out more than these two were capable of doing.
But my nervousness of trying to blend in as much as possible, coupled with the possibility of my existence being wiped out of the world altogether, was more than enough to send my emotions spiralling into a rapidly evolving panic attack that was turning into more of a panic avalanche.
And Zaxton seemed to catch onto the fact that I was going to fall over at any second and become one with the ground, if my knees knocking together was any indication of such facts, because his arm tightened around my waist, yanking me even closer into his side as he half supported my weight and my hands grabbed onto the strong corded muscles of his forearm for stability purposes.
I also knew that it was only for stability purposes, I wasn't trying to size him up and see how muscular he was.
I could already feel the strength bubbling up beneath the surface of his skin, the veins protruding against the warm bronze coloration of his flesh.
And I know that it shouldn't have made me feel safe or secure for the first time because I didn't need someone, specifically a strong man here, to protect me and make me feel safe but the added visible strength of his sheer size was a nice bonus, I'll admit that much.
That thought made me flush red beneath the mud-caked skin upon my face, the inner flirtatious girl that wanted to burst out of my skin at the seams only riddling my thoughts with naughtiness that had no right to be ruminating around my brain.
Stop that!
We need to focus right now on solving our mission which includes getting off of this planet, not getting off on some alien dick!
Thankfully, my flushed complexion was complete concealed beneath the darker exterior of the dried mud smeared across my skin and I was able to tame my inner wild thoughts for the time being as we arrived at this towering building that seemed to touch the sky even as impossible as that was and my jaw dropped open at the sight of the fucking castle that stood before me.
Gold accents were woven into the hardened steel exterior of the palace, the shiny glass windows covering every inch of the building seeming to be reinforced by multiple layers of the thick glass in case there were such horrible things like intruders out from such prestigious places, the steel bars in the shape of a tall, sharp fence lined the perimeter of the four story building that made me realize why they called it the Palace.
Because it was a goddamn Palace.
Smooth grey stones lined the pathway leading up to the Palace, the burly guards at the fence protecting the Palace looking even more intimidating then the two on both sides of me as the guards were armed with deadly spears and swords, the gold and silver metal armor protecting their large muscular frames making the acid inside my stomach churn further.
Would they use those deadly weapons on me if they found out that I wasn't like them?
That I was a woman?
Would they torture me with brutality?
Or kill me off quickly and painlessly with a head chop from a handmade guillotine?
Or would something else happen instead?
Zaxton did mention that their kind might try to…sell me or own me or something along those lines if they found out that I'm female….God, I really hope it doesn't come down to that option.
I'd much rather take the death penalty then be sold off like cattle at an auction.
"Halt!"
One of the guards at the front gate shouted as we drew closer and I wanted the planet to split open and swallow me whole when we had to stop only a few mere feet away from where the guards, their deadly weapons drawn as they tried to visually assess the threats that stood before them.
Zion stepped forward though and, surprisingly enough, he spoke up for our group as a whole which isn't something that I would have normally expected given his quiet, polite demeanor.
"We are expected at the Palace so if you would be so kind as to inform Casimir and Zephyr that we have arrived, that would be pleasant."
Zion said and my eyebrows furrowed together with confusion, who were these people that he was referring to?
And since when were we expected at the Palace?
Were those people expecting us to be there?
If my head could have burst from confusion, it probably would have by now but the guard seemed to understand who Zion was talking about as the guard nodded sternly before he motioned to the others to allow us through the gates as the steel gates slowly began to creak open.
Slowly, I could feel the anxiety inside my chest begin to disperse but then, my entire lower stomach just bottomed out when I saw two strange men storm out of the large golden front doors leading into the Palace, both of them averaging around the same build and height as the rest of the generalized male population around here but the stern looks upon their faces showed that they were anything but friendly in demeanor.
And just when I thought things couldn't get any worse than they are now, the universe was about to prove me wrong with a swift kick to my ass in a few seconds now.
"Zaxton! Zion! What in the Fates creation are you doing back in the Kingdom?!"
One of the angered men exclaimed, that one appearing to be slightly older if the graying head of hair and the ever so slightly smaller muscular build wasn't enough of an indication, and I could practically feel the ground tremble with shakiness as the older man stormed towards the open gate doors.
He stood before us, hands clenched into fists which seemed at odds with the golden and white tunic and matching pants that seemed to be the theme around here for both commoners and royalty.
Though I had noticed earlier that the commoners wore more neutral toned colors such as gray, beige or black altogether.
And compared to them, Zaxton and Zion were barely dressed as it was!
Perhaps it is because neither of them are rulers?
Though that wouldn't exactly explain their lack of clothing…
My thoughts concerning the lack of dressing of the two men beside me were oh so rudely interrupted when the next thing I knew, the sound of a hand slapping across the skin of a face cracked across the air around me, my eyes widening as I was barely able to catch the tail end of the man pulling back his hand after it made contact with Zaxton's cheek, the man then turning his gaze onto mine with a hint of confusion mingling right alongside the fury burning behind his dark irises.
"How dare you enter the Kingdom after your banishment, Zaxton? And what is this thing you have brought back as well? I am not referring to you, Zion."
Zion's gaze dropped to the ground and the man in power visually examined me over before he squared his shoulders, the rigidness of not just his posture but demeanor as well making me feel more uneasy than walking through this damn city some clunky ass shoes ever could.
But before I could get my chance to explain why I was here, and who exactly I was, the man pulled his hand back once more and the sharpest sting of the slap across my face that made my ears ring and eyes water still did not compare to the next words that left his mouth not even seconds after he laid his hands upon my skin.
"This….thing….is a prisoner."
It wasn't a question, it was a statement and it was hard to bite my tongue.
A prisoner?
Now I was called a prisoner after this motherfucker put his hands on my body?
Oh, hell no! We ain't goin' there, buddy.
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-Ro♥️