17. ALICE

ALICE

EPILOGUE

The months melted into one another. Now and then, I felt a twinge of grief or longing for Earth, for people who lived there and had meant something to me and who would most likely assume me dead now. These emotions, however, didn't last long, and the time between experiencing them became longer with every passing month.

"Is it bad that I don't miss Earth or my family?" Andrea asked me one day.

"No." I shook my head. "We all have to move on from things that are out of our power to change. Your family would want you to be happy."

Andrea's eyes moistened, and she took my hands. "That's why you're our queen. You're very wise."

The relationship between us humans had grown stronger and included several Zypherian women. A group I was proud of and happy to be with. It was the humans, though, who understood each other the best because we had all experienced the same losses.

After the wedding and subsequent crowning, Zayden took me on a tour of Zypheria. It was amazing to get to know this new world, which resembled Earth in many ways but was yet entirely different.

Just like Earth, there were many oceans, continents, islands, and rivers. There were jungles, deserts, and mountains; they just all differed from Earth. I was aware I had only seen a fraction even though we flew over the entire planet from one end to the other and stopped at many places, so I swore that each year, we would pick a part of Zypheria and explore it closer for at least a week. A plan Zayden liked very much.

"Can I come with you the next time you journey Zypheria?" Erin asked.

"You don't have to wait for me," I said. "Zayden will be more than happy to get ships for all of you ready whenever you wish to travel. Guards and funds will be available at your discretion."

"Oh, Alice, thank you." Carol smiled at me.

Mach-Nak-Tho cleared her throat. She hated that none of my women called me queen. At least not in private. We looked at each other and snickered. There wasn't one of us who wasn't afraid of Mach-Nak-Tho, but in this, we all defied her to her great consternation and our amusement.

"May I remind you that today the ambassador of the Hugglaks will join you for dinner," Mach-Nak-Tho prompted me.

"Oh yes, thank you, Mach-Nak-Tho." I rose from my seat, followed by the others. "Please stay and make yourself a home," I invited as I always did when duty or Mach-Nak-Tho called me away.

But Mach-Nak-Tho was right. I needed to get ready for the meeting with the ambassador. Zayden told me how important it would be to enter a trade agreement with the Hugglaks.

"You better be on your best queenly behavior," Mach-Nak-Tho drilled on the way to the royal bathroom. "The Hugglaks are very traditional."

A few minutes later, I sat in my oversized bathtub and listened to Mach-Nak-Tho tell me everything she deemed necessary for me to be aware of about the Hugglaks and their ambassador.

She kept going while other servants helped me into an over-stiff, long dress and applied my makeup. I don't think she would have stopped and kept going all the way to the throne room had Zayden not entered, already dressed in his royal regalia.

"Ready my queen?"

"Ready, my king." I smiled at him and felt my knees weaken when he returned it.

He held out his hand. "Your first diplomatic mission, my queen."

"Mach-Nak-Tho has prepared me." I took his hand, and he lifted it to his lips.

"You look stunning."

"Thank you." I blushed just a bit.

"You will do just fine," he assured me. "And if you provoke a war, I will love you even more."

At that, I laughed, knowing that he was actually serious. He had admitted that sometimes he missed his fighting days, whereas I shuddered just at the thought of him leaving to go to war.

"I'm not tired of you yet, my king. I might do so in the future, but for now, I'm happy to have you all to myself."

He threw his head back and chuckled loudly.

"Gods, I love you."

"Right back at you." I grinned, and we took a moment to kiss. Happiness welled up inside me because I just knew that it would always be like this. We would always make time for one another and support each other. No matter what.

THE END