12. CHAPTER 12

Caspian entered the room from the bathing room while drying himself off and putting on his clothes.

"You look… beautiful," I told him before holding out my arm for him to take.

"I prefer handsome. Or good looking."

"You don't like being called beautiful?"

"Hm, it sounds like something you would say to a woman."

"Fine then, you look good-looking."

He laughed.

Once we stepped out of the room, no one else was in the narrow hall, but I was confident we were still being watched. I felt the eyes on us, and I tuned my ears and the fibers of my skin to sense any nearby vibrations—none in sight. I figured this Feion must have known what we could do.

Caspian looked me up and down, his soft lips pursed, and dark brow lifted curiously. "So, this is what you wear to go out?"

I chuckled at how innocently he asked the question. "No, but don't you think it shows off my body well?"

"It does. Are you trying to impress me?"

"Maybe."

"I've already seen you naked a lot."

I laughed. "True, but sometimes it's what's hidden that's more enticing than what is shown."

"Okay, you can be honest. Why are you so nice right now?"

"You were right," I said, speaking the truth. "We have done nothing besides have sex, though there isn't much to do onboard a ship but fuck."

We reached the outside, and I felt more comfortable with the bustling crowd that walked the streets, taking in the sights under the dark purple sky.

I saw him breathe deeply and let out a long breath. "I didn't think I'd smell fresh air ever again!" He stretched as if his body signaled how stifled he felt. "Is it really safe for me to be out here like this?"

"No risks, no rewards. Or would you like to go back into your bubble?"

"No!" He waved his hand. "I prefer it like this. I might regret it later if I get sick, but this is nice now." He sighed. "I'm just glad I'm not... dead... I mean... screw it!"

"Most aliens, including ours, rely on a similar composition of gases to survive. Others require a little more of one or two more elements, so they rarely leave home without a suit, and some required liquids."

"What?!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Like fish people or something?"

This was the most excited I've ever seen him.

"I want to meet them! I wonder if they look like mermaids!"

Something was coming, a little too fast to pick up the direct location; my ears twitched, and I looked around, spotting a crowd, a sightseer in the distance, a man arguing with his woman a few clicks back, the usual. I felt something watching us again.

"What's wrong?" Caspian asked, looking up at me with concern. I noticed I had instinctively drawn him to me, a move even I was a little taken aback by. "Are we in danger?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Because you've been looking all over the place, and you seem tense and wanted me to remain quiet while in the room. I admit I wouldn't be much help unless it's others like me."

"Humans."

"Uh, yes..." He replied, surprised.

"The alien I'm dealing with is clever and knowledgeable. He knows what you are."

"How? Does he have other humans, too?"

"Maybe."

"Then why not go get him? You have soldiers here."

"The first time I've ever heard the word human was from my second Swarti. How come he knew and I didn't?"

"Oh." He said, the realization hitting him. "Wow, so everyone backstabs everywhere, huh?"

"Looks like it."

"So, what do we do? Escape to the ship?"

"No, it's still refueling; it will take a while before it's ready to lift off, I have no idea how many spies are on my ship besides Swarti, or maybe he's not a damn spy; maybe he's just outright betrayed me. It's not like I haven't seen his malice toward me." I spat. "But running away from my ship over some spies and a bastard is too cowardly. I need to figure out what to do next; don't worry about it."

"You know, I'm not as innocent as I may seem. You don't need to put me into some precious little box and tell me not to worry. I'd rather know what I'm in for."

"Oh, I know you're not innocent. I would go into details, but I won't since we're not talking about sex."

We both laughed.

"I just mean I'm capable of thinking on my feet, and I can wiggle my way out of trouble, too." We continued to stroll along until we encountered a boardwalk overlooking the crystal blue water. "I wasn't supposed to be here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My people put together a massive colonization initiative." He placed his arm on the railing. "All those who wanted to go had to apply, show them why they should consider us. My sister was studying to be a doctor; they would have chosen her in a heartbeat, but I dropped out of school, had no direction, and placed all my eggs in that basket. I applied; they rejected me."

"Ah," I said, understanding where he was coming from. "How did you get here?"

"To sneak onboard, I paid someone to make me a fake ID."

I laughed loudly, not giving a damn if spies and assassins were on me. If there was any more of a reason to like him. "That took balls."

"The worst part was hiding until take off. I was so afraid I would be caught and made to disembark. Being so close to something and unable to have it hurts. But not only was I not caught, but I made myself useful a few months into the journey by becoming an RA."

"RA?"

"Resident Adviser I was in charge of Resident hall floor five sector fourteen."

"So, you're a leader," I said almost proud.

"I wouldn't go that far, but I felt good being in charge of my own area and helping out. There was also the chance of running a housing unit when we touched down planetside if I did a good enough job. But I don't know, being on a new planet with so much to see and do, I didn't think I would be happy doing that. I would have taken it anyway if I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do there. Better than nothing."

"Where is this colony, anyway?"

"Oh no!" He laughed. "I think you've gotten more than enough information from me." He looked around, and his eyes fixated on a small shop nearby; in the window display was an array of beautiful, colorful jewels.

I followed him there, making sure I scoped the area as before we entered the small, dusty, smelling shop.

"Are they all from here?"

"Most are from their moon," I replied. It didn't take me long to spot a beautiful dark jewel sitting near the back of the store. "Few are from my homeworld." I pointed at the piece, and the shop owner opened the display; it didn't take me long to choose the smoky-colored Mithra chain; its dark color was because of the environment they harvested the metal from; it was solid and unbreakable. I presented the jewel to him, and he watched the shifting colors inside the jewel swirl with life.

"It's so beautiful." He sighed.

"It's yours." I placed it around his neck.

"Why does it move like this?"

"It's a Jillik stone, commonly found near our beaches. Other sediment and water from millions of years ago are trapped inside long with tiny living organisms."

"They're trapped? That's so sad."

"Not sad for them; they seek the sediment just before it hardens; this is their immortal home."

"They trap themselves on purpose? How do they stay alive?"

"There are a lot of immortal things in my world. Valisians even live for a very long time."

"How long?"

"Over a thousand years, if you're lucky, we age slowly."

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "How old are you now?"

"I'm only two hundred."

"Oh... only...."

"How long do humans live?"

"If we're lucky, a hundred and fifty, and even then, the last fifty years is kind of shitty."

"Well, shit." I didn't enjoy hearing that. "You can pick out anything else you may like," I told him, not wanting to dwell on such terrible news.

"Really?"

I nodded. "I am a prince, after all."

"Yeah, I keep forgetting. You don't act like one."

"How so?"

"A prince is... I don't know... Don't princes have to act and carry themselves a certain way? You're a barbarian who likes to fight too much."

Like clockwork, the Yogs who accosted me at the dock entered with guns ready for a brawl. I guess they got sick of waiting for us to come out.

"Soon, you will appreciate my barbarous ways." I winked and flung a display of charms at the men, scattering them about the shop.