Fiction logo

Emperor's Bride

Running from her fate

By GaylePublished 2 years ago 11 min read
2
Earth, or what's left

1

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. His ship hovered on the edges of the planet’s outer atmosphere. Her screams were inside his head and in his heart and they tore at the foundation of his soul. They were as real as if someone in the same cockpit had uttered them. He could not fathom where they had come from. Jayson had just left the home planet of the emperor of earth. He watched in horror as the young woman said yes to the beast, inside his head she was screaming to be free. Was this his imagination? Was she really calling to him? He wondered now what to do. No one in their right mind would go against the emperor.

He had delayed his departure; he had risked missing the deadline and yet he could not pull himself away. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, even from his seat in the far reaches of the colosseum. The video was broadcast everywhere, and he was stunned that this gorgeous woman, this goddess, would agree to marry this beast. Right now, he had his appendages tucked tightly under his wings and there was no sign of his carapace or his pinchers, he appeared human, hugely human. He towered nearly two feet over this woman, and he wondered if she would survive the breeding. He had paced and worried deep into the night and then the screams resounded in his head. It nearly caused him to collapse, it brought him to his knees. Again, he wondered if she would survive.

Now he was teetering on the edge of leaving. It would be dawn soon, dawn for the planet, up here it was as light as it would get. Against his better judgement he headed back down and found an open bay to tether to. Her screams shot through him again and this time they felt different, almost a release rather than the intolerable pain he had felt in them before. He paced outside the entry way. Jayson knew he would be allowed re-entry, he never had problems with the officials here. He decided to tell them he had forgotten a package he was supposed to pick up and headed down the hallway. There would be minimal security at this time of night.

____________

Kayleen awoke slowly, her head was pounding, her body ached, and she hadn’t even tried to move yet. There was a weight across her middle, holding her down. Trying hard to open her eyes the first three attempts failed. She tried flexing her fingers, even those hurt. Finally, she was able to raise one arm and rub her eyes, pushing the long golden strands away from her eyes. The light in the room didn’t help, it was a subdued blues and greens. Kayleen was at a loss; she could not remember how she had gotten here or even where she was.

It suddenly dawned on her; she was naked in a strange bed. Praying hard she finally looked down. The weight across her stomach was an arm, the arm of a huge man, and she realized he was in bed beside her. She gasped, ‘no, no, no, no, no . . . no, it didn’t happen, please it didn’t happen.’ She pleaded all the while knowing it had. She had been captured and unable to defend herself had been given in marriage to this creature.

Tears came unbidden, she had avoided this for ten long years and how they had finally captured her she didn’t understand. She stifled a sob and gingerly grabbed the creature’s wrist; he wasn’t a man he was a thing. It was then clear to her why he hadn’t moved; his skin was clammy and cold, and his arm was stiff. He was dead. She had a dead husband, a dead ruler, a dead . . . dead thing on top of her. Somehow, she wiggled free and shakily stood. The weapon lay on the bed beside him. She pushed her hair back and looked around wildly, then caught herself, they won’t come right away. They would be afraid to interrupt him on his joyous wedding night.

It was all Kayleen could do to keep from losing it. This man, this thing was like a god to this entire world, he knew just how to balance power and compassion, though she doubted any of his compassion was real he did use it. The mirrors along one side of the room reflected the magnitude of what had happened. He had married, he is dead, now there could only be one of two outcomes, they blame her, and someone takes his place, or they make her queen and still blame her. The strongest will rule. That was the motto of the realm.

“Think, think, think,” she told herself, “Calm your ass down and think. The weapon, something she could have gotten on Gerbania, a planet she had lived on for several moons. It was not common here on Quintalia.” She looked at it again, close range someone had gotten extremely close, as she would have been. Someone he trusted shot him. The crimson blood had long since grown dark, it was all over the bed and the floor. He must have fallen onto the bed after he was shot. “Does it fold? Yes this weapon folded up to look like a small cosmetic case or a snuff case.”

She looked closely it was the female version, something she might have, but she hadn’t. Shaking all over a little from the cool air and mostly from the fear that had taken over she inched away and then wondered how to escape. Suddenly she let out several blood curdling screams and then groaned. She remembered that from his copulation. If they were listening, they may think he was breeding her again. That’s what these creatures did, they chose a suitable female and bred her, and she produced offspring. She shuddered, had he accomplished that? Would she produce his offspring? She groaned; the advisors had told him to marry quickly that she was ripe. It was the reason the wedding had been rushed.

“I still do not understand why there was a marriage.” She told herself. “He didn’t need a wife, was he just getting old and decided he wanted one around anytime the urge to breed came upon him?” He was after all more than two centuries old, his species lived five sometimes. That didn’t make sense either, she was half human, her mother was Tupaneese, and would live twice as long as her father and she had been told her genetics would mirror her father since her mother was a product of artificial laboratory experiments. Her mother would be totally recessive, and yet she still wondered if those scientists knew what they were talking about. Still, why would Garnoth want offspring that had short lifespans?

Gathering her wits once more Kayleen took stock of her surroundings. This was his bedroom, of course. She was unsure of where she had been held before this, everything that happened after the Quintalian soldiers had cornered her was a blank. She didn’t remember even trying to use one of her many escape hatches. She studied the octagon room, a side of mirrors, a side where food was served, a desk, a closet, more mirrors, a communications panel with lights blinking, a false wall, well two actually, then the doors. False wall she looked behind it and there was another room, one very feminine, his consorts likely were kept there. The other false wall was the necessary room.

A laundry chute! Kayleen made her decision, she tip toed back retrieved the weapon, folded it and jumped into the laundry chute, at least there would be clothes to wear there. The containers were automated, they reached a certain weight and moved to the dump area. Here they were sorted. Likely the ruler had his own area, and she would have to make do with whatever clothes she found there. To her surprise there were many different types of clothes where her cart dumped. She already had a shirt on and rummaged around to find pants to fit. The gawdy dresses the Quintalian women wore she would never be seen in, beside then they would know she was a woman. The women of this world were a mixture of species and most had the insect traits, they had no breasts, they didn’t need them for their young.

Finding a table runner was a stroke of luck, she knew exactly how to wrap a turban. Now to find something to darken her skin. She crept around the corner and there before her was the incinerator. She fingered the weapon in her pocket but decided against it, even if she put it in there the molecules would be detected and her skin oils with it. Quickly she rubbed her skin down with ash, every place it showed and then began to walk towards the docking bays. She was sure they weren’t far because supplies came regularly through the laundry and kitchen, and she had smelled food cooking close by even though she couldn’t pinpoint its location.

The slide through the laundry chute had burned the skin on her delicate bottom. The landing into the cart had been soft and the ride in the cart had eased her limbs, now the pain and fatigue returned. Her insides were on fire, her female parts may never recover his assault. Sometimes she wanted to just give in and accept her fate and yet with whatever control those soldiers had over her she would suffer a long time under them and killing herself was not an option.

Seeing another man coming towards her she knew instantly he was human, at least most of him was. She dropped her eyes, hers were emerald green and all Quintalians had yellow or gold eyes. She tried to pass the man without contact but fatigue and pain was catching up to her and she stumbled. It was at that same moment that Jayson noticed this small soldier with oversized clothes was barefoot, and those feet did not look male, and they had no scales. This was a foreigner.

She staggered and he grabbed her arm, instantly he felt her fear. She looked up hoping he would not tell on her. Her eyes drew him in and her voice in his head pleaded with him not to call the guards. Though Jayson had heard of mind linking he had never experienced it, those on earth that could mind speak were of the upper class which since the war was a very small island in the Pacific Ocean, one of the few that had survived the last world war. Without weighing his options Jayson reacted instantly and grabbed her arm, when she looked up, he knew who he was looking at, he had never seen eyes that green before, until he saw them on the monitor.

He pulled her head into his flight jacket and slipped his arm around her back. She sucked in a breath, there was a deep wound there and she still failed to remember how it got there. Jayson guided his charge back towards the docking bay. “Found him” he hollered at the guard who simply nodded and waved him through he was busy with his own private business and Jayson was glad he didn’t have to explain.

Within minutes Jayson had boarded his sleek ship he called Betty Boop after an ancient cartoon his father had painted on his own ship, a sailing ship that was lost in the war. Carefully he settled his charge in one of the stasis beds, they were more comfortable than the bunks he usually used. “Betty, power up.” Jayson said as he pulled another blanket from his overhead bin. As though caring for a newborn, Jayson spread the blanket over her. She as nearly asleep from exhaustion. “Betty, navigate out, and hide the body heat in stasis one.” The monitors always checked for stowaways in the ships leaving Quintalia. Jayson had decided they didn’t need to know his business and had his sensors adapted to cover any extra heat images.

Deciding she would be more comfortable Jayson unwrapped the turban and when her golden locks spilled out, he caught his breath. Sitting hard in the pilot’s seat he stared at her and then swung around to steer his ship. “You have backed yourself into a corner now Mr.” He told himself. “What on earth are you smuggling the emperor’s new wife out of Quintalia for? You know this is a hanging offense, or a drawing and quartering offense.” There were a thousand questions in his mind, but the foremost question was, ‘Why was she leaving and how was she running? He remembered the screams in his head that brought him to his knees, he was now sure she was the one he had connected with and the chills he had experienced were still fresh in his mind. He set a course for earth. It would take several days if he used evasive maneuvers and with his cargo, he decided he would indeed use evasive maneuvers.

Excerpt
2

About the Creator

Gayle

Grammy and just love to write here in sunny Florida.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (2)

Sign in to comment
  • Jori T. Sheppard2 years ago

    Holy crap! They let this get by? I really need to read the community guidelines. I’m not mad, I’m impressed. I will not report you. Otherwise the story was interesting and it kept my attention (probably cuz of the audacity, oooh!). I like your scientific touch behind some of the story elements. I thought the escape scene could have used some flare and obstacles, but I guess you can’t overwhelm someone on the first chapter. Keep up the good work!

  • Kat Thorne2 years ago

    Captivating story, great job!

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.