But I have no idea where he is, or when he’s coming back. The servants won’t talk to me. They bring me refreshments and glide away again, careful not to say a word. And none of them are male. Aurus is still uber-protective of me, it seems.
Some of the harem members may have been insanely full of themselves, but at least we had conversations. I asked whether I could go visit them in the city, but was given a brusquenoas reply.
I’m lonely.
Eventually, I’ve had enough. I need to get out of here. Some fresh air might do me good. I pull on the warmest gown I can find—Aurus provided a selection for me—and a pair of shoes. They’re soft, supple leather of some kind, and it feels like I’m not wearing any at all. There don’t seem to be phones on this planet, but they do have some comforts I adore.
Raising my chin, adopting a queenly attitude, I step on the tile to open the main door and stride through it as if I don’t have a care in the world. I’m expecting there to be soldiers guarding the entrance… but there aren’t any. How strange.
How convenient.
In Aurus’s main hall, where I first met him, I glance up at the wall full of weapons, chewing my lip. Should I try to climb up and steal one?
No. I’m not going anywhere to fight. I’m just heading out for some air. I don’t want to give Aurus a reason to be mad at me when he does return.
I walk until I find more doors, vaguely remembering the path to outside from when the girls took me to the training arena. The palace seems eerily quiet and subdued. Where is everyone? There’s a weird vibe that makes me slightly uneasy, but I decide to ignore it. I can’t be in any danger. As protective as Aurus is, there’s no way he’d leave me alone if there was any kind of threat.
I find the huge, ornate doors that lead outside and, sure enough, there’s a hidden tile to open them. I step on it and head out.
This time, there are helmeted soldiers on the other side… but even though they turn their heads and obviously see me, they don’t call out or try to stop me. I’m surprised but beyond relieved. The warmth of the suns on my skin feels amazing, and I head around a corner, trying to decide where to go.
When I see the row of zooming platforms lined up, my heart starts to beat faster, and I’m genuinely excited for the first time in what feels like days. I could go for a ride. I’d be safe from weird, alien animals on one of those things, and could still do some exploring. Aurus showed me how to work the joystick, and it didn’t look that hard.
I step on and watch the lights blink on the control pad. The platform wobbles a bit, like when you step onto a boat, but it’s big enough and sturdy enough that I don’t think it will crash to the ground.
Pushing the biggest button makes the joystick light up and I wrap my hand around it cautiously, taking a deep breath before moving it forward just a tiny bit.
Sure enough, the platform begins to glide out of the dock.
Soon, I work out the various directions, and discover that lifting the stick makes the platform rise higher in the air, while pushing it down makes the platform sink lower.
This is fun!
Once I’ve gotten a feel for the controls, I set off on a little tour to explore some of the area outside the palace. A bunch of cow-looking creatures stare at me as I glide by, and I marvel at their size, wondering if they’re dangerous. Everything on this planet seems bigger than on Earth: its inhabitants, its flora and fauna…
“The dicks,” I mutter, thinking about Aurus. “Everything’s bigger in Ulfaria…”
Chuckling to myself at my bad joke, I almost jump out of my skin at a nearby roar.
“Kim!”
Turning, I see Aurus approaching on a zooming platform of his own.
“Kim! What in Ulf’s name are you doing? Get back here!” He’s obviously livid, his burnt honey eyes flashing.
“I wasbored!” I yell back.
“You’re trying to escape! There is no escape!”
Suddenly, I’m filled with anger. How dare he? The asshole leaves me alone for days and then, when I’m finally having some fun, he appears out of nowhere, tries to stop me, and makes unfair accusations. “I’m not!” I retort, turning my back on him and pushing the joystick forward to accelerate.
“We need to get back to the palace, now!”
Such a killjoy. Looking over my shoulder, I see he’s going faster now, too, and impulsively, I decide I won’t let him spoil my good time. “Catch me if you can!” I laugh, then zoom away from him, turning a precarious circle and shooting away.
“Oh, I’ll catch you! And when I do—”
The rest of his words get lost in the whistling sound of the wind as I speed off, ducking and weaving around trees, enjoying the speed and thrill of the chase, proud of how fast I was able to get a handle on steering this thing.
