Wishing Stars Ch. 06

"Drink, Princess," A calm voice floated through the haze. "There you go, easy now,"

Thalia coughed on the liquid sliding down her throat. She thrashed away from her unseen attacker. Her lungs burned and she gasped for air. As she slowly became completely conscious, she realized that she wasn't still underwater.

She was in another large white room on another bed. This was not new, but it was anything but comforting. Thalia glanced around frantically, trying to locate the prince.

"Shush, now," Elaine said. The older woman was standing above her holding a bowl. The expression on her face was pained. "You are safe, Princess. Now, you must drink."

Thalia tried to tell Elaine that she didn't want anything from her, but was interrupted by the need to lean over the edge of the bed. Water and bile spilled on to the floor.

"Here, dear," Elaine ran a cool cloth across the back of her neck and forehead. The older woman helped her lean back against the pillows and offered her to cloth to wipe her mouth.

She took the cloth and flung it against a wall. She wiped her mouth on the white sheet instead. Elaine sighed, but did not comment. Instead, she picked up a bowl and held it out to her.

"It's medicine, sweetheart," The woman said softly, "You hit your head very hard. This will treat the concussion."

"I must have a concussion," Thalia muttered bitterly. Her voice was weak and felt raw, "You sound like a normal person, for once."

"Yes," Elaine responded, and handed Thalia the bowl, "I didn't want to feel happy anymore. So I took an antidote to my medication."

"Oh," Thalia murmured. She sipped at the liquid tentatively. It wasn't completely unpleasant.

"The robots make a lovely tonic," Elaine said. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, "If I take it each morning, I don't feel sad all day. Not at all. It helps me endure this life. I've taken it for so long, though, that it has started the loose its effect. Now I take double the amount the other women do. It can make me...excitable."

"Other women..." Thalia handed the empty bowl back to Elaine. "Like Abigail?"

"Yes," Elaine looked down at her hands sadly, "Most of the Arktzirax do not mind their mates taking it. They tire of all the screaming and crying we do." She smiled sadly. "Due to its addictive properties, some Arktzirax only permit their mates a minimal dose. I believe your friend is one of these."

That made Abigail's behavior a little easier to understand. Thalia looked down at her hands and was distracted by the bruises trailing up from her wrists. She pressed her hand to the spreading bruise on her face and winced.

"Will he —Prince Xieol—I mean," She took a deep breath. "Is he going to beat me again?"

"Thalia, dear," Elaine ducked her head and rose from the bed. She placed the bowl on a side table and stared at the wall for a moment. "I—"

"Never mind," Thalia said quickly. Elaine turned to look at her in surprise. The older woman had addressed her by her name. She felt that badly for her. That told Thalia all she needed to know.

"I don't want the tonic," She added after a moment of thought. "I don't want to be happy near him. Being sad, and angry, that's all I have left. I hate him. I need to feel that. Feeling anything but disgust and hate for him, that would be—"

"A lie," Elaine finished. She bit her lip in hesitation, then continued, "And he has forbidden you have it."

"Oh," Was all she could muster. Part of her screamed that he dare forbid her anything, let alone happiness, but the rest of her grew strangely calm. So, he wanted her to scream and cry. He wanted to see the real her, and he thought he had. An image of her crumpled form, bleeding and retching, came unbidden to her mind. She shook her head to clear it.

Thalia was not a coward. She was more than a half-drowned girl sobbing on the floor. The Prince needed to see who she really was. Now that she knew the type of monster he was, her resolution was firm.

He would never hit her again.

The door flew open and Abigail sailed into the room. She threw her arms wide and nearly tackled Thalia to the floor. Thalia found herself knocked sideways on the bed, beneath her friend, and began to panic. She struggled in Abigail's grasp, the sensation of being touched causing alarms to go off behind her eyes. Sensing her fear, Abigail sat up quickly, and held her at arm's length

"Oh!" Her friend cried.

Thalia could feel eyes on the deepening bruise on her face. She ran a hand across it self-consciously.

Abigail released her and took a breath. Regaining her composure, she helped straighten the injured girl. She moved a safe distance away and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm so sorry," Abigail said. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. She ran a hand quickly across them and began plucking nervously at the pleats of her dress. When she looked up again, there was a profound sadness in her eyes Thalia had not seen before. She must have forgone her tonic as well. Abigail reached out to stroke Thalia's hand, but saw the bruises and let her hand fall uselessly between them.

"It could have been worse," Elaine commented quietly. "It isn't so bad, not really. Do you...do you want to see?" Her nervous hands held out a small mirror.

It took a moment for Thalia to accept it, and another before she was able to glance into its depths. Part of her was terrified that she would still look Arktzirax. That she would never be the same as she had before.

Her reflection was startling. Her dark hair was a tangled mess, but Thalia was relieved to see it returned to its natural color. It was almost surprising that there weren't large chunks missing. Her scalp still stung, but that would heal. There was a large purple bruise spreading across her right cheek, and her nose was swollen. Her fingers tested it, and she yelped in pain.

Elaine quickly assured her that the doctor—who had seen her while she was unconscious—had not thought her nose was broken. It too would heal. Her lip was badly split, and her mouth tasted metallic.

Elaine shooed her hand from her face. She was instructed to "let it heal".

"You'll be good as new, right as rain," The older woman said.

Thalia felt like she was supposed to be happy about that, but couldn't muster a positive emotion. She couldn't fathom being happy ever again. Tonic or no. Abigail seemed to read her thoughts.

"Oh," Abigail tried to sound encouraging, but wouldn't meet her gaze. "The first night is always so rough. They don't realize how much weaker we are than them. Give him some time, and he will learn—"

"Night?" Thalia asked.

"The Princess was here, asleep, all night," Elaine said carefully as she applied a foul smelling cream to Thalia's damaged lip. "So that she could be treated for her injuries. It was by order of His Highness."

"I don't understand." Abigail glanced between the two women. "If he didn't mate with you—What happened?"

Imagines flashed through Thalia's mind unbidden. His angry face, glowing red, through the ripples of the water, and the bubbles rushing toward the surface as she tried to gasp—

Thalia wanted to bury herself in Abigail's arms and sob, but she had spent enough time crying. She took a deep breath and felt inside her for the anger, the outrage she felt. Hatred bubbled up and she felt her face flush with it. Her eyes dried as she let her fury consume her.

"He hit me," Thalia snapped. "He threw me into a fountain. He almost drowned me! It wasn't an accident."

Abigail's eyes were wide.

"How I looked—It made him angry." She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. Her wrists were such a deep purple, they were almost black. "So he beat me and sent me away."

Abigail covered a gasp with one of her delicate hands.

"Did he reject you?" Abigail asked, appalled, "Are you being sent back to the ship?"

"No," Elaine answered. "His Highness ordered her returned to him as soon as she regained consciousness. We are probably delaying longer than we should."

Abigail grasped at Thalia's hands, but she was shaken off. Thalia rose unsteadily to her feet.

"I won't be returned to him," She seethed, "I am a person, not a piece of fabric!"

"Not on this planet, Princess," Elaine said sadly, but firmly, "Not in this galaxy, or any of the others that the Arktzirax Empire controls. You are his vessel, for his use, by law."

"I will go." Thalia snapped at the older woman, "But I will not be returned. He should see the fruits of her efforts."

She glanced in the mirror once more and handed it back to Elaine.

The door opened immediately when she knocked. Two gearmen stood outside, ready to escort her.

"Wait," Abigail called. "Please, we can stall a few more moments!"

Thalia could hear that her friend was crying again, but could not let herself care. She had to stay angry, or she risked losing her courage. She nodded at the gearmen and they took up their positions. One behind her, one before her. Thalia felt like the meat in a sandwich.

"You are still in your nightgown, Your Highness," The gearman behind her said.

Thalia stumbled slightly, hearing her new title. He quickly steadied her by gripping her arm. Again, the cold of his hand felt pleasant. It was grounding. She wondered why she had ever felt repulsed by the gearmen. They were so predictable. She had nothing to fear from them.

"I know," She responded after a moment. Although, she truly hadn't spared a thought about her clothing. "He should see me—like this. He should see the consequences of his actions."

She gestured vaguely toward her face and body. It was unclear whether the gearman understood. She was simply met with a chorus of "Yes, Princess."

They walked in silence for a long time. The entire building seemed comprised of twisting white hallways with white doors. Aside from the odd gearman, they saw no one.

Thalia's feet were cold, and had begun to ache. It probably had not been the best decision to leave without shoes. She could have paused long enough to find a pair, certainly, without losing her nerve. Then again, maybe not. Her courage seemed thin and wispy about her. She feared any pause in forward momentum might cause it to crumble away for good.

She was just about to ask a gearman about possible footwear, when they abruptly turned a corner. Thalia's feet touched an unfamiliar surface. It felt rough on her skin, so much different than the smooth marble she was used to. She pressed a hand against the wall and found that it, too, was coarse. The bumpy material was a dark grey with small flecks of black.

The hall the stretched before them was made entirely from this strange substance, and it was eerily dark. The sterile bright lights she was used to had been replaced by floating globes every few yards. A flickering, unsteady light emanated from the globes, casting ever changing shadows about the hall. There was a strange smell to this new hall as well, like a dress she had put away damp. It smelt of mildew and disuse. A small shiver crept down her spine.

Another turn brought them to the bottom of a staircase. The grey stone steps spiraled upwards for what seemed an eternity. They ascended slowly, the gearman behind her bracing her arm in case she were to stumble. The steps were incredibly steep. Thalia trailed a hand along the gritty stone of the wall as she followed the spiraling staircase upwards.

A brilliant flash of green caught her eye. She pushed against the gearman before her and stumbled when the robot behind her failed to relinquish his grip.

"Let go!" She demanded. They quickly complied. Thalia stumbled up the stairs as quickly as she dared and slipped her fingers into a slit set between the large grey stones that made up the wall.

It was a small slit, less than an inch in width, but through it she could just make out a single spot of brilliant green. And blue! Such a wide, vivid swath of blue!

"A window," She breathed, disbelieving.

"An arrow slit, Princess," A gearman corrected, "This tower is part of the old castle, which one of Prince Xieol's Great-Grandfathers decided to preserve. The stones have been reset and strengthened, but the historical integrity has been maintained."

"That's outside," Thalia pressed her face to the arrow slit. The stone of the wall was cold on her cheek.

"The arrow slits serve the purpose of allowing fresh air into the tower." The gearman continued, "Although, lasers have been installed to prevent insects from gaining entrance into the castle.

At the mention of lasers, Thalia snapped her face back. She sat on the step and closed her eyes, breathing in the fresh air. It smelt incredible, like nothing she had ever experienced before.

"The windows in the tower have the same feature, Princess." The gearman said, "Humans have a psychologically engrained fear of insects, so previous Princes have taken steps to prevent—"

"Windows?" Thalia's eyes snapped open, and she jumped to her feet, "Show me!"

"Yes, Princess," They chorused.

The group resumed their trek up the stairs. It went much quicker now that Thalia was motivated to reach the top. Soon the winding staircase ended at a large white door. It seemed extremely out-of-place next to the raw glory of the grey stone, and the white seemed almost painfully bright in the natural sunlight streaming through the arrow slits.

She hated it.

The gearman entered a code on a small keypad set into the wall and the door swung open. Behind it was a second door, this one was a dark brown and looked extremely heavy. Thalia ran her hand over it wonderingly. It was coarse, but almost soft in some way.

"Wood, Princess," The gearman said, "Made from trees."

A golden key was produced and soon the brown door swung inwards. Thalia stepped through the threshold and into a circular stone chamber.

Soft, sheer cloth had been hung from the rafters. It draped down to the center of the room. Through it, Thalia could see a circular white bed. She adverted her eyes quickly.

And there, in the far corner of the room, was a window. It was five feet wide and rose from just above a cushioned bench up to the ceiling.

Thalia ran to it. She climbed up onto the bench and leaned out into the sunshine. The world outside was ablaze with color. The sky was a bright vivid blue stretching across fields of tall green grass. Off in the distance, she could make out tall trees clustered tightly together. She couldn't fathom the sheer height of such things. Was it true that they were really alive? The education the gearmen had provided gave her a basic understanding of such things, but she found it hard to match the images she had been shown with the real thing. If only she could get closer---

"I wouldn't do that," Prince Xieol's voice was so deep, it was almost a growl. His heavy hand landed on her shoulder and jerked her back from the window. Luckily, her breath caught in her throat. If it hadn't, she may have screamed. Xieol moved far too quietly for something his size.

"Any further out that window and you would have triggered the electronic fencing." He carefully grasped her face in one giant hand, turning it slowly and inspecting the bruise rising on her cheek. "Even you can't be stupid enough to electrocute yourself for attention."

"Attention?" She sputtered, "For attention—"

"What is this?" He was still staring at her face as if she hadn't spoken. Anger overrode her fear slightly and Thalia tried to free herself from his grasp. His hand easily kept its firm grip on her face, he didn't seem to notice her struggle. Still expecting an answer, Xieol tapped on her bruised cheek. Thalia winced and sucked in a breath.

"It's blood," Her voice came out through clenched teeth.

"Lies," His black eyes glared down at her. Red, black and grey started to swirl across his chest. He barked an order towards the door in some strange language. "You will not lie to me."

A gearman appeared in the doorway and inclined his head to the Prince.

"What is this?" Xieol demanded. He jerked Thalia's head sideways so that the gearman could get a good look at her face. The motion caused Thalia to lose her precarious balance. Her body slid up against Xieol's as he drug her by the face. She shuddered.

"A bruise, Your Highness," The gearman chirped. "A pooling of the blood below the skin. This is caused when a human suffers enough trauma to break blood vessels, but not enough to break the skin."

"Not enough?" Xieol returned darkly, but when he looked down at Thalia and his face was thoughtful. "I like this bruise. The colors..." He trailed off as he released her face and stood.

Thalia slumped and let the strong gravity pull her down onto the bench. She took a deep breath and tried to look at anything but the large white knees much too close to her face.

"Come here," Xieol commanded suddenly.

Thalia flinched, but otherwise remained still. She was already so close to him. His large body loomed over her. His tone brooked no argument, but she didn't understand— and then she heard it.

A metallic whirring was becoming louder in the room as the gearman, ever faithful, approached the prince. The gearman walked right up to the large creature. He came so close that Thalia could hear the clicking of his metal skeleton beneath his glass case.

"Show the Princess why she should stay away from the window,"

There was a split second of silence, and then Xieol grabbed the gearman by one arm and tossed him out the window. The gearman flew directly over Thalia, and she dove back down onto the bench to avoid being hit by the robotic body.

A terrible crackling noise burst through the room when the gearman passed over the window sill. Violent sparks of light erupted around his body. Thalia screamed and buried her face into the hard bench to avoid being hit by the sparks raining down on her. The gearman hit some form of invisible barrier and his body was tossed back into the room. He landed, smoking, half way to the door with a large crash. Slowly, the sparks and fizzles of energy died off.

Thalia stared at the smoking corpse, disbelieving.

"Do not attempt to escape," Xieol said firmly. He had stepped to the side to avoid being hit by the gearman, but was now looming over her again. "You will stay in this room until we successfully produce an heir. I will not tolerate any more human weakness. You are the princess of the empire. You will act accordingly or I will chain you up like cattle. It is up to you."

"Why did you kill him?" Thalia's eyes were still locked on the blackened body of the gearman. "He didn't do anything wrong."

"The Assistant?" Xieol asked, clearly annoyed. Hints of black spread across his chest. "You little idiot. They are machines. In the time it took me to break this one, a hundred more have been created. Not that it matters."

She finally drug her eyes away from the damaged gearman. She knew she was being stupid. Of course, it was a robot. Thalia knew that. But, still, the gearmen had never hurt her. They were just doing what they had been told to do. That was a small matter at the moment, though, and not the one she should be focusing on. Hadn't he mentioned chains?

"Your species is said to require companionship," Xieol mused. He glanced over at the smoking gearman. "Small minds enjoy small pleasures. Go ahead and make friends with the furniture while you're at it."

Thalia started to reply, but was cut off when he turned back to her. She couldn't read his expression. Colors were popping and fizzing across his body as he loomed over her. Suddenly, his face was much to near hers. Thalia started to right herself and scramble backwards on the bench, but he halted her with a firm grip on her waist.

"Do not move," Xieol ordered. He was so close that she felt his warm breath hitting her face. Thalia tried to turn away, but his other hand was suddenly locked on her chin.