The room was big, like everything in the house, but had very little furniture – a huge bed, a couple of nightstands and a couch was all she could see.
“This is the dressing room, and the bathing room is through here,” Asim explained, signaling a couple of doors, she hadn’t noticed on the wall in front of the bed.
On the wall to her right, there was a huge window that opened up to a small balcony, but she didn’t dare open it up. The storm outside looked a lot worse than a few minutes ago.
“Thank you. My suitcases are still in the vehicle that brought us here. Do you think I could get them?” she asked Asim.
“I’ll take care of that. Why don’t you take a warm bath while I get you something to eat? You must be hungry.”
A warm bath would be excellent, but she wasn’t hungry. She had no idea what time it was, but she was very tired.
“That’s very kind of you, but I ate before I met citizen Vrak. I just want a bath and get some sleep,” she explained.
The woman nodded. “I’ll see that you get your luggage while you take a bath. You’ll find a bathrobe in the bathing room you can use.”
“Thank you.”
She watched Asim leaving the room, and she sighed, dropping her purse on the couch. The bed looked so comfortable, she considered the idea of getting under its covers and bathing in the morning.
But knowing a warm bath would make her feel better, she went to the bathroom, relieved to see it used a very similar system to the one they had on the vessel and a few minutes later, she was under the warm stream.
She returned to the room a few minutes later using the bathrobe Asim had mentioned and looked for her luggage, but it wasn’t anywhere around. She opened the room’s door to go looking for it, and she almost bumped into Vrak, who was about to knock on the door.
He stared at her for a moment too long before he handed her the suitcases. “I thought you might need this,” he said, in a hoarse tone.
“Yes… thank you. I was about to go looking for it,” she said, with a faint smile, as she took her suitcases.
The intense way he was looking at her was sending chills down her spine. It was as if he had never seen anyone like her.
“I hope you’re comfortable,” he said, stepping into the room.
She dropped the bags near the bed. “Yes, of course. Thank you very much for your hospitality.”
He nodded. “I’ve notified Kahm about the situation, and he has sent a message to your future husband. I’ll take you to the meeting point, the moment this storm fades away,” he informed her.
“I hope it won’t take too long. I would hate to become a hindrance.”
“That would never happen,” he assured her. “I’ll let you get some rest,” he added after a few moments of awkward silence.
It was as if he wanted to say something else, but didn’t know how.
He finally left the room and Aliyah fell back on the bed, heaving as her heart slowed its pace. His presence affected her in ways she couldn’t quite explain. She shouldn’t be feeling such things for another man when she was about to marry someone else. It would only make her life more miserable than it already was.
Vrak closed the door behind him and sighed. He shouldn’t have gone to the woman’s room. Seeing her with her long hair falling down her back had made him wish he could caress the silky locks and lose himself in the crook of her neck.
Her fresh scent flared his nostrils the moment she opened the door and the reaction of his body was immediate and powerful. He was amazed she hadn’t noticed the prominent bulge in his pants.
Taking a deep breath, he headed towards his own room on the other side of the hallway, and he was about to get in when Asim called him.
“Will you need my assistance tonight, sir?” she asked, with her mellifluous tone.
For a split second, he considered accepting her offer, like he had so many times in the past, but this time he was sure it would only increase his frustration, and he wouldn’t get the release he needed so badly.
“Not tonight, Asim, thank you. I’ll see you in the morning,” he replied, entering his room and closing the door, not noticing the ugly scowl on the woman’s face.
Aliyah woke a few hours later. The room was still dark, despite nothing covered the window. The day was so dark that for a moment, she thought she hadn’t slept at all. Jumping out of bed, she walked to the window, and this time, she was able to perceive the grounds around the house. The sun was up, but it was very well hidden behind the dark clouds.
The storm hadn’t subsided. If any, it looked even worse than the day before, and that meant she wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.
With a sigh, she got dressed and walked out of her room. She was starving.
Once on the ground floor, she looked around trying to figure out what to do when a door near her opened up, and Asim showed up.
“Greetings, citizen Aliyah. I hope you had a good night,” she greeted with her melodious tone.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Citizen Vrak is out taking care of the cattle, but he instructed me to see that you had everything you might need,” she continued. “Would you like to have something to eat?”
“That would be great, thank you. What time is it? I’m afraid I’ve lost track of time ever since I left my home planet,” she asked, with a faint smile.
She didn’t like the woman. Her permanent smile was creepy, to say the least. Maybe it was unfair since she barely knew the woman, but her guts kept telling her not to trust the other woman.
“It’s a bit past midday. I’ll have one of the androids serve you a meal in the meals’ room, right this way,” she offered, showing her the way to the dining room.
Like the rest of the house, the room had the minimum furniture possible – just a long table and a dozen comfortable chairs. One of the room’s walls was made of glass or something similar, and you could look out into what she supposed was the gardens. Right now, the whole place was clad with a thick, white blanket of snow.
She was glad she wasn’t outside. When she turned around to look at the table, a man was entering the room with a tray. Perhaps, calling him a man wasn’t quite accurate. Though he looked very much like a man, when she looked more carefully, she was able to notice a few details that gave away the fact he was some sort of robot – an android, as Asim had called him.
“I hope you enjoy your food,” Asim said, handing her a small device. “This is a communication device. All you have to do is press this button, and one of us will answer your call.”
“Thank you,” she put away the device in the pocket of her pants before she took a seat at the table.
For a moment, she thought the other woman would stay there keeping her company, but fortunately, she turned around and left the room leaving her alone.
During her trip here, she had been familiarized with the food people usually ate on the planet, so she had no problem in identifying the meat stew served with vegetables.
She was about to start eating when the door opened up, and Vrak walked in.
“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked, taking a seat in front of her.
“This is your home,” she replied, with a faint smile, as he used the communication device to order his meal.
Suddenly, she had lost her appetite, or should she say, she no longer craved food.
Like the day before, he was only wearing pants, allowing her to relish the sight of his chiseled chest and the amazing tattoos covering it.
“Were you outside?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, I was checking the barns, making sure the heating systems were functioning perfectly,” he replied, as he accepted the tray the android had brought him.
“Did you go out like that? Cold doesn’t affect you?” she asked, unable to hold back the question.
He looked at her a bit surprised. “You mean, shirtless?” she nodded. “Yes, I did. You’ll never see me wearing a shirt. We cover our upper bodies with tattoos, and that’s all. The cold doesn’t affect me. I come from a planet where it snows during the whole sun’s rotation. We’re very far from our star, and the temperatures are very low,” he explained.
“Oh… it mustn’t be easy to live there.”
“For us, it’s our way of living, but other species have a lot of trouble adjusting. Most can’t.”
She shuddered. “I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to,” she assured him.
“Probably not. It’s a good thing you’re marrying a man from Sumirion and not one from Aslora,” he replied, with a tone a bit too cold.
She gave him a faint smile. “How long have you been living here?” she asked, not willing to talk about her future husband.
“Almost twenty rotations now. I needed a change of air, and when I heard about this place, I decided to give it a shot,” he explained, starting to eat.
“Did you leave any relatives behind?” she guessed she shouldn’t be asking that much, but she was curious. She wanted to know all about him.
“Yes, a few, but we’re not close,” his tone cold again, discouraging her from continuing with her questions.
“How long does this weather last here?”
“Almost half of the sun’s rotation. But things aren’t as bad as they are with this storm. Being stranded like this only happens a couple of times during a sun’s rotation.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” she said, with a smile. “Where I came from, it’s very cold too, but last night I felt colder than I ever had.”
“It’s a nasty storm, that’s for sure.”
They finished eating, and they were about to leave the room when Asim showed up, with her usual smile. “Would you like anything else?”
“We’re good, Asim, thank you,” he dismissed her, turning to look at Aliyah. “Kahm, the man responsible for your presence here has asked me to introduce you to him on a conference call,” he told her, asking her to follow him.
“Of course,” she muttered, wondering if she would meet her future husband too.
Vrak took her to the living room and pulling a thin screen from underneath the table, he invited her to take a seat on the sofa next to him.
A few moments later, he had established communication with the other man.
“Hello, Aliyah, I hope you had a pleasant journey,” Kahm greeted her, with a friendly smile.
“Yes, thank you, it was nice.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to welcome you to Sumirion, but my wife wasn’t feeling so well, and I didn’t want to leave her side,” he explained.
“You did well. I hope she is feeling better now,” she replied in a kind tone.
“She is, thank you. With luck, you’ll meet her before you leave Terrion. People in Sumitera do not coexist with us, here in Terrion,” he explained, with a scowl.
Her heart missed a beat when she heard that, certain she didn’t like that idea. “The Cetians told me there were other human females on this planet. Are they also living in Sumitera?” she asked, though she was sure the answer would be no.
“No, you’ll be the first non Sumirion person living in Sumitera. They had always rejected the idea of mingling with other species, but after they met a human female, they decided it was time to change that rule,” the man explained and Aliyah struggled not to let her feelings show.
“I see… Well, it will be quite a challenge, I’m sure,” she said, in the most enthusiastic tone she was able to summon.
“My wife was the woman they met, and she spent a couple of days with one of the tribes, and she told me the people were nice, so I’m sure you’ll be fine,” he said, but she could tell he didn’t really believe his own words.
“I’m sure of it too.”
“Either way, if you decide you’re not happy there, all you have to do is let me know, and we’ll void the contract,” he offered, but she was sure that wasn’t that simple.
She could still remember the Cetians’ speech and the way they were proud of their success rate. They were not going to let her fall back on the deal, she was sure of that. “Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” she said, in a plain tone.
“As soon as the storm goes away, Vrak will take you to the meeting point,” he informed her.
“Will I be able to meet my future husband through a conference call?” she asked, praying the man could arrange that.
“I’m afraid not. The Sumirions don’t use many technologies, and as far as I know, they don’t have communication devices. Our only way to contact the tribe is through Goln, the representative of the people living here in Terrion,” he explained.
“I guess I’ll have to wait then,” she said, pasting a fake smile on her face.