Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (41 page)

She continued walking silently behind him,
eyes glued to the floor, like a naughty child being led away for
punishment. Gathering all her courage, she pulled her gaze to the
back of his head, his curly, dirty blown locks swaying gently with
every step. The comforting, familiar fear slipped through her grasp
as another emotion burst from her heart. But she repressed it,
turning her gaze from Trent to the surrounding walls in the hope of
steadying her racing heart.

When they exited the transport tube earlier,
her mind had been elsewhere, so she hadn’t seen, or cared about,
where Vin had led them. But after closer inspection, she quickly
discerned they were in a noble, command, or officer’s section of
the base, based on the exquisite paintings hanging upon walls lined
with statues and carved pillars, over marble floors with a track of
navy blue carpet cutting through its center. A sign over an
intersecting hallway they turned down confirmed her
suspicion...they were in the command barracks.

Her attention was drawn back to Trent as she
tried to organize her thoughts. But the idea that he may have seen
her naked grated at her mind. She realized if this continued, they
would never be able to work together, the memory constantly
threatening to overwhelm her. Taking a deep breath, she stopped,
forcing Trent to stop with her. He tried to turn, but she placed a
hand on his back, keeping him facing forward.

“Trent, did you see me naked?” she asked,
voice tense. Silence stood between them, her breath the only sound
breaking through its embrace.

“Yes,” he said, voice a squeak, “I...I'm
sorry. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me, those
tunnels play games with the eyes, so I probably ju-,” she spun him
to face her, his honest response matching the look in his eyes.

“In my last relationship,” she repressed the
voice screaming in the back of her mind to stop, but she knew she
had to tell him, for if she didn’t, then she would always hold him
at a distance, and for some reason, that idea scared her most,
“around eight years ago, the noble boy I was courting assaulted
me,” the shock that appeared in Trent’s eyes vanished almost
instantly, replaced by fury as he clenched his jaw. “Trent, they
did not rape me, but...but a few did try,” her voice trembled,
“after he stripped me and tied me to the bed, his noble friends
made detail scans of my body for...for reasons I don’t even want to
know,” she paused, trying to hold back the tears that always burst
forth at the memories. “Ever since I have been terrified of being
witnessed naked by a man...or even talking about being naked to a
man,” she shivered, like her body had been encased in ice, though a
sense of relief did wash through her that she'd been able to tell
him about her scar.

Without warning, he embraced her fully,
trying to draw forth her sorrow with his body and take it as his
own, or so it felt. A fresh weariness washed over her as his warmth
overwhelmed her freezing flesh, and she buried her eyes in his
neck, his musk drowning her fear. The weight she’d been carrying on
her shoulders for the last eight years lightened as she stood
silent, melting deeper and deeper into his embrace, knowing that
she'd finally taken the first step down the path of healing.
I
must apologize to Sir Seb'Losh when he returns,
she admitted,
knowing now she had been in the wrong.

As suddenly as Trent had embraced her, he
pulled away, but not before kissing her lightly on the forehead.
Before she could react, he turned, grabbing her hand once more, and
started forward, towards their destination. Terra, who'd been
silent for most of the trip, squealed in delight, hopping from her
bosom, down her arm and up Trent's, to rest on his shoulder. He
stumbled in surprise, but smiled when his gaze caught sight of the
catillian's cute little face.

“It's a catillian,” Sasha started, voice
unsteady, “I named him Terra. They are a type of rare animal that
bonds with its owner. They are very popular pet with the NHA
nobility since they require very little maintenance. It must like
you...” she steadied when her mind fully comprehended what she was
seeing. From what she'd learned, catillians would only “ride” upon
their bonded partner or other bonded humans. But Terra had climbed
on Trent's shoulder, seeming to squeak and squawk into his ear, a
rather comical sight, since Trent would nod his head after every
few sounds, like he understood what Terra was saying.

After taking the final turn instructed by
Vin, they came upon a dead end, or so Sasha initially thought.
No, this is a door to a Royal Room,
she realized, the left
side of the wall carved with the crest of the TSB, while the right
side held the Vn’Oco Royal Crest, a red sun encircled by a platinum
crown. Between the two protruded a DNA lock.

Trent moved before the wall, running his
fingers over its carved surface, before reaching for the DNA lock
as if he knew how to use it. It spun a quarter turn, then stopped.
Terra squawked, hopping down his arm to lay one of his tiny hands
on the lock beside Trent’s. It started to spin again, but stopped
after another quarter turn.

“Sasha, I think...” Trent started, but Sasha
had already stridden to his side, placing her hand atop his. The
DNA lock spun the last half-turn before spiraling inwards as the
door folded into millions of tiny blocks that vanished into the
surrounding walls.

“A DNA lock, only those who have been
provided permission by the emperor, king, or queen shall be allowed
to enter,” Sasha explained when she noticed Trent staring in
awe.

Finding him locked in place, she wrapped her
arm around his, pressing her body close to lead him through as
Terra hoped back into her bosom. Trent glanced over, drawn by the
sudden movement, and watched Terra curled up within. Sasha noticed
his gaze linger, so she placed a finger to his chin, tilting his
view away.

“I...sorry...” he apologized, like he hadn’t
realized what he was doing. She smiled, finding that she didn’t
actually mind him staring, then shook off the foreign thought.
What on Origin am I thinking?

As they moved farther from the entrance,
deeper into the darkness beyond, the door reassembled, blocking the
only light. They stood together, only their rapid breaths sounding
in the cavernous interior, like they were the only two beings who
existed in the entire universe.

“Vin?” she questioned after a moment. In
response, a single spotlight appeared from high above to bath a
towering statue that began to sparkle mysteriously in the center of
the room, depicting a man who Sasha knew quite well. The sparkles,
seeming to be attracted to the light above, began to flow up the
statue’s surface, erupting from the crown it adorned one after
another. They began to swirl, coalescing into the shape of a
galaxy...their galaxy. She was drawn forward, towards the statue,
pulling a dazed Trent along beside her.

“My father, King Johan Vn’Oco,” Sasha
whispered under her breath. Trent froze at her side, doubt covering
his shadowy face.

“You’re the daughter of the king?” Trent
asked in disbelief.

“I thought you said you would trust me?” she
said, glaring at Trent, trying not to let her anger seep into her
voice.

“I do,” his expression gradually shifted to
concern, “but I haven't seen anything that would completely
convince me that what has been happening is not some sort of grand
corporate experiment that I just happened to get caught up in,”
Sasha stared at him, dumbfounded,
he thought this, her, was all
a lie, a fabrication!
“But,” he continued before she could
respond, her tongue locked by what she’d just heard, “I have seen
things that even I know are well beyond this world. So if you tell
me, Sasha that...that this is not a corporate experiment
that...that we are not brainwashed and this is real...everything
I've heard, seen, experienced is real I......I will believe you,
since I trust you, no matter how hard my mind cries not too,”
Trent, though his words were unemotional, couldn’t hide his
pleading, pleading for someone to answer a question that must have
been eating at him since he first joined the TSB.

“Everything is real Trent,” she moved before
him, squeezing his hands in hers, “what is fake is the life you
lived until now. Earth is the experiment, created by the NHA to
study human development and evolution over tens of thousands of
years,” Sasha stared into his eyes, hoping to see recognition that
yes...he did in fact...understand.

Her words didn't register at first, being so
unbelievable that his mind tried to smother them before he could
fully comprehend. But as he stared into her eyes, something
released, like a frozen gear had just become unjammed or the blinds
that hid what was actually beyond the window were just
flipped...
I am the lie.

Trent let this knowledge sink in, to push
back against the voice that screamed it was impossible she spoke
the truth, that she was just trying to confuse him, manipulate him,
like all the other women who had been a part of his life. But he
knew, beyond any doubt, she wouldn't lie to him, though why he knew
this fact escaped him. So if she said everything that had occurred,
all the outrageous events he'd experienced since he’d become a
hobo, were all related to some gigantic human space empire, he
would believe her.

As he continued staring into the eyes of the
woman he'd met less than an hour before, Trent began to realize
that it made a strange sort of sense. He’d always felt that there
was something inherently wrong with the world that he could never
quite place. Now he knew what that feeling was, the feeling of
dislocation.
Humans are not native to Earth.

“So that would make you not just a grand
duchess, but a princess?” Trent sighed, resigned to this new
reality. He'd finally given up on his past...on Earth...and it was
time to start moving on.

Sasha’s expression softened, draining of
tension, as she took a step back, rising to her full height while
studying him intently, like he was a sculptor in need of appraisal.
Seeming satisfied, she flicked her hair over her shoulder, then
leaned in to kiss his cheek. Blood rushed to the spot where her
lips had touched and his heart pounded in his ears, a giddiness
rising within like that was the first time he’d ever been kissed.
Sasha, with a mischievous grin that Trent thought could melt
anyone's heart ...even his...spun away, into the edge of the circle
of light.

“Actually,” she batted a finger, glancing
back over her shoulder, “it is grand duchess and princess, make
sure to get it right next time,” Trent smiled, feeling the last of
his trepidation drain at her playful tone. With a wink, she
strolled the last few meters to the statue’s base. Trent followed
close behind, his smile turning into a gay grin as he found his
gaze pulled to her swaying hips.

The statue stood over 15 meters tall atop a
circular dais with a carved description which read:
King Johan
Vn'Oco of the 189th New Universal Empirical Human Alliance
Galaxy
. The statues flowing robes swayed in an imaginary wind
as the aged king being depicted, with an expression he could only
call thoughtful, stared down upon them. His knowing gaze and
flowing, snow white hair that swayed alongside his robes, provided
Trent no doubt that this was a man of great power. Sasha stood
silently at his side as he studied the statue, lost in thought,
recalling memories he couldn't even begin to imagine.

“So your family name is Vn'Oco?” he
asked.

“No,” she answered after a moment, “I do not
know how it works on Earth, but ruling noble family names are based
on their holdings. So I am officially Sasha Alutia. I was
previously Sasha Vn'Oco, but like all other unlanded nobles, I
would go by a single name as to not confuse others of my actual
authority,” Trent nodded.

“It makes sense, many family names on Earth
originate from places people lived, jobs they performed, or areas
they grew up. But we inherit our family name from our parents, I'm
officially Trent Marcello,” Trent explained as he noticed Sasha had
returned her attention to the statue, eyes wide, Trent picturing a
light bulb lighting above her head. Excitedly, she guided him
around the dais, stopping before an image of a reddish-purple
tiara, with what appeared to be a rose vine wrapping around its
band and a red rose blooming on each of its three peaks.

Sasha placed her left hand over the image. A
moment later, dots of milky light appeared within the statue, like
it was transparent. Slowly, they wiggled towards the surface, and
as if they were made of water, started trickling down to pool on
the dais above. When all the dots of light had descended, the
purple gem on Sasha's bracelet began to glow brightly. The dots
flowed over the edge of dais towards the purple glow, like a light
attracting insects on a dark summer evening.

“It’s ok,” she reassured when Trent started
to tense, having almost pulled her away when the dots of light
started moving towards her hand, as if to attack it. But the
radiant purple light appeared to herd them, forcing the dots to
slowly circle. Trent stared in awe as the circle of light started
to accelerate, brightening with every pass, until a crack like
thunder erupted from the statue and it took all his will not to
shrink back. All light vanished, except for the swirling galaxy and
the gentle purple glow from Sasha's bracelet.

A hole appeared where the image of the tiara
had previously been. Sasha reached in carefully, grasping something
that glistened before it vanished into her palm. She took a few
steps back, pulling Trent with her, then placed him in a position
standing just before her. The statue seemed to grow larger, its
gaze no longer thoughtful, but judging. The reality of Sasha’s
earlier words began to sink in, that she was a princess and he...he
was only a son of an experimental planet.