Alexis was devastated, to say the least. She was locked up in the king’s quarters with no idea what was going on outside of it. Were the other women, all right? Was Destiney happy, or was she struggling to not have her dignity taken away? She wanted to ask the guard that had been assigned to her a million questions, but beyond announcing his post, he had said nothing else. Alexis got the feeling that he was not into the assignment or excited about her. He could easily be bitter about the fact that he was not one of the men who was afforded a woman. Many of the men did not get one.

The sheer amount of Milisarian knights on the ship had surprised her. What surprised her even more was the fact that they had not promptly landed on the surface of the planet like she had expected. They had gone in the opposite direction. So, whatever the king had planned, the women would all be along for the ride. It was not a good sign for their future, as Alexis knew that the Milisarians were often in battle. What if something happened to the women because of an enemy attack?

Alexis thought back to her time on Earth, and the moment she made the decision to get on that ship to go to the Arkani. She was still a glorified secretary at NASA, knowing that they were never going to allow her to get anywhere in the company, no matter how much she proved herself. She remembered how she had studied women of the past that had done great things and given a presentation. Those who had bothered to pay attention laughed at her. It wasn’t like that anymore: that was basically what they had voiced.

So, the moment she was passing out coffee at a meeting and heard that they needed to put a team of women together for the Arkani, she had volunteered, not just to be one of the women, but also to find the right kind of women that would go willingly. As much as she had disliked many of the women on the flight, she had been involved in hand picking each and every one that was now in danger of being captured by the Milisarians. It made her feel responsible, and it made her wonder if it had been the right decision or just a rash one based on her current unhappiness.

That first night, after they had accepted her as a volunteer, she had gone home to call all of her family. It wasn’t like it was going to affect her too much to be away from them; she had already lived halfway across the country from them for a few years. She had always been an independent sort of woman. Her father’s reaction had been a grunt and a good luck, and her younger sister, Nancy, had simply freaked out. Nancy had always found Alexis to be the uncool big sister that was cramping her style, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise.

It was her mother’s reaction that had kept her constantly second-guessing her choice until she actually boarded the ship and said goodbye to Earth as it fell far below them.

“Mother, I need to let you know that I have made a decision,” she had begun. “There is a ship that will be leaving in a few months, taking women to the Arkani because they need human wives. I will be one of those women. I don’t think there’s anything left here for me. Nobody takes me seriously, and I think the Arkani will. I can work with them in their labs.” Alexis had rambled on, already sensing a lecture coming from her mother. She was a whole different ball game compared to the rest of the family, which was probably why her parents had divorced when Alexis was still very young. Their personalities just did not mix well.

“I was afraid you might make some rash decision like this one day. You have always gone around making big decisions without thinking of the consequences.” Alexis rolled her eyes at this. It was similar to the conversation they had when Alexis had let her mother know she was going to college to study in the STEM field. It just was not something women did, and her mother had just known, despite Alexis’s passion for everything space and science, that she would fail. She had begged Alexis to consider something else: anything else.

“The consequences could not possibly be any worse than staying here and going nowhere in life. I love what I love, and I am not allowed to do what I love here,” Alexis had tried to explain, defensively.

“You do not know for sure that there is nothing else you would love. You have not even allowed yourself to live but a tiny fraction of life. Come back home and see what you can find out about yourself. You might find a great man here and then discover a new career that you enjoy. I am not saying be me, but see if there is more to you than you think. I am begging you not to fly into space and never come home until you have discovered who you are with your feet on the ground.” Alexis had heard tears in her mother’s voice that evening, and it had made her second guess everything. Her mother had always cared so much for her, and Alexis had been a bit judgmental and cruel when it came to her mother’s choice of lifestyle. They had never understood each other, but that did not mean they didn’t love each other.

“Mom, I just don’t know. I would miss this opportunity, possibly forever, if I just quit and came home.” Alexis had sat down in her recliner and put her head in her hands, just breathing into the phone. It was the first time in a long time that she had ever missed her mother or anything about Wyoming. It had been such a small and isolated place with what she believed to be boring and backward people, but it had still been home for eighteen years of her life. She suddenly longed to see the mountains and the snow one more time before she left.

“I will think about it,” she finally told her mother, afraid that if she said anything more she would just stand still the rest of her life, not moving either direction. She had never gone back to say goodbye either, and now that she was captured on a ship full of uncaring warriors headed into battle, she was beginning to regret everything. What if she never got a chance to tell her mother she was sorry or that she loved her?

Alexis found herself wiping tears away from her eyes and staring at the back of the Milisarian knight that was still guarding a locked door for no reason at all. She had no way to get out and nowhere to go even if she did. They were in space.

Looking down at herself, she knew that she needed to get a grip and clean up. She didn’t know if she would be able to find any clothing around, but it would be nice to at least be given that. She was still in her pajamas of all things. At some point, she would have to speak up, so she decided it might as well be now.

“Excuse me, Milisarian,” Alexis said, sitting up so she could get his attention. She had no idea what his name could be, but it wasn’t like anyone else was in the room. He turned around looking annoyed.

“My name is Nabvan. I suppose I am not going to be able to escape talking with you if I am going to be doing this for as long as you are on this ship. What can I help you with?” The question came out both like he was bored and like he was being condescending. Alexis glared at him with her own annoyance.

“Do you expect me to say this is a walk in the park for me?” Alexis asked, her feathers more than ruffled by this ridiculous guard of hers. “I have been captured and locked up, left alone in the room of some Milisarian King with you as my keeper. So, excuse me, Nabvan, if I would like to ask if there is any way I could get clean clothes and some food. I don’t want to stay in my pajamas the rest of my life, however long and miserable it may be.” Alexis’s voice came out strong and angry. She hardly recognized the sound of it. She had not heard that side of her being asserted in years after the oppression she had undergone at the hands of all those men at NASA. She was not about to let this Nabvan make her feel the same way.

Nabvan looked her over for a moment as if he was trying to discover something about her, but then he nodded. “I was told to take care of you, so I guess those things are within my power,” he told her. “But if I end up having to leave the room for those things, you would have to behave. I don’t need you running off and disturbing the other men and their women on the ship. I can’t imagine what sort of task the king would give me after that.”

“I just want to get clean,” she said. “I know that there is nowhere for me to go in this ship. We’re in space.”

Nabvan walked over to her and offered one of his four hands. She stared at it for a moment. “I don’t have any spikes on my skin or something, if that is what you are thinking. I was going to show you to the washroom and tell you how to use everything so you could get clean.” He looked annoyed and bored yet again, but Alexis took his hand and said nothing rude. It was nice of him in his position to offer something like that. She had no idea what the rules were for women the king locked up in his room.

He took her through the massive space through a door that led to a bathroom of sorts. It was not quite like the bathrooms on Earth, but some things were at least recognizable. He showed her how to use their version of a shower and how to dry off. They had special air vents that would do it for her. “I will be back soon with clothes and food.” Nabvan turned around to leave, but Alexis wanted to ask one more question that she felt a need to have an answer to.

“When can I expect the king to come back?” she asked sheepishly. Nabvan turned around with a sigh, and she wondered if he even knew the answer.

“King Shene is a very busy Milisarian. He has some business to attend to with some colonies we have conquered as well as other concubines throughout the ship that he often entertains. You would be the main one right now, since you are in his room, but I cannot tell you for sure when he will come to be with you. This king is nontraditional for the Milisarians. I cannot predict him even though I have worked right under him for much of my adult life.”

His answer intrigued Alexis but did not make her feel any better. It meant that King Shene would easily throw her away, and her life would be useless after he was done with her. If there were ever an opening for a way out, she would have to take it. But she had to learn more first. “Thanks,” was all she answered before shutting the door and stripping off her pajamas.