CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ALEXANDRA
I was so grateful to Ineq for talking with Camilla for me. It was more than I could have asked for. I did not expect him to do such a thing and yet he did without me even asking. Every day I felt more and more like I did not deserve him, but I had to get past feeling that way. He had forgiven me for my mistake and was willing to take me as I was. I felt more in love with him than ever and our constant nights of making love only brought us closer together, that as well as the fact that we were now a team to bring this offspring into the world. I felt so much support from him.
He had drastically changed since our first meeting. He wasn’t the cold brute alien he was when I first met him. He had opened his heart, and with that came a fun and loving alien dragon shifter. I was glad that he had abducted me from Earth, something I thought was the worst thing at the time. Now I could not imagine a life without him. I had the love of my life, a child on the way, and I was in the process of putting my marine biology studies to good use.
“What is this?” I said as I picked up a pink and purple shell from the sand and showed it to my marine biology tutor, Ineq.
“That is called a Yutoawa. It is a home for a creature at times,” he said, flipping it over and showing me the inside. Two small claws stuck out.
“Oh, I see. It is like a hermit crab,” I said delightedly as I looked it over. “This one is going in the book,” I said sitting in the sand and opening my notebook. I drew the shell and what I could see of the creature with the Yutoawa name. “Do you know how lucky I am to be able to study alien marine life? This is just extraordinary. Scientists on Earth would kill to be able to study just this one specimen, and I have an entire planet of creatures to study. It’s going to take me a lifetime!” I was so excited.
“I am glad this makes you happy. I love seeing a smile on those full, delicious lips of yours,” he said.
“Yes, it does make me happy. I am very happy. I have everything. I have you, a child on the way, the most beautiful place in the galaxy as a home. If I only had…”
“Your best friend back?” he asked.
“Yes,” I frowned. “She told me she petitioned the king to go back to Earth. I want her to be happy, but the idea of never seeing her again makes me very sad.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. It has only been granted one time, very long ago.”
“What?”
“A human female being granted to go back to Earth.”
“Really? It’s actually been granted?”
“Yes, but it was under very special circumstances.”
“But it has been done,” I sighed.
“Maybe Camilla will come around sometime soon,” he said.
“I hope so,” I said.
“Maybe sometime soon, in the next five minutes,” he said looking past me. I turned to see Camilla walking toward us. I gasped.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
“I will leave you two. I’m going to go catch dinner anyway,” Ineq said as he kissed me on the cheek. Then he ran toward the water like he was going to dive into the waves, but instead he took flight. I watched him fly over the ocean.
“I’ll never get used to that,” I said watching.
“Yeah, me either,” she said, sitting in the sand next to me. I felt a load lift off my shoulders as she sat down. This was a good sign.
“What are you doing?” she said, pointing at the notebook.
“Continuing my marine biology work. Might as well. I don’t want my degree to go to waste, and I have an entire alien planet full of life to study. It’s really exciting,” I said.
“Yes, that is very cool. This place is perfect for you. It’s like the Mexican Riviera on the entire planet.”
I laughed, “Mexico. Do you think whoever we stole that boat from ever found it?”
Camilla burst into laughter. “Oh my god! That seems like so long ago! Can you imagine the look on his face when he got to the dock the next morning? ‘Where’s my boat?’”
I laughed so hard I rolled onto my side. It felt good to laugh with her again and be silly. It felt really good.
“Well we asked for a getaway and boy did we get a getaway! We were taken into space. It’s insane!” she said.
“Yes. It is. I can barely believe it. Sometimes when I first wake up, I think I have dreamt all of it.”
“Even being pregnant?” she said.
I stopped laughing and sat up right. I looked at her shocked. “How do you know that?”
“Ineq told me,” she said.
“Oh, he didn’t tell me he told you.”
“Are you scared?”
“Yes,” I said. “I am very scared. But also very happy… but also very scared,” I laughed.
“I am happy for you. Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I’m mostly scared to go through it alone.”
“You won’t. You have me,” she said grabbing my hand.
“I do?” I asked feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.
“Yes. I forgive you, Alexandra,” she said.
“Camilla. I’m so relieved to hear you say that. I miss you so much. I don’t want to be here without you,” I said, hugging her as tears began to pour down my cheeks.
“Aww, I know. I miss you too. Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry,” she said.
“I can’t stop. It’s all part of being pregnant. I’m always on the verge of tears. It’s crazy,” I said laughing.
“I have an idea. What do you say we go back to my hut place and have a girls’ night? Just like old times of being roomies?”
“Yes! Absolutely!” I said excitedly.
“Come on. I’ll help you up, old pregnant lady,” she said standing up and giving me her hand.
A couple of hours later we were sitting on her bed in her little hut deep in conversation about college life. We were having a great time, and at times I would almost forget we were on an alien planet. We would get so lost in conversation and forget.
“The commander has been visiting me at night while I am sleeping. I don’t think he knows that I have seen him doing it,” she said.
“Ineq used to do the same thing to me, only I didn’t know that he was doing it,” I said.
“Why do they do this?” she asked.
“I really don’t know.”
“I do want to talk to him again,” she said.
“Then do it. He is trying so hard,” I said.
“I know he is. I will talk to him soon,” she said. She was frowning, and I felt a wave of guilt hit me. I was the reason for her sadness, and I did not know if I could ever get over the guilt. But I wanted her to be happy, and I knew that she wanted to be with Vrerkin. So I would encourage her to do so no matter how awkward it might be between all of us. If Ineq could forgive me, then maybe Camilla could forgive Vrerkin.
“Want to see something cool?” she said as she hopped up off the bed.
“Sure,” I said.
She ran over to the cabinet on the wall and opened it. Then she ran back to me with something in her hand.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked.
“Yes! Cosmopolitan Magazine! Can you believe it?” she laughed and dropped it on the bed in front of me.
“Where did you get this?” I said thumbing through the pages. It was so odd to see something so very Earthly in front of me.
“One of the girls had it in her back pack when she was abducted a year ago. It’s old, but not that old. I thought we could do the quizzes and stuff like we used to,” she said.
“Absolutely!” I said excitedly.