Caressa Moon (Princess X) Page 3

  Caressa wrapped her arms around his neck and as the spectators cheered he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the building towards his ship. Both only vaguely heard the announcement of the reception as they held onto each other, and Caressa rested her head on his shoulder.

  Chapter Five

  Caressa stepped onto Michyle’s ship, and took note of the artificial air, which seemed stifling, as well as the cool metal that seemed to entrap her. She had not thought it necessary to visit the ship before the marriage, but now, at that moment, she wished she had. It was the most foreign environment she’d ever been in. It wasn’t just cold, it was lifeless. The droning of the engine, although low, seemed to burrow beneath her skin as it hummed against her eardrum.

  She leaned heavily on Michyle.

  “What is the matter?” He asked.

  “It’s so strange.” Caressa admitted as a wave of disorientation hit her. The ground seemed to shift as she walked, causing her to stumble more than once on the way to their suite. For the first time, true fear crept into her heart as she questioned her hastiness in marrying.

  “Is the ship making you uncomfortable?” Michyle asked. She could hear his growing concern and wanted to assure him that she was fine, but couldn’t make her mouth form the words.

  “We are going to step onto a lift. It will take us right to our suite.”

  Caressa nodded in response and endured the short ride to their rooms.

  Michyle took her past the living area and into their bedroom, pushing aside any thoughts of celebrating their first married evening together. He laid her on the bed and watched helplessly as she seemed to have difficulty breathing. He called the ship’s medic to come and examine her.

  After an hour of waiting outside the bedroom door, Michyle was told that Caressa would need several days to become acclimated to the environment.

  “She’s never taken in processed air,” the medic told him. “She’s never been in a small interior space that she will be unable to leave. We don’t see much cabin fever in Universal territory because ship travel is so common. But, as this is her first time…”

  “I understand.” Michyle had thought to stay a few extra days in order to get his new wife acclimated to the ship. But he knew that his stay had gone on almost too long. As it was, he would arrive home nearly nine months after leaving. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Just give it time.” The medic said. “If it is possible to get plant life in here, that may help. I gave her a sedative for now. She should rest through the night. If she still seems uneasy, I’ll prescribe something stronger for her.”

  Michyle thanked the doctor. He then went in to check on Caressa and saw that she had taken off the wedding dress and remained in a thin camisole. She slept in a quasi-fetal position with the bed covers just over her hips. Her hair was loosened and draped around her like a protective cocoon. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to help her through the worst of her anxiety, but didn’t know how.

  He sent a few of the crewmembers to collect flowers and plants that would last during the journey. He hated not being able to do more. When the crew returned with enough flowers and potted plants to fill their entire suite of rooms, Michyle thanked them. They worked quickly to line the suite with the plants. Still, Michyle never felt so helpless or useless in his life. At last, at a loss for ideas, he finally settled on calling for one of the female staff to sit with her while he lost himself in work.

  A petite young lady that stood just five feet tall with a slim waist and thick curves came to their suite. Her hair was jet black, with flashes of purple highlights against her nearly too pale complexion. Her uniform was form fitting, but for Michyle’s frame of mind, she might as well have been in a shapeless sack.

  “I am Chara,” she said, introducing herself. “How may I help?”

  “Just make sure that my wife rests comfortably.” Michyle instructed as he led her to the bedroom. “Call me in when she wakes up.”

  Michyle noticed as Chara tried not to gawk at the beautiful suite, which he knew made the staff rooms shared by four crew members look like kitchen cabinets. He escorted her to their darkened bedroom where they could just make out the shape of a sleeping female in a large bed. She took a seat as he assured her that her meals would be brought to her and closed the door.

  Caressa opened her eyes to a darkness that she had never experienced. On the compound, there was always light. She forced herself to remain calm as she remembered the wedding, then falling ill on Michyle’s ship. She remembered the medic and his medicine. She sat up slowly, hearing a rustling close by.

  “Michyle?” She asked timidly.

  “No, ma’am.” She heard a female voice answer. “I am Chara. Your husband asked me to sit with you until you woke up.”

  “Can you turn on the lights please?” Caressa sat up holding the covers to her. She felt rested, but foggy.

  “Lights!” Chara spoke and Caressa took in the new strangeness of her surroundings. “I will call your husband.” Chara said.

  “Wait.”

  The strange glowing of yellow of the room surrounded Caressa. The low hum of the metal and electricity once again pulsed under her skin and vibrated in her eardrums. “How long was I asleep?” she asked, attempting to will herself to feel better.

  “Twelve hours.” Chara replied. “The medic came in to check on you. He said it may take several days or weeks for you to get used to the ship.”

  “How long will we be on this ship?” Caressa knew the answer but hoped to hear a different one.

  “Two to three months.” Chara said.

  “That’s what I thought.” Caressa took in a deep breath and took note of the scent of orange lilies. “Are there flowers here?” Caressa asked.

  “Yes, your husband brought them on the ship to help improve the air.”

  Though she detected a note of repressed frustration in her companion’s reply, Caressa chose not to mention it, and merely nodded. “You must be exhausted.” She offered. “Do you mind just helping me wash and change?”

  “Of course. Just let me run to let your husband know you are getting up.”

  “Okay.” Caressa said. “But, tell him I want to clean up before he comes in.”

  “I will tell him.” Chara promised.

  Caressa sat up and let her legs hang over the side of the bed. She took in several deep breaths and caught the fragrance of several familiar plants. She stood and braved her way towards the smell. She extended her hand in front of herself and inched her way forward until she made contact with the wall. She followed it slowly until she ran into the branch of a small tree. She smiled in pleasure as she recognized the texture and reached for the leaves.

  “He knows you are up and asked me to let him know when you were done.” Chara said upon re-entering the room.

  “Thank you, Chara.” Caressa said, reaching a hand towards her. Chara closed the distance between them and helped Caressa into the bathroom.

  “Everything is voice-activated.” Chara informed her.

  “Really?” Caressa was impressed.

  “Your bath at home wasn’t controlled by voice command?” Chara asked, surprised. What did you do?”

  “I had a caregiver’s help.” Caressa felt a longing for Risa.

  Chara manually programmed the tub and turned to Caressa. “But ... your father was a Sovereign. You yourself are acting Sovereign.”

  Caressa heard the confusion in Chara’s voice.

  “Of a poor colony three months away from the central System.” Caressa smiled weakly.

  “Oh. Even so,” Chara thought out loud as she helped Caressa undress and get into the tub. “I don’t mean to be… rude. But, even a distant colony should have these basic things.”

  “Well, my father didn’t see a need for them.” Caressa dismissed the subject. “Where are you from, Chara?”

  “Oh, nowhere.”

  Caressa laughed at the odd hesitation and response. “It cannot be worse than where I
am from.”

  “You would be surprised.” Chara said, her voice softening down to a pensive almost-monotone. “I’m from a colony of Venus. The colony wasn’t poor. But, my family was. My father drank too much and would not hold down a job. My mother was as uneducated as a person could be.” Chara paused, and Caressa heard a soft, sad sigh come from her.

  “She spent her life scraping up enough to feed my siblings and me. Then she died of a disease that had been killing her for over ten years. She never said a word.”

  She fell silent as she began to shampoo Caressa’s hair.

  “What was the disease?” Caressa asked.

  “Some virus that attacked her liver.” Chara answered. “It would have been easy to cure if she…”

  “Had money.” Caressa finished for her.

  “I was going to say, if she hadn’t been married to my father. But yeah, medicine could have saved her. She could have retired into an easier life once we were grown.” Chara sighed.

  After the bath, Chara helped Caressa dress and fix her hair. She managed the massive curls with ease, braiding it neatly down her back.

  “All done.” Chara announced.

  “How do I look, Chara?” Caressa asked.

  “Beautiful, ma’am.”

  “Please, call me Caressa.”

  “Of course.” Chara agreed. “Ready to go see your husband?”

  “Yes.” Caressa subconsciously smiled at the turn of phrase.

  Michyle sat patiently in the living area as Chara brought his wife to him. Still tense from her reaction to the ship he held back and waited for her. When her eyes turned in his direction, he was relieved by the bright smile she displayed against the backdrop of anxiety on her face. Michyle smiled and stood to take her by the hand.

  “Hey.” She offered first.

  “Oh, hey.” Michyle replied awkwardly.

  “I am so sorry.”

  Michyle shook his head. “Don’t even worry about it. How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” Caressa told him. “I am even hungry.”

  “Great.” Michyle said feeling more and more relieved. He turned to Chara, who stood silently by. “Chara, thank you so much for your help.”

  “My pleasure.” She said. “Do you want me to return this evening or in the morning?”

  Caressa answered for herself. “I will call, but I don’t think I will need you this evening.”

  “Of course.” Chara nodded to Michyle and Caressa, and left the suite.

  “Not quite the wedding night I had imagined.” Caressa smiled, embarrassed.

  “What did you imagine?” Michyle took his seat again and pulled her down beside him.

  “Well, I can’t say exactly. But, I didn’t think I would be sick.” Caressa admitted.

  “We have the rest of our lives to make up for it. How do you feel now?”

  “Hungry.” Caressa said again, feeling her stomach growl a little.

  “Come on, I’ll make you a sample plate of my most favorite dishes. We can share.” He was glad to see her smile even brighter. He stood pulling her up with him and guiding her to the dining table. She took a seat, patiently waited, and asked questions as he worked.

  “Where did you learn to cook?” Caressa asked.

  Michyle laughed. “I will be honest. The technology on this ship is amazing. The food really cooks itself. All you have to do is put in the basic ingredients and the machine does the rest.”

  “So, even I could do it.” Caressa said.

  “Of course you can, if you like. But, you will not have to. I don’t mind doing it. I like to cook.”

  “I see.” Caressa said.

  Caressa could feel herself getting use to the hum of the ship. She still didn’t like it, but the more she breathed in and out, the more the humming seemed to become a normal part of her subconscious.

  “Would you like a drink?” Michyle asked.

  “Sure, what do you have?”

  “Well, anything you like. Juice, wine, liquor…” Michyle listed.

  “Surprise me.” Caressa said and saw the outline of Michyle’s beautiful smile.

  “I have just the thing.”

  She listened to the clatter as Michyle made his way around the kitchen and prepared a mixed drink. He placed it in front of her once he was finished and she quickly took a sip.

  “This is delicious!” She exclaimed, sitting back and sipping more. “What is it?”

  “A Michyle special.” He said.

  She took another sip and felt the alcohol in the drink seep into her veins and soak into her brain.

  “So, you were brought up on Earth, by the Universal?” She asked remembering that there was so much they hadn’t been able to talk about before getting married.

  “Yes.” He said.

  “But, you were never a solider?”

  “No, I was smart enough to dodge that fate. I took to math and science easily and before I was ten, I was working out equations in nanophysics.” He said. “Soon I was adopted by Sovereign Benhot of the Rieza colony of Mars. He saw the advantages of a child with so much brain power.”

  Caressa caught a touch of bitterness in his voice.

  “Does that make you angry?” She asked.

  “Why would that make me angry?”

  “Well, my aunt and uncle sort of adopted me. But sometimes, I feel, well, I know if I had not been my father’s child, with an inheritance they could use, they would have sent me to Earth as well.” She admitted. “Who knows what would have happened to me?”

  They both let the thought hang in the air for a moment.

  “Most relationships are symbiotic.” Michyle said. She listened as his clattering came to an end and he pressed the timer. She heard him pour himself a drink before taking a seat across from her. The combination of his presence so close once again, along with the alcohol in her system made her catch her breath.

  “It does not make me angry,” Michyle finally answered her question. “Maybe a little sad. They had three children of their own. So, I was always an outsider. My brain was, for lack of a better term, an equalizer.”

  “You are a scientist businessman.” Caressa said. “Where did you go to University?” She changed the subject.

  “On our colony, Rieza.” He replied. “We have the top nanotech education in the System.”

  “Is that right?” She took another sip of the drink and felt a bit dizzy.

  “Yes, that is right.”

  Michyle took a swig of his drink and watched as her complexion deepened with a blush. She was beautiful. He wanted to untie her hair and see it frame her body.

  “So, what made you want to meet me?” Michyle could hear a huskiness in her voice that surprised him. He swallowed past a raw lump in his throat.

  “Your beautiful image.” He admitted.

  “Tell me about the image.” Caressa took another sip of her drink.

  “You were standing against a tree in the forest dressed in white. The cloth was so vibrant against your complexion. Your face was… exquisite.” Michyle paused. “But, as great as that picture is, it doesn’t compare to you in person. “

  “Were you nervous to come and meet me?” Caressa asked.

  “No, not really.” Michyle admitted. “I had already met dozens of others.”

  “Oh.” Caressa looked disappointed.

  “What I mean is, I had already met a lot of pretty faces.” Michyle explained. “I wanted more, but I wasn’t sure if I would ever find it.”

  “I see.” She nodded. “I’d met quite a few awful selections before you.”

  “So, you mean the bar was pretty low.” He smiled and she laughed.

  “Your competition was pretty slim.” She giggled. “But, the bar was still very high. My colony… they deserve the best opportunities for the future.”

  “Right.” Michyle said.

  “Does that bother you?” Caressa asked.

  “No…”

  He watched as Caressa’s smile vanished. “Are you wonde
ring if I would have married you without all of your technology patents?”

  “No.” He said more definitely. “But, I hope they are not the only reason you agreed to marry me. I mean, I like your colony and would have helped you anyway.”

  Caressa smiled again. “I know human nature better than most.” She said sadly. “Good intentions are rarely backed up without great personal interest involved. I know you didn’t marry me just because I will be the Sovereign. I know you like me too.”

  The timer on the oven went off and Michyle stood before he could clarify that he more than liked her.

  “Dinner is served.” He said instead.

  “That was fast,” Caressa commented.

  “That is technology,” Michyle answered.

  Caressa watched his shadowy silhouette as he maneuvered through the kitchen preparing their plates. She felt tired and excited at the same time.

  “This is charnon,” He pronounced for her. “A delicious tender bird coated with a smooth olive paste and a combination of herbs and spices, my favorite.”

  “It smells wonderful.” She said as the plate was placed in front of her. He opened her napkin and placed it in her lap for her. She smiled as she retrieved it, tucking it into the front of her shirt.

  “I can be a messy eater.” She smiled, “especially with new foods.”

  “Is that right?” He asked. “I’ve never seen you spill a drop.”

  “My aunt only served what she knew I could manage.” She laughed.

  Caressa felt his eyes on her as she ate. Into her second glass of Michyle’s special, she realized that she was being taken over by a feeling of euphoria.

  She also realized that she was enjoying the rhythm of the ship’s hum along with the cadence of Michyle’s voice.

  “That was delicious.” She said as she placed her fork down. She was not full but food was the furthest thing from her mind.

  “I hope you have room for dessert.” Michyle answered.

  “There is always room for a sweet dish.” Caressa said, slightly disappointed that Michyle was only interested in feeding her. She watched Michyle move around to remove their dishes and bring the dessert.