Release (11 page)

Oops. Keirth hadn’t realized this girl was going to have to run around covered in black just because he’d run off. He felt guilty. But there wasn’t any way he could have married her. He was a victim of circumstance.

“This is my daughter Freetha,” said the chief.

“Freetha,” said Ariana, going to her. “I wish to give you our sincere apologies for this horrible misunderstanding. You are hereby released from the bonds of betrothal. As compensation for your troubles, we have brought you this.” Ariana went to her trunk, and removed a long, shimmering green gown. She presented it to the chief’s daughter. “It’s made of smartfabric, which is all the rage in the sector, so it should fit the minute you put it on. It will adjust itself to the proportions of your body.”

Freetha took the dress from Ariana silently, but Keirth could see in her eyes that she was awed by it.

Ariana took some jewelry out of her trunk. “And we also offer this gift of precious jewels to you and your father.” She handed the jewelry to the chief.

He smiled at her. “Your apologies are accepted, and we will release Freetha from her betrothal bond.”

Freetha pulled the black veil over her head. Underneath, she was a pretty girl with long blonde hair. She was smiling too. “I’m free?” she whispered.

“Yes,” said her father.

Freetha threw her arms around Ariana. “Oh thank you. It’s been so long since I’ve been allowed to speak to anyone.”

She hadn’t been able to talk? What kind of crazy place was this planet anyway?

“You’re quite welcome,” said Ariana.

“This dress is...” Freetha looked at it, her eyes wide. “Can you show me how to put it on? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ariana went off with Freetha, their arms linked. But before she did, she whispered to Keirth. “You’re welcome.”

The chief eyed Keirth.

Keirth shifted on his feet.

“I have to admit,” said the chief, “after what you did to my daughter, I had intended to have you executed the minute I laid eyes on you. But your wife is quite a winsome creature.”

Sure. Now she was. When she wasn’t destroying hyperdrives. Keirth simply nodded. “She is indeed.”

“But I’m not such a fool as to think you came back to our planet only to apologize and make redress for your wrong. There is something else, isn’t there?”

Keirth nodded. “I need a ship. The one we arrived in is badly damaged. I’d hoped to trade it for something in your collections.”

The chief surveyed the jewelry in his hands. He looked at Keirth. “All right. We can deal.” He clapped Keirth on the back. “But let’s save talk of this for tomorrow. Today my daughter is free again, and we have much to celebrate. You will stay here for a feast.”

Okay. Feasts sounded good. Keirth had to admit that Ariana had done a good job here. She’d saved his life, apparently. They would have killed him otherwise. And she did look really nice in that dress.

* * *

“I can’t believe you did this,” Keirth was saying. He and Ariana were sitting on cushions in the feasting hall. The table in front of them was loaded with fruits and meats native to Trioth. There were tables set up in a sort of horseshoe shape, leaving a gaping space in the middle of the vast room. There was music from a band of Triothians playing stringed instruments in the corner. The air was filled with the buzz of conversation as around them the people of Trioth all enjoyed the feast that had been prepared. A few seats away from them, Freetha sat in her new dress, looking excited and happy. The atmosphere was joyous.

Ariana shrugged. “I’m good at this stuff. Like I told you, they trained me to be polite.” She reached across him and dipped her fingers into a bowl of shiny black fruits. “You should try those. They’re a delicacy on this planet.”

“But you know all this stuff,” said Keirth. “You know everything.”

“You’re the one who showed me the encyclopedia,” said Ariana. “And I’ve figured things like this out before. There are different customs on every planet in the sector, even if we’re centrally ruled. Aunt Tildy always used to tell me that the best thing to do when you’re dealing with hostile people is not offend them. You have to know what will offend them to make sure you don’t do that.”

“Well, you’re kind of amazing,” said Keirth. “I’m impressed.”

She smiled at him. “I owed you. It’s my fault we’re in this mess in the first place.”

“But you gave them your own things. That dress. The jewelry. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Of course not,” she said. “I didn’t have my best things on the ship. Everything I really wanted I’d taken with me planetside. But...” She looked around. “Don’t tell them that, okay?”

He laughed and ate one of the fruits she’d told him to try. It was delicious, sweet nectar bursting into his mouth.

There was a sound of metal striking glass. Everyone quieted. The chief had stood up. He was hitting a knife against a goblet. “Our honored guests,” he told the room, “must lead us in the first dance of the evening.”

Keirth shook his head. “I don’t dance,” he said to Ariana.

She raised her voice. “We don’t know the steps of your dances.” Her voice managed to sound apologetic and pleasant all at the same time. She really
was
good at this stuff.

“Show us a dance from your planet then,” said the chief. The room erupted into applause, apparently agreeing with sentiment.

“I don’t know any of your dances either,” Keirth said through clenched teeth. This was disastrous.

But Ariana was standing up. “They don’t know either. Just make it up.”

There didn’t seem to be a way out of it. Inwardly groaning, Keirth stood up as well. Ariana took his hand, and they walked out into the space in front of the tables. Ariana faced him.

Keirth had next to no idea how he was supposed to dance to this music. He was going to look like an idiot. He gingerly placed a hand on Ariana’s waist.

“We’re supposed to be married,” she hissed at him. “Act like you’re used to doing that.”

He gripped her a little tighter, feeling the curve of her body under his fingers. She was soft and smooth. Keirth swallowed.

Ariana grasped his hand and put one of her hands on the arm that held her waist.

The music began.

He didn’t know what to do, so he took a step forward. As if she was reading his mind, Ariana stepped backwards at the same time so that they moved as one.

She smiled encouragingly at him. “Step sideways.”

They stepped together. Then backwards. Then sideways again, until they were gliding together in a circle. The steps were simple, but it felt as if Ariana floated with him in his arms. Before he knew it, the music was surging through him, and moving this way, with her, seemed natural and perfect. He’d never been this close to her, he realized. He gazed into her eyes, and she looked back at him, a small smile playing at her lips.

“You’re actually very good at this, Keirth,” she said.

And without being sure why he did it, he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her closer to him, so that their bodies were inches apart.

It seemed like the song was over too soon.

The Triothians flooded the dance floor. Freetha patted him on the arm. “Married for over a year and still looking at each other like that, eh?” she teased.

Like what? Keirth looked away from Ariana. “I’ll go sit down now.”

“No,” said Freetha. “Stay and learn our dance.”

Keirth looked longingly at the safety of the table.

“One more,” Ariana told him.

Somehow, the dancing seemed easier than he’d thought. Keirth relaxed into the sounds of the music, and it seemed to direct his body, tell it how to move and when. He and Ariana danced for another song. And then another. And another. The Trioth dances were boisterous with a lot of foot stomping and swinging of one’s partner. Before Keirth knew it, they’d been dancing for hours, and it was late.

The musicians packed up, the feast was left to be cleaned by the servants, and Keirth and Ariana were led down a hallway to their sleeping quarters.

Ariana’s face was flushed from the movement and activity. Her eyes were bright as she walked next to him. “Admit it,” she said. “You had fun. You liked dancing.”

“It was okay,” said Keirth. He’d actually enjoyed himself more than he’d care to admit. And he realized that he was enjoying pretending that Ariana was his wife, as well, and not just because of the way it made him look better to have someone like her on his arm. Being close to her was...

The servant opened a door. “This will be your room.”

Ariana and Keirth stepped inside. The room was large, with a fireplace on one wall and a table next to it. A large bed sat against the other wall, covered with animal furs and tapestries.

The servant closed the door after them.

Ariana and Keirth both looked at the bed and then looked at each other.

Ariana bit her lip. “I guess I didn’t think this us-being-married thing the whole way through.”

Keirth knew the gallant thing to do would be to offer to sleep on the floor. But the floor was made of marbled stone, and it looked very uncomfortable. And besides, she hadn’t exactly checked with him before telling everyone they were married. Why should he have to suffer? But he couldn’t very well make her sleep on the floor, could he? “I’ll sleep on the floor,” he said.

“But it was my idea for us to pretend to be married,” said Ariana. “I can’t let you do that.” She went over to the bed and began pulling off pillows and cushions. She lined them up in the middle of the bed, dividing it in half. “There,” she said. “We’ll each have a side.”

“If you’re sure that makes you comfortable,” said Keirth. She was a member of the nobility. She couldn’t offer to share a bed with him without disgrace.

She looked down at the cushions, shrugging. “It’s the best we can do, isn’t it?”

Maybe so. But as Keirth stared down at the divided bed, he wondered if he shouldn’t also be taking how comfortable he was into account. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t finding himself attracted to her. He didn’t know if it was that damned dress or seeing her be so gracious and poised with the Triothians. Before, in the ship, she’d seemed alternately terrified and angry. When she hadn’t been yelling at him, she’d been screwing things up. He’d seen her as an annoyance, something to be dealt with. Now he was seeing her differently.

Another man might have been thrilled with the fact he was trapped in a bed with an attractive woman. Another man might have wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Ariana was riffling through her trunk. She pulled out a white nightgown and threw it on the bed. “They didn’t even give us a room to change into bedclothes.”

“I, um, don’t think that the people on this planet wear different clothes to bed usually,” Keirth said. She was going to change her clothes?

“Well, you’ll just have to turn around,” said Ariana, reaching behind her neck on the gown. “Do you think you could help me unfasten the dress?”

Keirth lurched forward. His hands fumbled to unfasten the smartcloth. Once he did, it parted immediately, revealing Ariana’s white skin underneath. He gazed down at the curve of her back, sucking in his breath. So, he was like other men in that regard. He did have some desire to take advantage of the situation.

He turned away from her.

“Turn around,” Ariana said, turning to face him. But his back was already turned. “Oh.”

He could hear the whisper of fabrics as she changed her clothes, and he struggled not to think about what she was doing, not to picture her nude body. He’d fought a long time to keep this part of his nature in check. He didn’t intend to let that change. Maybe he
should
sleep on the floor. He rubbed his toe against it. It was really hard.

“Okay,” said Ariana.

He turned back around. She was wearing the nightgown, which thankfully covered her entire body. But the fabric was a little flimsy, and he could see the barest hint of the outline of her curves beneath it. He immediately looked away.

“Do you, um, need to change?”

“I didn’t bring anything to change into,” he said.

“Okay,” she said. She took a deep breath. “Well, I guess we should...”

There was still time to do the right thing. There was still time to sleep on the floor. But Keirth sat down on his side of the bed instead and removed his shoes.

Ariana pulled the covers down on her side and slipped under them. She pulled them all the way up to her chin. “Can you turn off the lamps?”

There were clusters of oil lamps beside the bed. Keirth reached over and dutifully turned the knobs on them until they went out. The room was plunged into darkness. Unsure if the darkness made him feel relieved or more anxious, Keirth got under the covers of the bed as well.

With the cushions on the bed, there was less room than there might be on a single bed. It was better than the floor, though. Keirth lay rigidly on his back, his eyes wide in the darkness. He wasn’t sure whether to close them or not.

“I’m sorry if this part of my idea wasn’t so great.” Ariana’s voice was soft, possibly because it was dark.

“It’s fine,” Keirth said gruffly. He was doing his best to pretend she wasn’t over there. He was doing his best not to think about the sliver of her bare back, of the outline of her body in her nightgown. But...to his horror, his body wasn’t doing
its
best. He could feel himself thickening, lengthening between his legs. He was going to have to sleep on the floor after all. He struggled to think of something else—anything else.

Ariana giggled. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever shared a bed with a man. I guess it’s not unusual for you.”

It was unusual. “No,” he muttered. “I’ve never shared a bed with a woman either.”

A rustling on the other side of the bed, and then the shadowy features of Ariana appeared over the cushions. She’d propped herself up to look down at him. “You mean, I guess, that you usually just take what you want and run.”

“No!” said Keirth. It came out a little stronger than he meant it to. “Absolutely not.” He wished he hadn’t spoken in the first place. He was nervous. This whole situation made him nervous, and he couldn’t control his tongue.