Chapter Seven: A Time to Say Goodbye
Alanna's last days on Lin-Vayel were some she knew she was always going to remember. At the beginning, this had been hellish, being stuck on a different planet, not knowing whether she was going to make it home or not, or if she'd be killed or forced to stay here for the rest of her life.
But Luther had taken care of her and shown her that this place was more beautiful than she would have ever imagined a place could be. He'd taken her under his wing and made it possible for her to have a life here.
And she was going to miss it.
She was going to miss the water and the constant sound of waves, the way the sea air whipped around her when she got close enough to the shore, the food, the people, all of it.
But most of all, she was going to miss Luther. Never had she met someone like him before. Someone selfless and kind, encouraging and strong. And yeah, really good in bed. The thought of not seeing him every day...it made her not want to leave. It made her want to consider how things could be if she stayed on Lin-Vayel and never went home.
It was a fantasy, though. She knew she had to go back. It was where she belonged, though she didn't think she had ever felt as strongly about it as Luther felt about Lin-Vayel. And that was fine. Not everyone had to love their home with the intensity that Luther loved his. Sometimes home was just a place where you could rest and be comfortable, and she could do that in her home. It would be fine.
"I suppose I should give the clay back to the queen," Alanna said one night as they were laying together as they usually did. Even when they weren't having sex, it was nice to be touching.
"You should keep it," Luther said. "It was a gift. Something to remember us by."
"As if I could forget you," Alanna returned.
As if she could forget any of this. One of the worst things that had ever happened to her had somehow turned into something wonderful. She was still trying to work out exactly how that had happened, but she was drawing a very large blank. One minute she had been terrified, wanting nothing more than to leave, and the next she was sad to say goodbye.
At least Luther was going with her. He was going to accompany her to Earth and then stay for a few days to make sure nothing else came after her.
"The queen's orders," he'd said when he told her.
"I'll show you all of my favorite places," Alanna promised. Although she knew they would pale in comparison to what Luther had shown her. There was no way around that, really. Earth was nothing like Lin-Vayel.
She spent her last days there enjoying herself. She went to a fancy dinner with Luther, she hung out with Clio at the cantina, she sat on the grassy hill by herself and tried to get the colors of the sea just right in her book of paintings. She walked the marketplace, getting little trinkets and snacks that put her in a good mood.
And she was summoned to come stand before the queen.
It was a first. In the nearly three months since she'd come to this planet, the queen had never asked to see her personally. She'd spoken to Luther, who had relayed whatever messages there were to Alanna, and that had seemed to suit both of them fine. But now Queen Varen wanted to see her face to face, and Alanna was nervous.
"It won't be that bad," Luther said, trying to soothe her and not doing a very good job of it. "I'm sure she just wants to say goodbye."
"She never said hello," Alanna protested, trying to get her hair to lay down so she'd look somewhat presentable before being brought before the queen of the whole place.
"True, but I can assure you she doesn't mean you any harm," he said. "I will walk with you there."
That helped to settle her nerves a little, having Luther beside her always did wonders for her anxiety, which was something she was trying not to examine too hard.
She'd gotten plenty of glimpses of the palace, but never had been close enough to see it properly. It was beautiful, a marvel of construction that seemed to be laid with pearls and shells of all hues and sizes. Ostentatious, to a degree, but beautiful.
There was a woman standing outside of it, straight backed and still, and Luther smiled at her as they approached. "Prinna."
"Luther," she replied. "And you must be our resident human."
Alanna bit back the instinctive 'who else would I be' and nodded. "Yes. I'm Alanna."
"I am called Prinna," she said. "I am Her Majesty Queen Varen's right hand. I will take you to her now." She glanced at Luther. "And you have not been summoned."
"I know," Luther said. "I was just bringing her here, and I will wait outside."
Prinna nodded and turned sharply, heading inside. Alanna sent one last concerned look over her shoulder at Luther, and then followed.
The palace was just as beautiful inside as it was outside, and their footsteps echoed on the lovely marbled floors. Prinna didn't seem like one for small talk, so Alanna kept her mouth shut and focused on following her so she didn't get lost in this massive place.
They came to an intricately carved set of doors, and Prinna pushed them open, stepping in and bowing. "The human woman, Your Majesty," she said.
"Ah, yes. Thank you, Prinna," an elegant and deep female voice said. "Bring her in."
Prinna motioned for her to enter, and so Alanna did, heart pounding in her chest.
Queen Varen was a beautiful woman, all tall and strong looking. She was regal and draped in silks, sitting in one tall, leather backed chair with her ankles crossed. It made Alanna feel frumpy in her borrowed clothes by comparison, but when the queen waved her into the other chair, she sat down, swallowing hard.
"Your Majesty," she said, realizing she hadn't bowed yet.
Varen smiled, waving that away. "There are no need for formalities," she said. "I am not your queen, am I?"
"No, I suppose you're not," Alanna murmured. "You ah...you wanted to see me?"
"I did. You have been here for quite a time, Alanna. Living in my kingdom, amongst my people. I wonder if you would tell me what you think of them."
"I..." Alanna blinked, surprised at that. "I love it here," she said finally. "It's beautiful and bright. And you can really feel how everyone else loves it here, too. Your people are passionate and kind and good, and I've never been anywhere that made me feel like here before."
That seemed to take the queen by surprise, but she controlled her expression after a moment, tapping a finger against her lips. "You speak well of our people, then. And Luther?" she asked. "How did you find him?"
Alanna fought hard not to let her blush betray her, but she couldn't tell if she'd succeeded or not. It was hard to talk about Luther without thinking about all the things they had done together, and she didn't know how much the queen knew, though judging from her expression, Alanna was going to guess she knew enough. Which was its own special kind of disturbing.
"Luther was the best host I could have hoped for," Alanna said, feeling a bit like she was leaving a review on a website as she talked. "He took care of me, he made sure I didn't want for anything, and he always went above and beyond to keep me happy. I was probably much less than gracious to begin with, but he never stopped trying to make me happy."
"Yes, that does sound like Luther," the queen replied, a small smile on her face.
"If I can ask..." Alanna began. "Why do you want to know?"
"I will be frank with you, Alanna. The circumstances of your being here displease me. You arrived on a cargo carrier that no one can trace, carrying enough contraband to stock a shylay vessel for a year."
"Shylay?" Alanna asked.
"They are illegals who pilot ships on the edges of the galaxy, outside of the jurisdictions of the law. They sell things like drugs and stolen merchandise to those who can pay."
"Ah," Alanna replied, understanding. "Please, continue."
"It was not a fortuitous thing that happened, and I was convinced that you were a part of some scheme to ruin my people. I am glad I was wrong. I'm sure you know by now that I am having Luther investigate on Earth for a few days while he is there with you."
Alanna nodded. "Yes, I know."
"I would appreciate any help you can give him with that. He will be out of his element on another planet, and things that come easily to him here will be much harder there. He will need a pair of eyes that are used to seeing things as they are on Earth."
She had some idea of what Varen meant by that, but she wasn't going to get into that just then. Instead she nodded quickly. "Of course. I wasn't planning to abandon him as soon as we got there."
"I didn't think you would," the queen said, smirking once more. "That is all, then. I wish you a safe trip back to your home, Alanna."
Alanna got to her feet and bowed at the waist, even though she didn't have to. "Thank you, Your Majesty. And thank you for the hospitality of your people. And for the clay."
The queen looked startled at that. "Did you find it useful?"
"Not yet," Alanna replied honestly. "I want to make something worthy of it, and it hasn't come to me. But I really do appreciate it."
Varen smiled. "You have been a constant surprise, Alanna," she said. "I wish you luck."
"Thanks," Alanna said. "You, too. I hope you can figure out what's going on with all this."
She told Luther all about it as they had lunch together that afternoon.
"Do you think she knows about us?" she asked.
"Hard to say. I don't think the queen knows anything directly, but Prinna might. She's the one who gathers all the information."
Alanna frowned, realizing that she couldn't remember whether or not Prinna had been in the room with them while she had been talking to the queen. Ah well, at least she hadn't said anything overly embarrassing.
Before Alanna was quite ready for it to happen, it was her last day on Lin-Vayel. Luther had gone to make sure that they were still slated to leave at the same time they had planned to, and Alanna was making one last sweep of the house to make sure that she had everything she was taking.
She had come here with nothing, with less than nothing, honestly, and she was leaving with so much more than she had ever bargained for. It was amazing how things could change.
"Well," Luther said when he came back. "We're all set for tomorrow. The shuttle is loaded and scheduled to take off just after sunrise." His smile was wide, but didn't reach his eyes. Alanna knew him well enough by then to know that it was a mixture of him not wanting her to go and him not wanting to leave.
"I know you have your orders from the queen," she said. "But you really don't have to come with me if you don't want to. I know you don't like to leave this place."
Luther shook his head. "It's fine, Alanna. I would accompany you no matter what. Even if I didn't feel as I feel about you."
"And how do you feel about me?" she asked, even though she was already pretty sure she knew the answer to that, as well.
"I care for you deeply," he said. "It has been a long time since I've felt a connection to someone like this." He stepped forward and took her into his arms, pressing a warm, deep kiss to her mouth.
Alanna let him, content to revel in that and not think about anything else. Until sunrise, they were still together here. He was still someone who cared about her very much, and she cared about him with the same intensity.
She went onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him hard and fast.
"Alanna," he breathed, her name exhaled against her mouth.
"One last time," she breathed back. "Please."
"It will hardly be the last time," Luther said. "We have the entire trip to Earth, and I will be there for days. If you think I am letting you go now, just because we will not be here, then you are wrong."
She laughed at that, amused and pleased. Part of her had wondered if being here was some kind of requirement for them to be together. It was a relief to find that it wasn't the case.
"Well, one more time, then," she amended, and Luther smiled and pulled her with him to the bed.
It was practically routine now, the way they came together, but not in a way that was dull or overdone. No, they just knew each other now, knew where to touch and where to kiss, how to best get each other undressed in the shortest amount of time if that was the goal.
Alanna knew that if she turned the tables on Luther and pressed him back against the wall of the bedroom before sinking to her knees and sliding her hands up his thighs, he would tremble for her.
Swears in a language she had no hope of understanding spilled from his lips, and she smiled to hear them, leaning up to nuzzle the growing bulge in his pants.
It wasn't the first time she had been in this position, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. Luther liked to see her on her knees, and she liked to challenge herself to see how much of him she could take in at one time.
Even now, he was so big that she could only get about halfway down before she needed to breathe, but that never seemed to bother him at all. She made up for the lack of her mouth in places with her hand, and he always came and looked plenty satisfied after.
Now, she wanted to take her time. Even though Luther had a point about how this wasn't going to be the last time they were together, she knew that their times were numbered now, and she wanted to savor this, savor him.
"Alanna," he moaned. "You're being a tease."
"Do I ever fail to follow through?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.
He snorted, but shook his head. "No, you always do."
"Then relax." She had a plan, anyway, and it began with getting his pants undone, mouthing at the thickness of him through the cloth as she did. She didn't understand at all how he could be this well endowed and hardly ever wear underpants and still manage to be decorous in public, but that was a thought for another day.
Now she had the hardness under her lips, even through a layer of fabric, and all she wanted to do was keep it there.
His fingers found their way into her hair, and she hummed with pleasure when they went just tight enough that she was reminded that they were there. Luther never tried to force her down onto his cock or direct her movements. Instead he just seemed to know that the connection made everything better.
She worked him out of his pants, taking the half hard length of him into her hand. It was so smooth and thick, so soft against her fingers and hot to the touch. As she stroked it slowly, it got harder, and she smiled at the sight, leaning in to lick the head slowly, like it was an ice cream cone.
Luther groaned, and Alanna heard the dull thud of him thunking his head back against the wall.
That was always a nice reaction to get.
Slowly, she eased her mouth over the head of him, humming softly at the clean, warm taste of his skin in her mouth. Alanna sucked at the head, tongue rubbing the underside, a prelude to what she planned to do once she got warmed up.
"Alanna, you're so good," Luther moaned, his hips jerking forward just a bit.
She glanced up at him, a smirk stretched around his cock. It had been comforting to realize, the first time they'd done this, that men from other planets liked the same sorts of things that human men did. Alanna had never had any complaints about her oral skills, and now she could say that was true on two planets.
Confidence made her bold, and she worked her way down further on him, gagging slightly when the head of his cock hit the back of her throat. He was such a large mouthful that she couldn't hold that for very long, and she coughed slightly on the way back up.
It was wet and messy, and while Alanna would have been perfectly fine with Luther finding his release in her mouth and things getting messier, she didn't complain when he pulled her up from her knees and kissed her.
She liked that he didn't mind getting the taste of himself in his own mouth from her lips, and she made a low noise that betrayed just how much she was into this. She could feel that she was wet for him, and clearly he wanted to feel it, too, since his hand found its way down to her crotch where he rubbed teasingly for just a moment, just enough that she was gasping and pushing against him, clearly wanting more.
Luther kissed her hard and then pressed her back until she was on the bed, legs spread, staring up at him.
He was so attractive, and it was still sometimes hard to believe that he had decided that he wanted her of all people. She knew that he'd had a thing for Clio some time ago, but it was strange to think that he hadn't ever pursued anyone else.
When she'd asked him about it, he'd said that it just hadn't felt right, but apparently with her, it did feel right, and that made her feel warm inside.
When he kissed her again, she opened for him, lifting her hips to help him shimmy her pants down and off, giving him access to her center. His fingers went right for it, pressing in and in and in, and she gasped for him, arching and shaking slightly.
"You are so beautiful," he murmured softly. "How are you so beautiful?"
Alanna laughed, and there was pure joy in it. Hearing someone say things like that about her with a look that clearly showed that he meant it was amazing, and she couldn't help but revel in her feelings for him and in that moment.
As much as Alanna loved having him on top of her, she wanted a different memory of this. She wanted to remember how it felt to be on top of him in the dim light of his bedroom, with the sound of the waves in the distance. She wanted to look back on this and remember how happy it made her.
Luther didn't seem to have any complaints when she worked her way out from under him and climbed on top. Instead he smiled at her, lips quirked in a smile as he held onto her hips.
"Queen of the bedroom," he murmured, and she laughed, leaning down and pressing their lips together.
It still felt so good, so right to kiss him like that. To have their mouths moving together in slow tandem, to have his hands on her body, hers in his hair.
He kissed her like they had all the time in the world, and she loved that. She loved that even though they didn't have very much time left, he didn't let it stop him from taking his time and savoring her.
It made her tremble slightly, and there was a wave of missing him intensely, even though he was right there. Soon he wouldn't be, though, or she wouldn't be, and she hadn't quite worked out what she was going to do without him.
Instead of dwelling on that, she smiled against his mouth and reached back to grip his cock with one hand. Luther inhaled sharply, and she smiled, stroking him just a bit before she raised her hips and then let herself sink down on him.
He felt even thicker from this angle, impaling her with his hardness, and it took her a minute to adjust to him filling her so completely.
Even though there was such a difference in sizes, he fit her so well, and she moaned softly, licking her lips as she set an easy pace for them, riding him slowly.
He slid his hand up her thighs to her hips, fingers digging into her flesh.
"Alanna," he moaned. "You feel so good. So good."
"You too," she panted. "God, I love this."
Luther laughed, loud and unencumbered, and Alanna grinned at him, riding him with that same measured pace until they both found their releases in each other.
The room was silent, save their quiet breathing and the sound of the rain coming in through the open window. Even when it was raining outside, Lin-Vayel was still beautiful. Alanna could see now what Luther had been talking about when he'd spoken of the wonder of this place.
It had been just over three months since she'd crash landed on this planet, a captive, terrified and hurt, and now she felt like...well. Not quite like she belonged there, but like she wasn't such a weirdo. Such an outsider.
People recognized her when she walked down the street. Bakers in the marketplace gave her free treats or asked her to taste things for them. Other members of the warriors knew her as Luther's friend and gave her messages to pass on to him. Even Queen Varen had met with her and told her that she was welcome there. She'd come so far since she'd arrived here, and now it was time to go home.
Her head was pillowed on Luther's chest, one of his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She could feel his heart beating under her head, and she closed her eyes, listening and feeling it, almost like she was trying to memorize the sound.
He would be escorting her back to Earth, of course, and there would be a few days where he poked around, but after that...
"You could stay."
The sudden words caught her off guard, and she jumped slightly, surprised. "What?"
"You could stay. Here, I mean. I know this isn't your home and that you have a place back on Earth, but...we would have you here, too. I would. And so would the others. Clio likes you, and the queen doesn't think you're responsible for anything that's happened anymore. You could do art here. We like art."
It was a pretty picture. She could get up every morning and take her supplies down to the shore. Spend the morning creating or just gathering inspiration and then head to the marketplace for lunch. Get one of those spicy meat pie things she liked so much, or the fried vegetables with the sweet sauce. When Luther was done with whatever was on his plate for the day, they could meet for dinner and then go back home and spend the evening together. It would be an adventure the likes of which she had never experienced before.
But as beautiful as Lin-Vayel was, Alanna knew it could never be home. She would always be the outsider, even if people liked her now. She'd be the only one of her kind here, the only one who knew what it was to be human. No matter how close she and Luther got, no matter how many friends she made, she would never be completely comfortable here.
"I can't," she said softly. "I have a life back on Earth. I have friends and I'm trying to start a business. I can become the person I want to be on Earth, and as much as I like it here—”
"It's not your home," Luther murmured. "I know. I knew you wouldn't agree to stay, but I had to say it. Just to be sure you knew it was an option."
She smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest. "I'm glad of that. Means you're going to miss me."
"There was never any question of that," he replied. "I was always going to miss you. You made things exciting here in a way that they weren't before. You made me feel—” He broke off and then sighed. "Let us just say that you made me feel things I haven't felt in a long time."
Alanna could feel herself blushing slightly, and she turned her face to hide it against his warm skin. "It's the same for me," she said. "But look at it this way. We're not leaving for another few days, and we have the whole trip there to be together. And you're supposed to do some poking around while you're there, aren't you? To see why they grabbed me in the first place?"
Luther hummed an affirmative and stroked her bare shoulder. "Not enough time," he said.
"Would there ever be enough?"
"No," he conceded. "I just...I have to wonder what could have been."
"Probably I would have driven you crazy in the next couple of months and you would have wished that I'd left."
"I don't believe that."
She smiled. "You should. I told you what I did to the last person I was in a relationship with, didn't I?"
He hummed again, and it rumbled in his chest. "You did, but I don't think that you did it because you're a bad person. I think you were unfulfilled."
"That's putting it mildly. But I was at fault, too. I tend to get...I don't know, unhappy I guess, when I can't have my way. And that makes me do silly things that hurt people. And then apparently I get snatched up by aliens before I can even apologize to those people. It's a hard life."
"You poor thing." Luther kissed the top of her head and sighed softly. "I don't think it would go like that, though. I think you would be surprised. I think I could make you happy."
"But would I make you happy?" Alanna asked, voice soft as she let his words wash over her.
"You already do," Luther said, and suddenly she wanted to cry. It just figured, didn't it, that when she found someone like this, who looked at her like she was a wonder and who talked to her like her thoughts were as important as his own, she would have to leave him.
It hurt to hear how he thought things would go, partly because she couldn't believe that she could ever be a part of anything that worked so well, and partly because she knew they couldn't have it, and even if they could, there was no guarantee that it would last, and then she’d just be stuck here on Lin-Vayel.
And changing her entire life for something that probably wouldn't work in the end just seemed too big a risk to take. No, she was better off going back home where she at least understood how things worked and already knew what she could expect.
They rose early that morning, before the sun was even up. Alanna hadn't slept much anyway, too jittery with nerves and heavy with sadness. She'd expected to feel at least a little bit of relief to be able to go home finally, but instead she just felt strangely hollow and unhappy.
She took one last look around at Luther's home, eyes lingering on all the spots that she had come to love and think of as a little bit her own, before Luther led her out the door.
There was no one else around really, as they made their way down to the docks to get to their shuttle. It was a quiet morning, the air cold and crisp and salty as usual. Alanna sighed softly and let him lead her onwards, wishing she had time to stop and try to capture everything to memory.
"Goodbye," she murmured as they passed places she'd been to before and places she hadn't been to alike.
The docks were a hive of activity, which was a large contrast to the rest of the city at this hour. To her surprise, Clio was leaning over one of the consoles, punching in numbers. She looked up when they entered, a bright smile on her face.
"So we're finally getting rid of you," Clio said, but Alanna could tell that she was teasing.
"Guess so," she said, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm sure you're all relieved."
"Not so," Clio replied. "We're going to miss you."
"What are you doing here?" Luther asked, coming over to them.
Clio gave him a look, hands on her hips. "My best friend and my new friend are going to Earth for a time, and you think I was going to miss this? I volunteered to help get you guys off world. Is that alright?"
She said it with her usual flippancy, but Alanna could tell that she was actually asking because she wanted to make sure it was okay.
Luther just looked at her for a long moment but then he folded her into a hug. "Of course that's alright. Thank you."
Clio laughed and then patted him awkwardly on the back. "You're welcome. Now get on board, so I can get you in the air."
Alanna hugged her next, and then they made their way onto the shuttle. It wasn't as large as the carrier that had brought her to this planet, but it was roomy enough for the two of them. There were three beds in the back, a little kitchen area, and a place to take care of daily ablutions.
According to Luther, unless they managed to hit a really good warp path (which he'd explained to be little pockets of space that had weird gravity and time fluctuations and could shave three days off travel time if you were lucky), it would take about a week to get to Earth in the shuttle they had.
That was fine with Alanna. More time to spend with Luther, and more time to figure out what she was going to tell everyone when she got back to Earth.
Of course, there was something exciting about this trip, mainly that even though she was on a different planet, she'd been unconscious for the take off from Earth, and kept in the back of a place with no windows for the trip to Lin-Vayel, so she hadn't gotten to see anything. At least now she would actually be present and alert for a trip through space.
They got on board and got themselves situated, and Luther looked over to her, taking her hand. "Are you nervous?" he asked.
"About the trip or about going home?"
"Either, I suppose," he said.
Alanna smiled. "Both, kinda."
"Well," he said. "I'll be with you. Don't worry."
And that made all the difference.