This time it was my turn to laugh. Out of all the aliens I’d seen and met, both on the Solus and Korsal, none of them had the same social dynamic as Earth, where it was the women who were tasked with raising babies and taking care of the home. Not a single alien had blinked an eye at Jack being a fighter, or even at me, a much smaller female, joining the war effort. No one questioned if Callie was competent at flying, or if Sam was a good doctor. That alone was one of the many reasons I’d never go back to Earth.
“Where I’m from, most males thought that children and homelife was solely the female’s job. Hell, there are even countries where women can’t leave the house without a male escort.”
“Your planet sounds even more primitive than Korsal. Of course Rema would bring one such as you home to wed,” Rema’s corpse bride cousin said, her tone condescending. The sour bitterness of disgust and anger radiated from her. It was perfectly fine for them to insult me, but my cheek twitched when she mentioned Rema’s name.
I smiled at her, showing my teeth. “Oh it's far worse. The Korsals don’t murder each other over money or territory. WhereI grew up, getting stabbed for aperceivedslight was a very real possibility. We are a violent, war mongering, stubborn, hateful little race, and you would do well to remember that.”
Corpse bride sat forward in her seat, her eyes narrowing. “Was that a threat?”
I pressed my hand into my chest and blinked rapidly at her. “What? Little ole me? Threatening you? Of course not. Why, whatever gave you that impression?”
Her face scrunched in confusion and she looked to the other harpies as if to ask if I was serious or not. Lyees’s cool voice cut off whatever retort Rema’s cousin was about to say.
“Kitil, I allowed you and the others to accompany me because it was asked by your mother as a courtesy, but now I believe it is time for you and the others to take your leave.”
The dark haired mommy dearest lookalike turned her venom on Lyees. “We have every right to be here, Lady Lyees, as you well know. Families of the courted are allowed to assess the potential match.”
Lyees swept to her feet in a single graceful movement, sweeping the butter yellow train of her dress out of the way as she did so, her gold wings rising behind her. Giving the dark haired female a stern look she placed her lower hands on her hips, her upper set crossing over her small chest. “Eltith, you know as well as I do that families are only entitled to that privilege if the courtship hasn’t been accepted. This courtship is confirmed by the Queen herself.” She sighed, her feathers ruffling once before settling back into place as she composed herself. “Now, if you please?” she said, sweeping her left primary arm towards the door.
Eltith rose with a quiet fury, her black wings tight behind her. “My mother will be hearing of this.”
Lyees stepped to the side. “I look forward to speaking with her.”
The harpies moved around the couches, flowing out of the room on a wave of ashy anger, the dry taste making me pick up the tea to take a sip, and I had to work hard not to spit it back out. It was mostly sugar. Yuck.
With a sigh, Lyees sank back down on the seat of the couch, her wings draping over the back. “I apologize. I should have denied their request to join me. Kiltil and Eltith only parrot what their mother spouts about Rema, and Naengie, the red haired female, had attempted to court him once before and was rejected. The twins, Eidda and Eni only wish to sow chaos, and they enjoy the gossip. You are the talk of the city right now, our first alien pairing.”
I sat the cup back on the table with a shrug. “It’s alright, I can handle it. Why don’t you finish telling me about the ceremony.”
She gave me a grateful smile, her four hands folding in her lap. “Yes, of course. Heat is the third challenge. One you will enjoy, as most do. It is a dance, meant to entice desire in the partner. Each person dances for the other, and then you will dance together. I’m sorry to say that this too will be for an audience. I’m afraid that high ranking courtships are something of a spectacle, and yours is even more interesting.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Not a big deal, I’ve danced for crowds before. Is there a specific dance I need to learn or is this a freestyle kind of thing?”
I could dance with decent rhythm but most of my dancing had been done naked on a stage with a pole and the audience was throwing money at me. I’d been high most of the time, but I could do this, easy.
“It is whatever dance you want. It is less about the action and more about the results. Dance in whatever way will entice Rema.”
I knew the smile that spread across my face was evil, but I couldn’t help it. I’d entice him all right.
“Not a problem.”
Whatever she saw on my face made her blush and she cleared her throat delicately. “Good. Now after Heat there is Conviction. This is usually a trust game. It is different every time but in the past there have been obstacle courses that one partner must guide the other through. Or a race. It is up to the Queen to decide since she is Rema’s Guardian in this.”
Holy shit this would have been a freaking awesome TV show to watch back home.
“Sounds simple enough. What’s next?”
“Quiet. This is a day to simply relax with your intended after the other challenges. I’ve suggested to Rema that perhaps he take you on a tour of our city if you aren’t too tired.”
Sweet, I had started getting annoyed at all the theme filled days. I knew we were going to be doing them together but it didn’t sound like these days would have a lot of room for talking or bonding. Just a lot of hoops to jump through, not that Rema wasn’t worth every one, but damn couldn’t we just go out for coffee or something?
“Celebration will be the day after Quiet. This is usually the time for the two joining families to get to know one another, but Rema’s mother and father will not be attending the ceremony and your people are busy fighting a war, so this will be a court occasion.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, frowning at her. “What’s the deal with his parents? Was him joining the Solus really that big of a deal breaker for them that they felt the need to shun him?”
“It was some of that, yes, but really it was his rejection of not one, but two, princesses. As the only male child of his House, his parents were hopeful that he would be courted by the royal family. That he dashed their hopes for him was considered a slight.”
I rolled my eyes. “I thought your people were all about consent and the happiness of the match. Seems to me that placing those kinds of expectations on someone would make them choose someone they didn’t actually like.”
