Chapter One
"Please, I can't do this. Send me home."
I watched as Theia and Creia exchanged worried glances and eased closer to the edges of their seats so that they could stare down at me. They leaned closer, not enough that I felt like they were trying to intimidate me, but enough that I felt them closing the space between us as if they were trying to make our conversation more private. The row of warriors standing on the far side of the room were not looking at us, but I would see them turning their ears subtly toward us as if they were trying to listen in on the conversation without us noticing them.
I mirrored the action of the king and queen, leaning slightly towards them and meeting their eyes so that they could see that I was very serious about my request.
"Please. I've been here for less than 24 hours. I'm sure that the university shuttle is still here. I would like to be on it when they leave to return to Earth."
Theia looked at her husband again and then back to me.
"Like you said, Dear, you have only been on Uoria for less than a day. How could you possibly know already that you want to go home? I know that our planet is different from yours, but if you give yourself time to get accustomed to it, I'm sure that you could learn to love it as much as the other human women who have come here."
I shook my head adamantly.
"I'm sorry. I know that I made a commitment to be a part of the exchange program between the university and the Denynso, but I've realized in my time here that I'm not cut out for this type of environment. I'm sure that the university can find another professor who will be willing to take my place."
Creia rubbed his face with his hand, looking distressed. I knew that the program meant a lot to the king and queen, but they seemed far more upset about me wanting to leave than I thought they would be. After all, I had just gotten there the day before and I hadn't even figure out who I was teaching yet, much less actually started teaching, so I didn't understand why they seemed to have so much emotionally invested in my staying on as the foreign exchange professor to teach the Denynso about Earth customs and traditions.
"You did make a commitment to us in regards to the exchange program, but I feel that there may be more that should be keeping you here."
"What do you mean?" I asked, even though I felt sure that I already knew exactly what he was talking about and didn't want to think about it anymore.
"I thought that you may have felt more of a connection with…" he hesitated and Theia looked at him with a meaningful glance that said be quiet before you make this situation worse, "the people of Uoria than you expected to and would want to spend more time getting acclimated to the new weather and culture."
The words came out flatly and it was obvious that that wasn’t what he had originally intended to say.
"Is this about the Klimnu attack last night?" Theia asked.
My body shuddered as I thought about the horrible experience that I had had the night before. I had only been on the planet for a few hours when I heard Ero, my escort from the ship, making fun of me to the other warriors. His comments about my size had been cruel even though he said them like they were a joke, and they brought up memories that I would rather have left behind me. When I left the banquet hall it was so dark that I managed to get myself lost and ended up in the thick forest that surrounds the Denynso compound, putting me right in the grip of slimy, disgusting, skeletal creatures that tried to capture me.
"Yes," I replied.
Even though the experience with the Klimnu in the forest had been terrifying, I knew that that was not actually the reason that I wanted to leave. Those creatures were awful, but the truth was I could have handled the situation and gotten over it. That is, if Ero hadn't found me hiding in the forest. I had been feeling an intense and confusing attraction to him since I met him, which is part of why the comments he had made were so painful, and when he found me sitting up against the tree, it was like we couldn't keep our hands off of each other. We didn't even talk. We were just suddenly ripping each other's clothes off and fucking with such intensity I could still feel him inside me as I stood there in front of the royal company pleading my case.
"I hope you know that that is not a common experience and that our warriors are the best in the galaxy. You are safe here. I'm sure that Ero will protect you. We have already assigned him as your personal guard and he will make sure that you are well taken care of while you are with us."
I shook my head again, closing my eyes against the tears that were building up in them. I didn't want Ero taking care of me. He had already broken me. It had been so long since any man had touched me, and after Ero did I felt disgusted by myself. I had allowed this man, this close-minded, arrogant man who thought I was less than the other women on the planet because I was tall and curvy, overtake me because I was feeling a moment of terror and weakness. I hated that he had been able to do that to me, and even more that I couldn't stop thinking about him even after he escorted me to the quarters chosen for me for my time staying on the planet during the program and left.
"I just don't think that I have it in me to do this. Please, allow me to take the shuttle back to the university. I will personally help find a replacement for my position."
Creia and Theia looked at me sadly, but nodded. I knew that part of the agreement for the exchange program was that they were not allowed to keep me on their planet against my will. Technically I didn't even have to ask them to let me leave. I did out of respect for them and desire to maintain the communications and cooperation that were gradually building between the Denynso and the humans. I didn't want my own personal issues to get in the way of the relationship the species had been working so hard to develop.
"Shall we call Ero to escort you back to the ship?"
"No," I answered quickly. The last thing I wanted was to see him again. I wanted to be off the planet as soon as possible and get the thoughts of him behind me, "I can make it back myself."
"We can't let you do that. We will send Pyra with you." Theia stood from her throne and stepped down to me, reaching out to take my hand in hers like she did when we first met, "I have to say that I am very sad to see you go so soon. I was hoping that you would find the same type of comfort and happiness here that your fellow human women have."
"Thank you. I'm sad, as well. I'm sorry that this didn't work out the way that we hoped, but I’m sure that the next professor that comes here will be an amazing part of your program."
Theia grasped my hand more tightly for a second and I saw a look of true sadness in her eyes. I wondered how much she knew about my time with Ero. Creia came up and patted me comfortingly on the back.
"You are always welcome to return if you change your mind. We will make sure that the university knows that any time you want to come back, you have a place here."
"Thank you," I said, still startled by how deeply they seemed to be feeling my decision to leave.
Theia gestured over my shoulder and the massive warrior called Pyra came to my side. He didn't look at me, but nodded at the king and queen and agreed to be my escort back to the ship. We walked back in silence, Pyra occasionally glancing my way. When we got to the ship, he turned to look at me.
"Are you leaving because of Ero?"
His question startled me and I stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I asked."
I stiffened at his attitude.
"I'm leaving because of the Klimnu attack," I said, deciding I might as well keep up with the story I told the king and queen.
He looked at me, scrutinizing my face, and then shook his head.
"No, you aren't."
I grabbed my bags and climbed up onto the ship platform without another word. I wasn't going to let some warrior I didn't even know try to judge me for my decisions. I wanted to go home and that is exactly what I was going to do.