Chapter 22

I lookedat the variations in the stone walls in front of me, noticing how the old stones were were held together with newer material binding them in the cracks between them. I couldn't see how any of my equipment could create something like that. The machinery that I used to do large scale builds would break down the feed material into components before using it to structure the construction.

This building in front of me, with its circular tower on one side and the porcine creature that was grunting at us, had to have been built with some very different technology. The porcine creature was larger than my mate and had tusks. It was behind a metal gate that was set down under the bottom of the building, like a hole dug down under the dwelling.

"How was this built?" I asked.

My mate looked up at me, smiling.

"A restored castle like this on top of a mountain, with a very narrow dirt road leading up to it, would have had to have been done by hand." She pointed at a wall a short distance away that didn't have the newer material present. It had crumbled, with jagged uneven edges on top and a pile of stones on one side. "It would have all been like that before they got it. The listing said that the owners did a huge amount of restoration but there is no way they could have gotten large machinery out here. They would have had to use a small bobcat or something like that if anything. I doubt there are any services out here. I don't see power lines, just the solar panels and water tank… and look there is one of the atmospheric water generators the Norratar handed out for free to everyone."

"By hand… that is impressive for such small creatures." I let my awe reflect in my voice. I hadn't seen much of Earth yet, but to know that there were some humans that were willing to put in the work to restore their ancient dwellings was a new thing for me.

The wooden door swung open, and a short, somewhat roundish woman with dark brown hair that swung around her shoulders stood there.

Her eyes fell on me and grew round as she took half a step back, her body stiffening.

"Hi, Maria?" Jessica asked. "We're your guests for tonight. This is my husband Aeson, who I mentioned in the chat before we booked the place? He is an Atisari. We both have translators so both of us can understand everything you say so you can speak in whatever language you want."

"Can you… my English isn't very good," Maria said in her language. "I don't know what some of those words mean. But you can understand me?"

I tapped on my wristband and opened up one of the programs.

"Yes, we can both understand you," my mate replied. "Though my husband can't speak English so I can speak for him."

"This app can translate for me," I spoke into my wrist, and a lilting voice repeated my words in Maria's language. "You can still speak for me if you want, but there are other options."

I had taken a moment to look for a solution to the lack of humans having translators, knowing I'd be back on Earth.

"How is there already an app to translate Atisari into Spanish?" my mate demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "I know the Norratar are fast developers, given the heat signature program they sent me for use in your… program, but it"s not like your species are that intertwined? You're the first Atisari I've met."

"They likely already had that program in their general system," I pointed out. "It is unlikely they developed it from scratch for you. They also have a database of a wide variety of languages and have most likely gotten all of the ones that have been stored in electronic format to add to it. Some people don't want or can't use implants."

The woman in front of us relaxed a little, the tension leaving her body as she listened to the program repeat both of our words. I'm not sure why us talking about software development would make her less afraid of me, but I wasn't going to argue.

"Have you two been married for long?" she asked.

"No, not at all," my mate replied. "We're still getting to know each other. I thought showing Aeson different cultures on our planet would be fun. Plus I'd never been to Spain before. How long have you owned this castle?"

A brightness lifted into the woman's face as Jessica asked about the castle.

"Well, this is a fourteenth century castle that was likely built because of its sightlines. Here, let"s walk around outside before I show you inside." She glanced at my tail for a moment.

The porcine creature grunted at us again.

"Why is there a pig in your basement?" Jessica asked.

"Oh, that is a wild boar we caught as a baby; they're all over the place." Maria smiled. "We're going to slaughter it soon. Now, if you follow me this way, I can show you some of the original layout of the castle. We couldn't restore the whole thing, just this one section, but depending on how this bed and breakfast business goes, we might be able to later. Now let me show you the view from the other side."

We walked around the back of the castle to see that the view stretched on for an extended distance. There were blue, beautiful skies with huge fluffy white clouds. A river wove through the land on this side. Very little of the land I could see was occupied by buildings. Most of it was large stretches of farmland or nothing at all. There was a small clump of buildings nestled over a hill in the distance, but it was not a doable walking distance for an unfit human.

We were high up, nestled on a narrow section of a mountain, with expansive views on either side.

"As long as you have at least one single human female here, you would be able to get an entire group of Shek'invitali males to do the labor for you for free for the chance to spend time with her," I mentioned. The Shek'invitali had a genetic problem within their own species as a result of war that caused them to alter their species to prioritize male births and they had been unable to fix it. Cross breeding with humans mitigated the flaw.

"Don't tell my daughter that," Maria laughed. "The second I mentioned that we were having an alien guest, she came out here to help out for the first time. She's been too busy in the city to visit her parents on their retirement property, but one word about an alien and suddenly she has to come out."

"I mean, the aliens showed up and started solving problems we couldn't because of our corrupt leadership," Jessica pointed out.

"Not all countries have as corrupt leadership as others," Maria replied. "And the aliens caused a lot of problems as well. There are a lot of people milling about not knowing what to do with themselves after the companies they worked for were destroyed."

"If my species had conquered Earth, those working for companies causing irreparable damage to the life sustaining environment on this planet would have been put to death," I stated. "Our news reporting programs remarked on it. The Norratar, though they aren't a warmongering species, aren't known for their forgiveness of such a serious offense either."

"Someone just working a job isn't the same as the CEO in terms of responsibility," Jessica pointed out. "Our culture, at least mine in the US, was structured to take away choices from workers. Some people worked at those companies because they had to work to stay alive."

"Let"s stop talking about politics." Maria twisted her hands. "Let me show you the inside. A… Aeson, what sorts of things do you eat? We have some friends visiting and would love to have you two at the dinner as well."

"I am able to consume whatever a human can consume," I replied.

"Is there a particular amount of food that you need?" Maria asked, her words coming out a little higher pitched and strained sounding.

"Oh, yeah, you are big." Jessica looked at me, planting her hands on her hips. "I don't think I've ever seen you eat. I'm betting Maria is a little freaked out thinking about how much you can consume."

"I will not need to eat for another Earth week," I offered. "Though I would love to try small tastes for the experience."

"Do you eat like a whole animal or something?" Jessica asked. "I can't believe I never asked. Here we are, married, and it took me this long to realize I'd never seen you eat. I'm so self-centered."

"It isn't self-centered to focus on yourself when you are going through periods of difficulty." A warmth filled me at her words. In my culture, females were expected to focus on themselves. Being mated to one didn't mean you would get her attention except in fleeting moments when she wanted something.

"Still, I need to know so much about you," Jessica sighed. "I feel like we need to play catch-up."

"There is a lovely hiking loop that goes through the ruins," Maria offered, pointing. "There is also an observational deck as part of the rooms you are renting. It is a lovely place to sit and look out at the view."

"A hike sounds great." Jessica bounced her heels up and down. "I could definitely use a little walk before dinner. Let's go!"

She headed towards the trail and I followed after her, enjoying the way her hair swung in the air as she walked. She had pulled it up and tied it up high on her scalp so it all cascaded down from one point, creating a little tail on her head that moved in a dynamic fashion, brushing her shoulders and the back of her neck as she moved. It allowed me to see the back of her neck and how delicate it was. There were a few light bruises, and seeing them left a sick sensation in my gut.

I absolutely hated what I had done to her.

It had taken all my will power to go through to the end, to wait until the readings on her vitals reported by her wristband had reached the levels indicated in the medical instructions. I hated every moment of it. What I hated the most was that there were small moments that I loved. Sneaking up on her, moving around her, and watching her react to every sound I made with the rattle I'd come up with to mimic one of the more dangerous Earth serpents. I'd enjoyed those little moments of her fear while she still trusted that she was safe, while she still trusted me, before I escalated and fully convinced her she was in genuine danger.

I wanted her trust back.

The first step was making sure she didn't have to trust.