"I wasn't done explaining.” He frowned at her from where he sat.
"Sorry." Zahra mumbled her apology as her mind raced a mile a minute.
“Seems the courtship period is over. So, they've proposed you marry Khaazai."
Zahra felt pretty certain her eyes couldn't bug any further out of her sockets. "Excuse me?"
"For one Khuuz’eth year. You and Khaazai will be married. After the year,” he shrugged his broad shoulders, “if you wish to leave, you will be able to divorce him."
Zahra couldn't even figure out where to start. Marriage. "I don't even know him." He was an alien from a species that’d Earth had just encountered. She had no knowledge about their lifestyle or their customs.
"You get to know him during the one year of marriage." General Bohler shrugged a shoulder unconcerned.
"Am I being ordered to do this?" Zahra felt a trickle of fear race down her spine. Earth was desperate for allies. But how desperate were they?
"We would never, well,” he scratched at his short cut beard, “there was some talk about it, but several of us agreed we couldn't force you into a marriage. This decision is all yours to make."
"If I agree, we are assured the help?"
"The agreement's already been written up and signed. All that we need is your approval."
Zahra heaved a sigh. The more assistance they received, the easier the war would be on all of them. It didn’t feel fair of her to say no when so many people were losing their lives and loved ones. All she had to do was marry an alien male and live safely on his home world.
"Here's one way to look at it.” The general sat forward and placed his hands in the air in front of him. “Imagine a yearlong vacation exploring a new, exotic planet and vibrant culture waiting to be uncovered."
"You're really trying to sell it here." Zahra laughed tightly, still uncertain this was something she wanted to do with her life.
He chuckled as he shook his head. "Can you blame me? Just think about it-you saw those warriors in action. Their weapons, and their prowess on the battlefield is nothing short of amazing. They'd be a great asset to our cause."
"Any stipulations about my safety during the year of the marriage?" Was she actually entertaining this idea? Maybe. A little. Sometimes a year seemed like a long time, but really it wasn’t the worst kind of time frame.
“It's not like we can threaten too much when we're already spread so thin with the Sri'thaen war, but we did think of your safety when the document was drawn up."
"Let me get back to you?" Zahra hoped she didn’t need to decide this today.
General Bohler clapped his large hands together. "They've given you twenty- four Earth hours to make your decision."
"Not a long time.” Zahra sighed. “But I’ll take every minute I can to think about it."
"I'll be waiting for your decision." General Bohler heaved his muscled form off her couch and then left her alone in her room.
Zahra rubbed the tension from her temple with a couple of fingers as she heaved a sigh. "I need to speak with Harlow,” she muttered to herself. Her mind raced with all the possibilities. An alliance with these aliens was something that could save peoples’ lives. Weren’t their lives worth a year of her time?
Even though she was uncertain whether her sister would be off work or not, Zahra settled into her chair as she reached out a hand and flicked on a switch. Her console whirred with life as it booted up. The screen lit up, casting light all over her dimly lit room.
Once her console finished loading, she hailed Harlow. "Please pick up." Zahra chanted as she bounced her leg, needing to talk this through with someone.
"Hey!" Harlow's beaming face popped up on the screen, smiling.
"Hey." Zahra waved, unable to meet her sister’s same enthusiasm. They looked nothing alike, but even though Harlow had been adopted, they both thought and treated each other like blood siblings. Nothing could come between the two of them.
"Why are you calling?" Harlow asked as she applied makeup to her face, squinting as she applied some eyeliner.
Zahra rolled her eyes. Harlow's skin was lovely. She couldn't remember a single time Harlow ever had a zit or any other skin imperfection. Her dark complexion had men falling at her feet every time she went out.
"I need to run something past you."
"Okay. Shoot." Harlow said as she put down the liner and began to apply a purple eyeshadow to her upper lids. A color Zahra could never pull off. She'd tried blue and purple once, but it'd made her look like she'd gotten into a bar fight... and lost. It was a mistake she didn’t intend to ever make again.
