*Mae*
Burning.
That's how my skin felt even as I was freed from Zephyr's powerful grasp upon my body, I felt like I was burning from the outside in, like a fire was stroking past the barriers of pain and torture of my nerve ends and pouring gasoline on the flames that ignited inside my blood cells.
It was as if the fire wasn't only external, it was internal as well.
I was bursting into flames on the inside, fueled by rage, humiliation, aggression and fear.
I wanted to hurt someone, mainly the man who thought he had the right to hurt me and get away with it, much like the people who have walked over me for most of my young life.
Except when it came to men, I had no problem flapping my big mouth whenever I pleased to, mainly because back on the Celestial, they could hurt me but only enough to where if they pushed it further, they would be in deep trouble with the Commander.
Because, as much as she loved to hate me, the Commander was a stickle when it came to rules surrounding verbal, mental and physical assault so those dickbags back on the Celestial where most of my life has been living out on could only do so much before their asses were either Casted Out or I beat the living shit out of them when the lights turned off after hours.
But I couldn't do that here.
Because all these people were men and their rules were different, their society and culture and lifestyle was so very different from my own and while I didn't view that as a bad thing, I came to realize that it could very much so lead to something bad after I was tackled and assaulted by the highest man in power yet, King Zephyr.
His name made my stomach churn with acid and my upper lip curl with disgust even hours after the event happened, after Zaxton led his father, cousin and myself down another hallway and through a secret back door leading down into the basement of the Palace where their servant's quarters lay, my heart aching in sympathy for the servants who had to live with such small, tight quarters.
These bedchambers were about the size of the rooms back on the Celestial if not a bit smaller and I inwardly cringed, hiding back the sounds of concern over the living situations as I watched a small rodent like animal dart across one of the tiled floors, the grime and grease coating the rough walls a stark contrast to the prestige and pretentious feel of the Palace upstairs.
It was both humbling to see the difference between the classes of what was deemed royalty versus the commoners and it, strangely enough, made me feel like I was at home, for the oddest of reasons.
Perhaps it was because these were similar to the living quarters back on the Celestial where I've spent all of my days and most of my years on, minus the rodents, of course.
Maybe it's because the tight bedchambers, coupled with the familiar scent of franticness and the lingering odor of semi unclean surroundings, reminded me of a time that was both of the Celestial and of Earth, the memories blending together and becoming more jumbled around in my head then the worst concoction of disgusting tasting mush that was regularly served to us back on the Celestial.
Shaking my head to myself to clear the blended memories that couldn't stay in their respective compartments for the evening, it took me quite a while to settle into one of the cots that Zaxton had set up for me, my back scrunched up against one of the coarse hard walls as I faced the center of the room, knees curled into my chest as my eyes stare unblinking at the sleeping forms of Zion and Casimir.
They looked at peace on their own springy cots, their hardened features relaxing in the nakedness of their slumbering state of body and mind and I couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit envious towards their ability to sleep after enduring such hectic events.
I could still feel Zephyr's hands on my skin, could feel his gross hot breath brushing across my skin and I shuddered in remembrance.
His touch had felt awful, disgusting and stomach turning when his fingers tried to move the tunic shirt that held my semi cloaked body safely beneath the material of the tunic and my half ruined one piece uniform from the Celestial.
I had froze in place when he touched me, my mind being as violated as much as my body was when Zephyr touched my skin and the unwillingness of cooperation radiating off my body would come in pulsating waves as I had fought back against his unwelcome advances.
He had tried to touch me beneath my garments, feel me up like I was some sort of prize that his brother brought back for him to ogle and fondle at his every whim and chance, but I had slapped him when I felt his hands graze the hemline of my clothed bottom one piece, my fingers still tingling as I remembered just how satisfied I had felt when the sting of the force snapped his head to the side and damn near snapped my wrist in half as well.
But it was definitely worth the momentary biting pain, he should've known that he had no right to touch me in such an inappropriate manner just because he had guessed that I was a woman and they had been without females for God only knows how long now.
That didn't give him any right to any part of my body, because it was never his in the first place.
It was mine and mine alone.
But Zephyr hadn't thought that or else, he wouldn't have snarled after I hit him and pulled his hand back as if he was going to punch me, as if he was fully capable and willing to continue assaulting me and he probably would have been if Zaxton had ripped the door down to mere shreds before throwing his brother off my still prone body like he was ready to murder him.
And if he hasn't been there….Who knows what could have happened.
My throat tightened up with an emotion that I wasn't familiar with, gratitude engraving itself within my flesh like the finest piece of handcrafted jewelry ever constructed. I just couldn't manage to shake off that feeling from earlier, couldn't manage to simply just put it in the past and move on with my night, which is why I found myself climbing out of the cot gingerly and tiptoeing out of the quarters as quietly as possible.
I didn't want to disturb these men, they needed their rest much more than I did, and it didn't take me long to find my way out of the confusing labyrinth maze of hallways and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief when I could escape the confining walls of the Palace and find myself in the luscious gardens that surrounded the back half of the enclosed Palace outside walls.
It felt amazing to breathe in the fresh air that was way too sparse back in those servant's quarters, a small shudder darting across my skin as my head tilted back to stare up at the night sky that ran for seemingly miles across the thin atmosphere that kept my humanly body anchored to this planet.
The sky was beautiful, the stars decorating the dark blue and black canvas of a night sky and shining so brightly that they would have blinded me had I been staring directly at them.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and I basked in the peace and serenity that the quiet night offered me before I nearly jumped out of my skin when I was abruptly spooked by a masculine voice just off to the side of where I was standing in the middle of the well kept up gardens, towering fruit trees blocking my view of the speaker until he revealed himself in the soft moonlight of the night. Zaxton.
"It is incredible out here when the chatter has died off, yes?"
He asked me and I nodded in agreement, a content exhale of air pushing past my parted lips as my arms wrapped around my center, a slight shiver rushing over my skin that he took notice of, his darker eyes flickering over my form in a more cautious, concerned manner rather then an examining one as opposed to earlier.
"Yes, it is….I have to apologize though, I am sorry for all of the trouble I've caused already. Especially as it has deepened the obvious wedge between you and your brother, even as inadvertently as it was, and I am deeply sorry for that–"
Zaxton cut off my apologizing with a sharp shake of his head, his legs striding over with quickness before his hands clasped around my shoulders gently, the skin of his palms rough and coarse but the strength hidden beneath the surface of his skin was evident in the way his fingertips pressed into my skin.
He was strong but he was being surprisingly gentle with me, something that I wasn't familiar with in the least bit back on the Celestial or this strange planet.
"No. Do not vocalize those thoughts, Mabel Minerva, female from an unknown destination. Zephyr and I have always been…how shall I say this….on opposite ends of the moral spectrum. This was in no way caused by your previous actions. You did nothing but defend yourself against a man in power, a feat that many of the commoners could not accomplish when being pitted against royalty. You shall not take on the humiliation and the blame of his undeserved advances, it is not your fault that Zephyr failed in his abilities to greet you with a sense of humanity and not as a warm body that many of us have been without for too long. It is not your fault that he is a failure of a man, Mabel. None of this is your fault."
He repeated those words back to me a few times, trying to instill it into my thick skull that I wasn't at fault for the problems that my sudden arrival has caused, and it felt as if there was a sudden weight that was lifted off my shoulders, a weight that used to feel like it was crushing me down with every little stone that was added to the mountain of heaviness that was slowly wearing down my soul.
But once it was lifted, there was almost an instant sense of relief and calmness, as if my soul was being told that I could finally relax now, despite the unforeseen circumstances that lay ahead of me.
And so, after that weight was raised from resting upon my shoulders for so long, I couldn't believe that there were tears of both relief and gratitude that welled up in my tear ducts, threatening to spill over my eyelids and cascade down my cheeks like an endlessly flowing river stream.
Because after what felt like the most emotionally wrecking day of my life, I was beginning to feel as if something was going to turn out okay with my life after all, that everything might just turn out alright.
All because a man born of another species altogether was offering me comfort in the form of words that soothed the aching wounds scattered across my soul.
Before I knew what was happening, my arms had reached out and I had thrown myself into his embrace, my cheek rubbing against the material of the heavy tunic vest he had thrown over his torso earlier after we had been situated in the servant's quarters and my hands rested lightly against his muscular back while his own palms hung wearily in the air above my shoulder blades.
He was afraid to touch me, afraid to hurt me in the same fashion as his brother had hurt me earlier and that thought of knowledge warmed my cold, cracked shell of a heart.
"Thank you….Thank you, Zaxton."
I thanked him repeatedly and the statue of a man grumbled his own response, his hands finally coming down to lightly palm the backs of my shoulder blades before he took a step back and out of my embrace though he continued to hold me whilst standing down at me,
"You have no obligation to thank me, Mabel, but your response is as welcome as any."
Zaxton said and I wanted to chuckle at his proper tone, the man was more than technical enough for the both of us, I think I could spare a few grateful words for him.
But our eyes connected and the rest of the sentence that I had been meaning to complete died off as my heart skipped a few beats in my chest, my gaze darting down to his lips and lingering on the soft flesh, wondering how they would feel upon mine and if they would be as soft as I imagined.
Though just as quickly as I imagined it, the moment was gone, broken as I cleared my throat and we both took a step away from each other, both of us making excuses as we went in two separate directions that led to opposite ends of the Palace Garden.
And once I had lost Zaxton in the close proximity of my eyesight, I headed back to the servant's quarters, an embarrassed flush warming my cheeks and throat as I tried to keep the rampant emotions at bay.
I shouldn't be imagining how his lips would feel when they collided with mine, if our kiss would be rushed and frenzied or slow and passionate.
But there I was, daydreaming about kissing an alien when only days before, I wanted to pluck his eyeballs out of my fingers and scream bloody murder for help.
Oh, how times change so quickly.
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-Ro♥️