4. Drago

4

DRAGO

D rago was doing his best not to be rude but the three skinny females surrounding him wouldn't fucking leave him alone! They were asking him questions and running their thin, cold hands all over his arms and chest while he was trying to keep an eye on Addison.

"Pardon me, Ladies," he said to them when they started falling behind his charge, who was walking ahead with the only sensible lady-in-waiting of the four. "But I have to keep up with Dr. Hollister. Can we move a little faster?"

"Why would you want to spend your time with her when you can spend time with us instead?" one of them asked, making a pouting face at him.

"Yes, we're much more fun!" another exclaimed.

"I'm not here for fun—I'm here to do a job," Drago reminded them. "I have sworn to protect Dr. Hollister with my life so I can't lose track of her."

Somehow he was able to get out in front of the three of them and went striding down the long stone hallway, just managing to keep Addison in sight.

The three ladies-in-waiting pouted prettily and clustered around him again like a flock of skinny black crows, but Drago was careful not to let them get in front of him and slow him down again. He took his job as a Protector very seriously and he wasn't about to let Addison get away from him on a strange planet.

At last, they reached a curving black door which opened into a rather dimly lit bedchamber. The short lady-in-waiting was already showing Addison the amenities as Drago stepped into the room with the other ladies-in-waiting crowding around him.

"Here is your sleeping platform," the short one said, gesturing to the vast, round mattress placed on a tall, white, marble pedestal in the center of the room. It had a satiny black coverlet and a mound of thick cylindrical pillows. A curtain made of diaphanous black netting was gathered at the ceiling above it and came down to enclose the entire bed, making it into a kind of cocoon in the center of the room.

There was a small dresser, also made of black wood and white marble, in one corner of the room and a tall, white wardrobe in another corner. In the third corner was…Drago frowned. What was that?

It appeared to be some kind of enclosure or cage made of shiny silver metal. But since the room was so dimly lit by the black crystal chandelier that was floating above their heads, he couldn't quite make out what was inside. Whatever it was, it was hiding in the corner, up near the top of the cage. It seemed to be covered in bristly black hair and it was about the same size as the Earth animal called a "cat" Drago thought.

"Come now—let's get you a dress," the short lady-in-waiting—Drago thought her name was either "Spicy" or "Sparki"—was saying to Addison. "You should be about my size—that's what Lx Sambla told us anyway. That's why he picked me to be one of your ladies," she added.

"Er—what's that? In the cage?" Addison pointed at the creature crouched in the corner.

"Oh, that? It's just a silky." The short lady-in-waiting made a shooing gesture. "It's a feature of all the high-end guest suites here in the Palace. It's supposed to bring good luck if you feed it."

"Feed it? Feed it what?" Addison asked, looking at the thing in the corner apprehensively.

"Here—I'll show you," one of the skinny ladies-in-waiting remarked. She gave Drago a look to be sure he was watching her and then stepped forward towards the silver cage. Reaching into a box he hadn't noticed before, right beside the cage, she pulled out a small animal with silvery fur that squeaked and struggled in her hands.

"Hey, what's that? It looks kind of like an animal we have on Earth called a guinea pig," Addison remarked. "Except guinea pigs don't have long, bushy tails."

"It's a squeaker," the short lady-in-waiting answered. "Er, you might not want to watch if you have a soft heart," she added and gave Addison's arm a squeeze.

"Watch what?" Drago demanded, frowning. He didn't like the direction this was taking.

The skinny lady-in-waiting didn't answer. Instead, she opened the silver cage and shoved the tiny animal inside.

The squeaker stopped squeaking at once. It crouched low to the floor of the cage, its large, bright eyes rolling nervously. It looked to Drago like the small furry animal was trying to make itself invisible.

At last, the creature in the corner of the cage moved. Slowly at first and then with shocking speed, it skittered on many long, hairy legs from the ceiling, down the wall to the floor.

"Oh my god a spider—it's a giant spider!" Drago heard Addison gasp.

Before the words completely left her mouth, the spider thing pounced on the hapless squeaker. The small furry animal struggled and squeaked pitifully but it was clearly hopeless. The spider creature spread long, sharp mandibles and bit it, right at the base of its neck, whereupon the squeaker abruptly went limp and stopped struggling, though it did continue to squeak feebly. The spider then began to wrap it rapidly in a cocoon of shimmering white silk.

"See—that's why they're called ‘silkies,'" the lady-in-waiting who had fed the squeaker to the spider remarked brightly. "See all the lovely silk they make? We use it for our finest clothing—like the dresses we'll all wear tonight to the Choosing Ceremony."

"Ugh!" Addison shuddered and took a step back from the cage. "Please, can I have another room?" she asked, speaking to the short lady-in-waiting. "I don't mean to be rude or culturally insensitive, but I can't sleep in a room that has a giant, cat-sized spider in it. I just can't."

"What? You don't want a room with a silky cage in it?" one of the other ladies-in-waiting exclaimed.

"But they're a status symbol!" another protested.

"Everyone who's anyone has a silky cage in their room," the third remarked.

"Be that as it may, my Lady doesn't want one in her room," Drago said sternly, frowning at the three of them. "She has a fear of large insects and arachnids and she will be unable to sleep if she has one near her."

He knew this from experience—Addison had once climbed him like a tree when a pincher bug from Moldove Beta got into their long-range shuttle. He'd had to kill it with her clinging to him—not an easy task. But since he so rarely allowed himself to touch her or hold her, Drago savored the memory.

"I understand how you feel," the shortest lady-in-waiting said, patting Addison's arm comfortingly. "But I'm afraid once the room assignments are handed out, nobody can change them —Palace Rules. Otherwise you'd have people endlessly swapping places and nobody could keep track of anybody."

"But…can it get out?" Addison was still staring fearfully at the silky, which had finished wrapping up the hapless squeaker and was currently dragging it back up the wall to its lair in the corner.

"Don't worry about that—they almost never get out of their cages," was the reply. "And they don't start shrieking unless you forget to feed them."

"Almost never?" Addison asked, her eyebrows raising. "And did you say they start shrieking?"

"Only if you forget to feed them. And since Peeza just fed yours, you should have no trouble for a good long time," the shortest lady-in-waiting told her. "Now come on—let's find you a feasting dress!"

"And while you two look at dresses, we'll take Drago here to his room," Peeza purred, reaching up to put a hand possessively on his arm.

"Yes, we'll show him all the amenities," either Teeza or Leeza—Drago couldn't tell them apart—added, giving him a wink.

But he wasn't about to be led away from his charge.

"Sorry, ladies, but I'm staying with Dr. Hollister," he said firmly, folding his arms over his chest. "And I won't be staying in a separate room, either," he added.

"What? But we were under the impression that the two of you weren't a couple," Peeza protested.

"We're not," Drago admitted. "But I'm her Protector—I can't keep her safe from halfway across the palace!"

"But it's scandalous for the two of you to stay in the same room if you're not in a bonded relationship," either Leeza or Teeza proclaimed, her large, dark eyes going wide.

"Well, we don't want to cause a scandal or offend anyone…" Addison began doubtfully.

"What if we put him in this suit's servant's room?" the shortest lady-in-waiting asked. "It's not a very big accommodation, but it does have a bed and it's directly connected to the suite. Not that we're saying you're a servant," she said, turning to Drago. "But to save face?—"

"That's fine as long as I have easy access to this room in case Dr. Hollister needs me," he said firmly. He raised his eyebrows at Addison. "Does that work for you?"

She nodded and he thought he saw a look of relief pass over her lovely face.

"Yes, that would be fine. Thank you, Drago."

A small surge of triumph ran through him. Ha —so even though she pretended otherwise, she didn't want to be alone in a strange place without him to protect her! That was good to know—especially after the way she'd been falling all over herself to get close to that slimy Lx Sambla.

"We'll stay here and try on dresses," the shortest lady-in-waiting said. "You three show Lssa Addison's bodyguard the servant's room."

"We will!" the three skinny ladies exclaimed. They crowded around Drago again but he didn't leave until he had caught Addison's eyes and raised his eyebrows in a silent question.

You're all right with me leaving you for a moment? the look asked.

She nodded briefly, though her eyes cut to the silky cage for a moment and then came back.

Drago got the message—she didn't mind him leaving but also didn't want him to stay away for too long. He supposed he would be on spider-killing duty if that fucking silky got out. He didn't relish the idea, but he did like the idea of Addison clinging to him and pressing her soft, curvy body against his. So he nodded back and reluctantly allowed the other three Ladies-in-waiting to lead him away.