Picture of Isdoy, Azka's little brother (picture belongs to LAS-T - https://las-t.deviantart.com/)
Hey! I'm sorry I didn't updated yesterday, but I fell asleep while writing. I woke up at 3 in the morning, still wearing my glasses, with my laptop in front of me and the TV on. It was so confusing! I had a problem to realize where I was, and what was going on for a minute. I should really start to go to sleep earlier when I have a day shift. I slept only for 3 hours the day before and that's probably the reason for my sudden sleep yesterday evening.
Sorry!
There are two new expressions in the alien language! The translation is at the end of the chapter!
Anyway, the chapter is here, and I hope you will enjoy it!
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The night was terrible. Although Corey managed to fall asleep for a while, sleeping in a bathtub was not comfortable enough to make the sleep last longer than few hours. He woke up at least four times, his body hurting from the position he slept in. When the morning finally came, he felt even more tired than the night before. It took him forever to get ready for the breakfast; by the time someone was knocking on his door, he was still in the middle of getting dressed.
"Just a minute, please," he yelled, scared the person there would barge inside his room as Azka did the day before.
"Okay, I will wait," sounded from behind the door, but because the voice was muffled, he couldn't tell who exactly it was.
He expected to see Azka'rah when he opened the door, but was shocked to see his dad, the King's consort, there. Surprised, it took him a while to get moving again.
"Were you expecting my son, dear?" he suddenly asked, making Rey jump. He didn't think the alien would talk. Based on Azka's words, he was ashamed of his accent. But this was already the second time Qen spoke in front of him, so it was probably not the case.
"Well, yeah, kind of. He does live in the same wing, after all." He smiled nervously, starting his way towards the dining room.
Qen chuckled, taking the human's hand in his own. It, again, startled Corey because he didn't expect it, but he didn't try to shake the hand away. The alien looked so gentle and sincere at the moment, he couldn't find it in himself to do it. He felt like he would make him sad and offend him if he did that.
"Yes, he wanted to come. But he had a business to attend to, so he told me to come for you. The breakfast will be served soon." He smiled, looking at Corey with kind eyes. His expression changed to concerned one, though, when he realized the boy looked too exhausted considering it was only morning. He should be well rested and fresh-looking after a good night sleep.
"Did you sleep properly?" Qen asked, frowning. He didn't like the color of his skin and the bags under his eyes. It looked like he didn't sleep at all, and the alien didn't like that. They couldn't have the boys not taking care of themselves.
"Yeah, I...no. There was this strange sound coming from the walls, and I just couldn't sleep in the bed. I ended up sleeping in the bathroom." He tried to laugh, but the reminder of the sound gave him the creeps. He couldn't get rid of the feeling the scratching wasn't a normal thing, and he kept on wondering what exactly did it mean.
"A strange sound? What kind?" the alien asked, wrinkles of worries appearing on his face. He didn't like the sound of it. The walls in the palace were too thick to let any kind of sound in. There were only two options, and neither of them was good news for any of them; either Corey was hearing things that were not there, or it was the Refha, which would mean all of them were in great danger.
"Yeah, it sounded like scratching. As if someone was trying to scratch their way inside of my room. Usually, I wouldn't really pay any attention to it, but as I'm not at home, every little thing out of normal, which I was not explained, is just scary. I'm probably overreacting, but I just can't help myself." He smiled, goose bumps covering his whole body.
Qen's eyes widened, his face growing whiter. This was definitely not good news. With the history of the palace itself, hearing scratching was never a good thing.
Still frowning, Qen'eixe tugged on Rey's hand and quickened their speed. He wanted to be in the dining room as soon as possible. They had to check it out before something bad happened.
"I will tell the King and Azka about it, so they can look into it. I am sure it was nothing serious." He smiled, not wanting to make to boy more nervous, and continued towards the dining room.
*****
Corey was sitting in the grass behind the palace, enjoying the warm weather. He was surprised they let him be alone in the gardens for such a long time. He spent the morning after breakfast with Patrick and Isdoy, but he decided he needed some time alone after lunch, so he begged Qen to no end to let him go. He couldn't ask Azka, as he and the King were absent during the lunch, which was apparently his fault. As he found out later on, Qen sent them to check his room out.
Sighing, he stretched his hands, looking around the garden. He could see the edge of it at the far end, wondering about the ocean, and if there were some creatures living there.
Putting his hands down, he yipped when he touched something furry. Looking at it, his eyes widened. An odd looking animal was standing there, its cute cat-like muzzle sniffing his hand carefully. It had a fur red as a fox's, body reminding him of a small chick; it even had a two wing-like things attached to its back. When Corey looked more carefully, he could make out a tail that was curled under its body. After looking at it for more than a minute, he couldn't decide what exactly the animal reminded him of. It was neither a squirrel nor a bird, but it definitely had features of both of them.
"What are you, a bird or a rodent?" he asked the creature, shaking his head at his absurd behavior. He's been sitting in the grass for past three hours, resting, without talking to anyone, and it was making him stupid. He loved being left alone, but it was probably too much at the moment.
The animal suddenly jumped up, landing on Rey's stomach, and started to make its way up. It was looking at him with its big black eyes, nose twitching, and Corey couldn't suppress the urge to touch it. It was too cute.
When Rey's fingertips touched the soft fur of the creature, it stopped, letting out a soft purr-like sound. Corey couldn't help but chuckle when it started to lean against his fingers as a cat did when it wanted to be petted.
"It is a Bheila. It is a small garden animal that lives on trees. It is very friendly and harmless; they like to have someone petting them. There is a family of them in the tree over there. They have four young ones in their den at the moment. I suspect this one came out looking for a food and noticed you. We are all familiar with them so he was probably just curious because he has never seen you before." Azka's voice sounded suddenly, making Corey and the animal jump. The Bheila's big eyes turned towards the prince, the poor thing looking too shocked to react differently.
"Lesha, Loha." Azka'rah smiled, sitting down next to Rey and scratching the little thing behind its ear.
Confused and still a little bit startled by the prince's sudden appearance, Corey watched as the animal hissed, turned around and run up towards his neck where it stopped and snuggled down.
The alien chuckled at the animal's behavior.
"He is angry I disturbed you two. This is the male Bheila; we call him Loha. They are really intelligent animals, so they understand a lot. That is why they are not afraid of us and like to be in our presence. Although it looks like Loha found his new favorite in you." Azka'rah laughed, making Rey and the animal look his way with wide eyes. The sound of his laugher was something indescribable, and Rey found himself blushing for an unknown reason.
"Is that so? I didn't do anything, though. I just touched him a little before you showed up. Is something wrong?"
Azka found Corey's sudden change in color weird, but didn't pay any attention to it as there was more important thing at the moment. He had a reason to go and look for Rey after all.
"They get attached fast. They can read your intentions and your personality from your behavior and body language. If they feel you are a good person, they will automatically like you." He smiled, looking up in the sky.
"But I did not come here because of this. We looked around your room, from the inside and outside equally, and it had been taken care of. There was a sick animal trying to dig its way inside the palace with its horns. We took it to the healers so it should be quiet from now on." He directed his gaze at Rey, a serious expression on his face.
"I am sorry you had to experience something like that. You should have come to me. There is a spare bed in my room. I feel like I failed to take care of you when you had to sleep so uncomfortably." Shaking his head slightly, he looked back in the sky.
"I decided to make it up to you and we are going to the city before dinner. I know you are probably dying to see the surrounding area. You can buy whatever you want to as well. Do not refuse my offer, please. I will feel bad if I do not do something for you."
Corey was staring at him, Loha still resting against his neck. He didn't know what to say to that. Although he felt incredibly stupid for making everyone worry because of a hurt animal, he couldn't help but feel somehow excited at the thought of going out and discovering new things. And if it meant he would have to buy something to make the alien feel better, he would gladly accept it. Souvenirs were always part of a plan anyway.
"Okay. Just going out would be enough, though. But I'm not saying no. If you really insist on buying me something, I can do it. Though, as I said, it's really not necessary."
*****
The journey to the Royal City took less than 10 minutes, but it felt like an hour to Corey. He persuaded Patrick to go with him, so there were four of them in the end, as Isdoy joined them too. The royal Guards that were sent with them to protect the princes were in a car behind them.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop, Rey's excitement was overflowing. His legs started to shake in the middle of the journey, and he couldn't wait to get out of the car and see the city.
"We are here. I want you to stick to our group, so you would not get lost. The city has a lot of shops and houses, and it all looks similar to each other, so I am afraid you would not be able to find your way back in case we got separated. It applies to all three of you. Izzy, you were here just twice, and I do not want to risk losing you. The guards will be looking after us, but you know how busy this place can get. A second is enough for someone to get lost." Azka was looking at all of them, his face serious. He couldn't stop worrying about his younger brother. He was sure the humans would do whatever he told them as they've never been there before, but his brother was a different story. He tended to get lost in his thoughts and a lot of things always distracted him, which was a dangerous thing for a prince. There was even an incident few years back because of it.
He never liked to go to busy places, but this one time was an exception because he wanted to meet one of his favorite architects. The Architects lived far away from the Royal City, so it was almost a miracle for him to be there. When Izzy found out he would be in the city, he insisted to go there, begged his parents until they finally agreed.
The meeting itself went well and Isdoy was beyond happy when they were returning to their car. Unfortunately, he was too distracted because of it, and he got lost in the city. The Guards realized it almost immediately, but because of the people and the city itself, they couldn't find him for hours. What more, they had an information a big group of the Refha was roaming the city and its surroundings, so their fear for Isdoy's life was multiplied. And Azka didn't want to experience it ever again.
"Do not worry, brother. You are not the only one who was affected back then. I will pay attention. I can even hold hands with someone if you do not believe me," Izzy said, a shy smile playing on his lips. His fear of busy places got worse after the incident, but he didn't want to be left out this time.
Confusedly looking between the two siblings, Patrick was wondering what exactly the two of them were talking about. But there was no time to ask at the moment as the door suddenly opened, a tall black haired alien appearing in the opening.
"Livestes Ardohsha," the alien said, bowing his head slightly, and motioned his hand to let everyone know they could get off the vehicle.
"Porshes, Erlah'sihr." Azka smiled at the man, standing up and pushing the button for the stairs to appear. Turning back at the rest of the people in the Rehaz, he smiled.
"Shall we get going?"
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So, what do you think, how was the chapter?
Some theories as to who or what the Refha are?
I'm open to all your opinions and theories! ^.^
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Translations
Lesha - [leʃʌ] - Hello
Bheila - [Bejlʌ] (no translation, it's the little animal)
The Bhelia's name is Loha - [Lojʌ]
Livestes Ardohsha - [lɪvestes ʌrdoʃʌ]- Your Highness
Porsheh - [porʃek] - Thank you
A/N: While writing this, I realized I've never told you how to pronounce the names of the aliens. I felt so ashamed at that moment! I know many of you probably made your own way to say it - I do it all the time while reading - but I still wanted to let you know just in case. I added it to the Character List chapter as well - for possible new readers!
Azka'rah [ʌzkʌrʌh]
Isdoy [Isdoj]
Zevleokk [Zejlock]
Qen'eixe [kwæneks]
Nist'ahra [Nɪstʌhrʌ]
Mogae [Məʊgɪ]
Khirin [Kɪrɪn]
Erlah'sihr [Erlʌsir] - This character was added in this chapter, I didn't plan it beforehand, but he will appear more than once, so he was added to the character list as well (it's the same guy who was traveling with Corey when they were on their way to the palace for the first time).
I hope it's clear. I like using the official signs for pronunciation, so I hope I'm not making it confusing for you. I have no idea how I should write it in a different way to make it understandable. If you know, tell me!