*Mae*
Alright, if the left ventricular pipeline is to properly connect through the underlying wires and section in through the turbine...
Shit!
Where are the thrusters supposed to be then?
I thought Casimir already drew up the plans to include them!
Argh!
Such stupid, dumb, inconsiderate...
Groaning with frustration as I wanted to bang my head against the wall until I made a sizeable indent and then maybe some of the frustration would finally leave my body, I sighed as I dropped my head down onto the wooden table that lay in front of me, wanting to disappear into the ground forever.
My head was hurting almost as much as my mind was hurting, my spine ached from standing for so long and I'm pretty sure my feet had blistered by now from the wooden sandals I was wearing but I refused to take a break from my work.
Ever since I had been assigned the task of reconstructing the entire exterior for the newly crafted spaceship that Casimir and his minions were helping to construct within a few weeks worth of time, I have barely slept or ate anything, choosing to stand almost statuesque as I was nearly constantly working at the makeshift wooden workstation that Casimir had crafted up in no time in hopes of finalizing the blueprint construction for my newly rebuilt spacecraft.
Though it was clearly taking longer then I anticipated for it to take.
It's almost been three weeks now and I couldn't remember the last time I saw the trees outside or breathed in air that wasn't filtered through the stuffy room and that was fresher than the clothes I was currently stinking up the insides of.
I couldn't exactly say that I wasn't missing it, quite the opposite, in fact.
I wanted to get out and breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds chirping in the mornings as the warmest sunlight that I've ever felt before in my entire life shone down on me, warming my outside exterior as the heated glances at Zaxton would give me would cause a fire on the inside of my body as well.
My cheeks flamed a bright burning red color of both embarrassment and desire just at the thought of his gaze that could set a fire not just upon my visible skin but between my thighs too and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I could feel myself beginning to grow used to having him around and I almost missed him when he was gone.
He was growing on me, like a fungus or a rash of sorts.
He made me want to be adventurous and he drove me absolutely fucking crazy by constantly wanting to hide me away from the rest of the world but Zaxton also made me feel things I thought I wasn't capable of feeling for the longest time yet.
Not since I left Earth anyways, that is.
He made me feel...Desirable.
Passionate.
Full of wonderment and wanderlust.
He made me want to be excited for the future instead of panicked that my ship, the Calypso, wasn't quite as reconstructed as I wanted it to be by now.
Zaxton made me want to be different from how I usually acted on the Celestial or even back on Earth as a young child.
And I didn't know if it had something to do with this planet or with him in general but if I could have bottled up all these new, reemerging emotions and taken them with me back on my return mission to the Celestial, I would have done so in a heartbeat.
However, nothing could stay the same forever and even emotions had to come and go, much like how my tired body felt as I struggled to stay awake at my workstation and would only be taking a break once Casimir came back around and relieved me of my current duties.
Which, apparently if one could guess right, the man was a damn mind reader because the next thing I knew, he was beside me at my station and ushering me away from the work at hand, saying something about how I should bathe and dress myself appropriately for the upcoming evening outside of the Palace walls.
My heart skipped a few beats inside my chest as I was a bit too eager to comply with the orders being asked of me and I nearly had to stop myself from skipping like a child altogether as I rushed into the tiny, barely usable bathroom just down the hallway and away from the servant's quarters.
I was in a hurry to bathe myself using the minimal water that was allowed inside the bathroom, my chipped fingernails and cracked palms making quick work of the grime, grease and dirt that covered my neck, arms, midsection and my legs as well, my mind wondering how the grease from the slowly reconstructing process of the Calypso that coated my hands as I had been handling many of the internal engineering components had somehow dropped down my legs but I had no time to keep pondering such elusive thoughts.
Right now, my time was valuable and I couldn't waste it on daydreaming about Zaxton and his amazing physique, how the light refracted off of his body that glistened with sweat from a hard day's worth of work, how I wished I could just lick the sweat up from his strong, rippling muscles-
"Mabel! What in all of the Fates glory is taking you so long? That attire I have instructed you to wear for this evening could not have been as complicated as it seems to dress oneself with!"
Casimir said from down the hallway to the servant's quarters, his voice as loud and as booming as a thunderstorm, and I jumped as my hands were shaky as I picked up the material that he had impatiently shoved in my direction as I had been heading towards the bathroom earlier.
My eyebrows rose up silently even as my hands complied with the wishes of Casimir instructing me to wear such an oddly shaped uniform for this evening, the silky golden and silver woven material feeling like clean rivers of water that flowed against my freshly washed skin as I slipped my arms through the correct arm holes and my head through the collar, my eyes widening as I glanced down at the material that clung to my body more than any sort of uniform every could and I felt almost naked, all of the sudden.
Because it wasn't a uniform as I had been under the impression that it was.
I was wearing a dress instead.
A dress fit for a queen, nonetheless.
I couldn't remember the last time I've seen something as expensive as this dress, let alone ever worn something that was quite like it!
That didn't mean I wasn't immensely overwhelmed with the fabric that could cost me my own life back on the Celestial, I was more then surprised enough to say the least but I held it together as I was not one to go pleading at another's feet for gratitude and gratefulness.
Much like Casimir had done only a few weeks ago after the discovery of my femininity was revealed to those with the sharpest, most eavesdropping of ears within these Palace walls.
The hint of a smirk appeared upon my lips as I remembered how Casimir had been so eager to present what looked like the fanciest platter of food I've ever seen in my entire life before me as he knelt to the ground whilst begging for my forgiveness for the earlier rather inconsiderate incidents between us, meaning he was apologizing for slapping me like I was some slave he owned.
Although I had already forgiven him for such indecent and hasty decisions, it did feel the tiniest bit empowering to have a man of his status begging for me to forgive him and I hate to admit it but I kind of enjoyed that feeling for once.
Call me crazy but I've always been the beggar in my life before, never once had I been on the receiving end and it was almost surreal, in a sense.
Nevertheless, I still pushed those memories aside as I left the bathroom and headed back into the servant's quarters hell-bent on telling Casimir where he could take this dress and shove it somewhere where the sun doesn't shine from how attention would be drawn to my figure but then, to my complete and utter surprise, I found not just Casimir awaiting me but also Zaxton and Zion as well, the latter who looked about as tired as my mind felt.
Abruptly, both of the younger men turned away from Casimir to visually examine my appearance before Zion's jaw dropped open with surprise as Zaxton's eyes widened before his expression became stoic, like a statue or a wall that hid away any sort of emotion from any prying gazes.
"Oh, my goodness gracious....You look like....Like a female! You-"
Zion began to say but Zaxton was quick enough to land a swift smack on the back of his head, the younger male casting his gaze in downwards as if he was ashamed to be staring at me while Zaxton could only shake his head silently with either amazement or irritation lighting up his dark and rather mysterious features.
"What? Is it that bad of an outfit?"
I asked Twiddledee and Twiddledum what their opinions were on it before turning my annoyed gaze onto Casimir, he was the one at fault, after all.
He insisted on putting me in this ridiculous outfit that would only draw more attention then was necessary to my existence.
"Please, explain to me why I am wearing a dress that exposes my femininity to the commoners when I thought that the plan was to keep me hidden away until my craft was fully reconstructed-"
I began to say but Casimir cut me off with a sharp wave,
"Yes, the original plan was to keep you secluded at first. But your presence has become rather difficult to keep contained within the Palace walls and so, it is noticable now to the commoners that we are harboring a female of a certain species. We have chosen to not announce any further details which means that, for now at least, we can keep some aspects of your true identity hidden whilst enhancing your feminine qualities-"
Hence, the dress is what he was implying right now.
"--And as you are a valuable asset to us, this is also why Zaxton will be accompanying you this evening as you have been permitted to leave the Palace Grounds and...how does your kind say it...enjoy the night off?"
Casimir said wearily but my jaw had already dropped to the floor before I snapped it back as sudden surprise encompassed Zaxton's handsome features, the first real and normal emotion I've seen him express in weeks now.
"What?!"
"What?!"
We both nearly shouted at the same time and Casimir sighed heavily, like a parent who knew he had to explain the simplest facts of life to a child.
Turns out though, the meaning behind his words weren't nearly as confusing and as startling as he propositioned them to be. Casimir had meant that Zaxton would be accompanying me for a journey into the city, to give me the chance to immerse myself in their culture and such, and what a journey it had turned out to be.
For the remainder of the evening, Zaxton had been nothing but kind and resourceful as he showed me around the city that he called home, his large hands pointing out several landmarks that I would have bypassed otherwise and I became intensely fascinated with not just their lifestyle but the way he was so eager to show me around.
I've never had the pleasure of being around around somebody who was so excited to show off the historic features of their world before, nobody could ever feel that way about Earth back when I used to call that planet home and I was more mesmerized by Zaxton's behavior than anything else I've ever seen before.
Our footsteps echoed on the otherwise quiet stone pathway back towards the Palace Grounds only a few mere hours later, our bodies walking side-by-side as our loosely hanging and relaxed hands would occasionally brush against one another, prompting to me glance ever so often over at Zaxton from the corner of my eye to catch an unguarded reaction from him.
So far, the only reaction I've been able to get out of him was the smallest twitch on his eyelids, a subconscious action to release some of the tension bubbling up beneath the surface of his skin.
Bet I could help release some of that tension too but in another way...
My thoughts turned as dirty as I felt and my cheeks burned red as I tried to keep my embarrassment from shining through my hardened exterior, could he see how nervous he made me?
Thankfully, Lady Luck must've been on my side because as we snuck our way back into the garden within the Palace Grounds, I turned towards Zaxton and wrung my hands together as the soft moonlight casting over my features hid the burning hot flush that shone across my cheeks, neck and chest.
"Umm....I had a really nice time out with you tonight, Zaxton. Thank you for accompanying me this evening."
I thanked him and Zaxton ducked his head, his own dark complexion bronzing with the faintest hint of pink dusting his cheeks.
Wait...Is he blushing right now?
I actually made him blush!
The biggest, toughest, strongest man I've ever known and seen before was somehow blushing from embarrassment that was subsequently caused by little ol' me.
"You are very much welcome, little female. Perhaps you would prefer to retire for the evening?"
Zaxton offered me from a glance under his dark eyelashes and I bit my lip as his gaze darted down to my teeth gnawing at my bottom lip before his eyes reconnected with mine, something that I haven't seen before shining in his dark irises.
Something that was close to being called passion or heat.
And so, I did something so unexpected that it couldn't even be blamed on lack of oxygen or inhibitions.
I leaned forward and kissed him with as much burning desire that flowed through my veins like the strongest current in the ocean that was relentlessly pulling me into the deepest parts, sweeping me away until I was consumed by Zaxton.
Until our breaths became one and I was pulled into the tidal wave that was him alone.
Feel free to comment, like and share, y'all!
-Ro♥️