"Holly," Zahra laughed as she shook her head. "I think you forget this isn't a love match. It's an arranged marriage between two sides to form an alliance. This isn’t going to be my last relationship where I settle down for the rest of my life."
"Sometimes arranged marriages can result in love." Holly hedged.
"Have you seen their kind?" Zahra placed the dress back inside the chest. "He's less likely to give me butterflies and more likely to cause me to pee my pants. Those men are built like beasts. Massive shoulders. Muscled. At least from what I’ve seen."
"I haven't met any Khuuz’eth in person, but I've seen photos. Maybe not our classic definition of handsome but... there's an appeal to them. Don't deny it."
"Maybe when I've been around him more, I can let you know. So," Zahra clapped her hands together and plopped down on a cushion beside a low table. "Let's get learning."
"Okay." Holly plopped down beside her and placed her tablet between them.
Chapter 5
Zahra felt certain her head might explode from all the details Holly seemed determined to shove in there. With a groan, she rolled over in the circular bed. After about five hours of hard-core studying, Zahra had cried out for mercy. Thankfully, Holly took mercy on her and allowed her to settle down for some sleep.
After a few hours of sleep, the door to her room began to beep.
Constantly.
Rolling over, Zahra hoped the person on the other side would give up. Slamming a pillowing over her head, she tried to ignore the annoying beeping. Unfortunately, the person on the other side did not give up.
With a growl, Zahra ripped the covers off her body and climbed out of the sunken bed. Which only caused her to grumble more. Human beds made more sense to her. Rolling out of bed seemed more natural rather than climbing out of bed.
"Yes?" Zahra barked as the door slid open at her approach.
"We've arrived!" Holly’s eyes sparkled with her excitement, completely oblivious of Zahra’s annoyance.
"Will my husband be here to greet me?" Immediate butterflies flittered about in her stomach at the thought of meeting her husband.
Holly shook her head. "No. You two will meet tonight at the ceremony. I'm to take you to a temporary room in the emperor's home and prepare you."
"How long until the ceremony?" Zahra asked. More like how long did she have to tell the general she wanted to call thiswhole thing off. The closer to this marriage she got, the more she wondered if this was actually a good idea.
"We have an hour. So, come on! We still need to get dressed." Holly turned and then murmured, "And I have to read up on this ceremony."
Zahra frowned but decided not to question anything. She'd keep playing this out. It was just a year. She could do a year of marriage. People got married all the time. And divorced all the time. Nothing to it. Although, would this count as a divorce? Technically, they weren't pledging until death do they part. Only a year. Nope. Didn't count. At least not in Zahra's mind.
"Lead the way." Zahra didn't need to worry about her bags. There wasn't much she'd brought. Mainly clothing and anything she thought she might miss if she didn't have it.
A couple of Khuuz’eth entered her room and gathered her belongings with the promise they'd be brought to her husband's residence. She tried not to stare at the two female Khuuz’eths, as it was her first time seeing any women from their people. They were tall, lithe, and built like predators. They had the same horn structure things at the back of their heads, just daintier than the males of their species.
Holly and Zahra followed after the Khuuz’eth women as they left the room and slowly meandered their way through the ship.
Unfortunately, as they left the ship, she didn't get a good view of the emperor's home since the ship had landed inside an alcove in the building. She was curious if their architecture transferred from their buildings to their ships.
Two female attendants walked forward and bowed to them as they walked down the ship’s ramp. The Khuuz’eth with her bags didn’t stop and kept on walking away. She figured she’d get them back soon enough.
"Zahra Williams?" One of the alien women asked as she straightened. Her eyes glowed a light violet, and it took Zahra a moment to respond.
"Yes. That's me." She stepped forward. It was going to take her a while to grow used to their height. Even the women stood at least a couple heads taller than her. Khaazai must be near seven feet tall… or eight? She wasn’t entirely the best at guessing peoples’ heights.
"We are to be your maids while you're in the emperor's palace." The other alien woman placed a hand to her chest and bowed slightly. “If there’s anything you need while staying at the palace, you only need let us know and we will do our best to meet your requests.”
"Thank you." Zahra replied, her voice a mixture of gratitude and confusion. She wasn’t sure how to respond to the fact she had maids now. Did people have maids these days? Maybe she simply wasn't rich enough to know. Her soon-to-be-husband was the cousin of the emperor, and one could infer that he might have some wealth to his name.
"Please,” The two alien women moved off to the side, their movements fluid and seamless, "allow us to show you to your rooms." They gestured toward a hallway to their left, the walls a dark grey.
Zahra hesitated at the threshold for a moment. Every step she took, led her closer to a life she wasn’t sure she was ready to experience. Doubt continued to plague her that she might not be the right woman for this pivotal role. So much rode on this alliance. So many lives depended on her making this alliance a success.
