Authors: Julia Sexton
The grand room of the Elites was totally opposite of the Zenoa floor. This one was dark and a single light shown from the roof, like a spotlight. There was a walkway and on the right and left of it, there were ponds of water.
Creatures that on Earth would be called fish were swimming in the water but Natasha was sure that it was not any of the species found on Earth. For one, the fish were giving off different lights for each different kind. It made for a great view.
They reached the end of the walkway and the center of the room. Suddenly high above them, a light was thrown on a group of people. Seven men, older than all the men at Zenoa, and three women were sitting in a balcony like in the opera. They seemed to be dress in togas like ancient Rome.
Viktor bowed to them and Natasha was not sure if she was to do that or not. She finally decided on not doing that. When Viktor straightened, the Elites got up. The eldest of the bunch raised him arms.
“Let the rhumbus begin,” his voice boomed in the room.
Chapter 8
It had been an odd night and Natasha was glad it was over. As they made their way back from the residence of the Elites, Natasha kept her eyes on the red stars adorning the night sky. It made her think about all the worlds there were that she didn’t know of. Then she remembered that until a day ago, she only believed in the existence of a single one.
They entered the pod and Viktor closed the door.
“The night was a success,” he declared.
“I’m glad,” Natasha said, without an ounce of excitement and clearly with derision.
“You don’t seem happy,” Viktor said.
“Caught on, have you? Did you think we would be living in blissful harmony? Did you think for one second that this was going to work? That I would just turn on a switch and start being your wife? Well, calling whatever relationship you guys establish here as ‘husband and wife’ is a slap to the whole institution.”
Natasha’s chest was falling and rising.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Viktor said in a small voice.
Natasha looked at him, surprised. She was expecting an arrogant answer, something along the lines she had come to expect from the twisted hierarchy of this planet, but Viktor’s response shocked her.
“I want to change my clothes,” Natasha said. “Can you go out or something?”
Viktor was still not seeing things her way. “Why? What does it matter? I am going to see you without clothes tonight as it is.”
“What?!” Natasha said, almost shouting.
“The consummation,” he said. “Don’t you remember?”
“There won’t be a consummation. There’s nothing to consummate.” Natasha said, but she was not sure if she could make him understand that. He seemed too steeped in the norms of this place.
“You don’t get to say no,” he said and all the vestiges of tenderness that Natasha had seen earlier were gone and instead were replaced with the same alpha male mentality that he and his friends had shown earlier at Zenoa.
“Yes, I do,” Natasha said, holding her ground. She was not going to give in.
Viktor closed the gap between them, and pulled Natasha’s lips to his. He lingered the kiss for a moment, and Natasha was taken aback for a moment. She didn’t make any reaction for a few seconds but then pushed Viktor back.
“No!” she said. “You can’t make me.”
“But this is the tradition of this place. After the rhumbus, a consummation is a must.”
“I don’t care about this stupid place and your stupid rules. I won’t be a part of it.”
Now it was Viktor’s turn to get angry. Blood rushed to his face and he clamped his fists.
“Can’t you see that if we don’t consummate this marriage, I will be a laughing stock? I will become a joke.”
“This marriage is already a joke,” Natasha said angrily.
“I don’t want to hear another word. Get changed and come to bed. There are no two ways about it.” Viktor said with that air of finality that had become familiar to Natasha just after a day of knowing him.
Natasha knew that arguing with him was no solution, but she was not surrendering. She got a night dress from the mirror which reflected her clothes and went behind the screen to change. When she came out, dressed in the dress that ended just above her knees, the first thing she noticed was that the lighting had been dimmed in the room. Viktor was sitting on the bed and he had removed his shirt. Natasha could not help but stare.
He was made like an Adonis, all rugged and muscular. His skin seemed to glow in the slightly dimmed light and she didn’t ask if that was a trick or it really glowed like that always.
He had a look in his eyes that Natasha had seen in men’s eyes before. Generally, she liked the look because she was a willing participant in the deed, but now she abhorred it. Viktor was a man who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted because that was what he had been taught all his life; that love was something that existed nowhere and lust was what men must always strive for.
“Come, sit by my side,” Viktor said, a lot more tenderly given the anger he had displayed moments ago. Natasha nervously sat on the bed beside Viktor. She wasn’t sure where this night would go, but she was determined to fight.
“Listen,” Viktor said. “I know this is all too fast for you and you probably need breathing room to understand everything, but there’s a certain way we do things here and that can’t be changed. People expect certain things from the house of Basilia and I am the heir of that house. You are its mistress. That’s a big responsibility. You can’t cling on to the old ways.”
Natasha had not expected such an eloquent speech from Viktor, who had seemed interested in her body so far and to show her off.
“I understand that and you must now understand that this is not normal. I can’t just go about and have sex with anyone who puts a ring on my finger while I was asleep. I need time. I need to think things through.”
Viktor nodded and started getting ready for bed. He took off his pants without giving a second thought to the matter. He got inside the sheets and Natasha was left standing there thinking if he had heard even a single word she had just said.
“Uh, excuse me,” she said.
“Yeah?” Viktor said, without opening his eyes.
“So much for chivalry. Where am I supposed to sleep?” she said.
“Here, where else?” Viktor said, surprised that such a question had even risen in her mind.
“I can’t sleep with you,” Natasha said.
“I agreed to what you said,” Viktor said, and his eyes flashed dangerously. “Don’t act like a little girl. If you want to sleep, this is the place. Otherwise, you can spend the whole night awake. It’s your call.”
Viktor said this and turned away. Natasha stood there, in semi-darkness, thinking what the next course of action could be for her. Maybe she was being unreasonable. Viktor had accepted what she had to say and that was a step forward. Natasha climbed into bed, and taking care to keep away from the hot alien in her bed, drifted off to sleep.
Natasha woke up and she could immediately feel a body pressed closed to her. She didn’t give it much thought, but after a few seconds, the previous day cracked into her vision and she recoiled; though she had to admit that pressed against Viktor’s body felt unquestionably good.
Viktor also stirred a little and opened his eyes.
“Have you made your decision?” were the first words out of his mouth.
Natasha rolled over and sat on the bed, looking exasperated.
“I can’t make a decision like this in one night. I need to think about it. I need to know you,” she said.
“What do you want to know me for? What has that got to do with the consummation?” Viktor said, going back to his Zamorrah mode immediately.
Natasha sighed and didn’t answer. She didn’t have anything new to add to what she had said last night.
“You have three weeks to think things through,” Viktor said. “Beyond that, I cannot grant. I have to answer to the Elites and I have a standing to maintain.”
Natasha was about to argue that three weeks wasn’t enough time but she knew that it was futile. Instead, she looked at the silver lining: she had three weeks to figure things out.
“Ok,” she said. “We’ll see what happens after three weeks. And what if I am not ready after that?”
“Too bad,” Viktor said. “This world doesn’t care what you think.”
“I figured. And what about you?”
Viktor was stumped. He looked shocked that a woman could ask him if he cared what she thought, it seemed to him such an absurd question. But he couldn’t muster an immediate no. Instead, he seemed to be giving it thought.
“Get dressed,” he said. “We have a long day ahead of us. You have to meet a lot of people.”
He said that and got up from the bed. Natasha followed the fluid movement of his body and bit her lip. In another life, in another world, she would not have let this man leave the bed without making love to him.
Her mind was racing and she considered it a positive step that he had dodged the question instead of plainly telling her to go to hell, which she guessed, all the other men on this planet would have done to their wives had they been asked if they cared about their opinions.
Chapter 9: Three Weeks Later
These past three weeks hadn’t been easy for Natasha. There were a bunch of things she was not remotely ready for, especially the food. The food was unlike what it had been on earth, and mainly consisted of greens, the likes of which she had not seen. She couldn’t starve to death so she had to eat them. She spent the first whole week puking her guts out, but then things got a whole lot smoother.
Then there was the little thing of avoiding Viktor’s consistent demands that he let her consummate the marriage before the three weeks. He was like an eager boy who had not heard ‘no’ in a while and the slightest delay felt like eternity to him. But Natasha held her own, even though they slept in the same bed.
Apart from this, Natasha had discovered a side to Viktor that she was sure nobody else had ever seen. Beneath this exterior of alpha male, there was a man who was willing to please his woman. He didn’t let that side surface all that much, and Natasha sometimes suspected that it might not be a conscious decision on his part; rather that he was wired that way.
It was the little things that mattered like not letting her get in the fly-bot without offering her his hand, even though she had mastered her fear of jumping into the void. Then there were those moments when his friends made a crude joke about her, he wouldn’t laugh or if he had to, he only did halfheartedly, just to appease them. Natasha was beginning to scratch the surface of the mystery that was Viktor and she was finding underneath the hard exterior, a man she liked, a man she could see herself falling for.
But, three weeks was still too little of a time to judge anyone or anything. She kept her guard up and noticed small things. Viktor was embroidered too deeply in the culture of this place and changing his outlook about women would be a long and arduous task. Natasha was coming to the possibility that she might not leave Zamorrah ever again and never see Earth and all those people again.
She missed her brothers a lot, and she was sure that they were looking for her. She felt bad that she couldn’t at least tell them that she was fine and there was nothing to worry about. But she had no means to do that.
On the night of the twenty first day, Viktor came back in the pod and Natasha was waiting for him. She knew that he would come back that night expecting certain things and she was sure to talk with him and make him see the reality of the whole situation.
Without preamble or anything, Viktor walked to her and kissed her. She didn’t work against the kiss, rather she enjoyed it. She let his lips explore her lips and she did the same. They kissed for a while and when they broke, Viktor had a light in his eyes, which Natasha had seen on day one.
“Viktor,” she said, putting a hand on his chest, and again marveling at his fit figure. “I know that three weeks are over, but I want more time.”
Anger flashed in Viktor’s eyes. “You said three weeks. You can’t go back on your word. This marriage won’t be complete until we consummate it.”
“I know how marriage works, thanks,” Natasha said.
“Then I am surprised that you even asked for three weeks,” Viktor said, spreading his arms in frustration.
“Because this is not a traditional marriage, don’t you see?” she said. “I was not
asked
to be married. I doubt if I attended my own wedding. Do you people have weddings?”
“Of course we do,” Viktor said. “We’re not gantrias.”
“What?” Natasha said.
“The seven legged monsters from Isla de Aqua that everyone hates,” Viktor said.
Natasha shook her head. This was not the time to learn about Zamorrah’s aquatic wildlife.
“The point, Viktor, is that I want more time and I need to know that you love me and that I love you,” she said decisively.
“But there is no question of that. The moment I saw you I knew that you were the one for me. It is written in the stars. I love you more than anything in the world.”
“Really? Because I get the impression that you are more interested in owning me than loving me,” Natasha said.
“Your mind has been corrupted by the liberations afforded to your gender on Earth,” Viktor said, with spite.
“Some people call it freedom and equality,” Natasha said, coolly.
Viktor sighed. “Listen, how I can prove that I love you. Is there some way that will make you see for how I see you? Is there a test or something? What do people do on Earth?”
Natasha was caught in her thoughts. Maybe there
was
a way to see if Viktor was indeed in love with her and had a heart different from all the men she had seen so far on this planet. She decided to test it, but she didn’t know yet how she could do it.
“I wish,” she said, slowly and Viktor was left hanging in the air.