"Ellis," she heard someone call her. In her sleepy state, she hummed and pushed her head deeper into the pillow. When her name was called again, she groaned and covered her head with another pillow. Something tickled er nose and she tried to turn her head to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it followed her.
She cracked her eye open and saw the tip of Logan's tail had slipped under the pillow and was teasing her nose. She pulled the pillow away and saw Logan sitting up beside her. His eyes twinkled with mischief; he looked so playful that her morning crankiness melted away in an instant. She smiled at him and wanted to pat his head like she would a cat.
"Time to wake up already?"
"Yes!" Laurel said from behind her. Ellis turned around and saw her standing at the edge of the depression. She grinned at Ellis, careful not to show her teeth. "You two look very cozy. I'm almost sorry to tear you apart!" she said. Ellis blinked and let out a giggle of amusement.
Logan froze beside her, his tail freezing before whipping in the air. "What was that?" she whispered in confusion.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"That sound you just made! It was pretty."
Ellis flushed and shook her head. "It's a giggle. A sound of amusement."
Logan nodded, planting the information in his mind. This was a sound of happiness. Logan liked it.
"Okay, smooth talker, I'm taking Ellis for a bath." Laurel reached down and grabbed Ellis's arm to get her out of the cloud of pillows.
"Why should I go?" Ellis asked, confused. "Is this about herding to the bathroom? You do it on other planets too?"
"Come on. It's fun. They have coffee machines and sweet tea."
Ellis didn't think she could get up that fast. She would follow Laurel to the end of the world if it meant drinking some good coffee. She imagined the number of human women here must mean they pick up supplies on the way. There were toilet paper and a water nozzle in the bathroom, too. She imagined that chocolates, romance novels, and other objects must be brought in bulk for the women.
Nin was still sitting in the same spot as before. She rose from her perch when she was Ellis come out and followed them silently. Ellis frowned as she wondered if Nin had slept. She hadn't seen Nin eat or drink either.
The walk was long and they passed by many twisted hallways. Ellis figured that she would get lost in this maze rather easily. She remembered how her friends and classmates teased her about her lack of directional sense. A frown appeared on her face as she realized that they would be long dead by this point in time. Everyone she knew... all gone.
Laurel was very fast for someone so short. Ellis caught up with the woman and noticed that Laurel's feet were bare too. Though, her toes were adorned with little metallic rings.
"Where can I get shoes?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, you don't need them in the underground," Laurel informed her. "They keep the place sterile. If your feet feel cold just ask Logan to set the floor warmer higher."
"And what if I want to go outside?" she asked yet again.
"Logan will carry you," she shrugged.
"Why?"
"Uh. It's to show how pampered you are. You don't even need to use your feet and walk on the ground." Ellis blinked.
"That's some next-level worshipping," she sighed.
"They don't have females on this planet. Us being brought here is like a god's gift to them and they treat women as such. It's a custom. I won't say it's bad. Men here don't get drunk and beat their wives," she whispered.
Now that truly was a boon.
Laurel finally pushed a door open and steam appeared out of the crack. It was a large tiled room with several pools of hot water in which women bathed. It looked exactly like a hot water spring with a decorated pipe providing fresh hot water in the pools. A woman stood under the waterfall, washing her hair.
Ellis turned and saw Nin take her position beside the door once again.
Laurel walked over to where hangers were kept to hold the women's clothing and stripped. "Come on!" she called.
Ellis clutched at her clothes and backed away, fearing that someone would come and strip them off her. "Uh, I'm not comfortable stripping in front of people," she said nervously.
"Come on. It's just some other girls. No one will look at you. And you don't have anything different from anyone here." She waved her hand dismissively. "Also, coffee. Don't you want some coffee?" she enticed.
Ellis would strip her coffee, she found. She slowly pulled off her clothes and quickly hung them on the rack beside Laurel's.
"Hey, a nice set of boobies you got there," Laurel whistled in appreciation. Ellis threw her head back in laughter. Indeed, she had nice breasts. She thought so herself.
They went towards one of the smaller pools. Another woman, a little older than them sat in it. On seeing them, she bounced out, stark naked, and made her way to Ellis. She stuck her hand out and was about to introduce herself when a loud smack resounded in the room.
Nin took her place beside Ellis, one of her four hands between Ellis and the other woman. The woman with the raven hair let out a sound of alarm and moved a few steps back.
"You are not allowed to approach the Empress," Nin said in a rough and low voice. This was the first time Ellis had heard her speak.
The woman scurried away, grabbing her clothes and fleeing out of the door... still naked.
Nin settled herself back on her knees, looking like a statue. Laurel pulled her down and they sat on the side, dipping their toes in the water and sighing with pleasure. Ellis tested the temperature and slowly submerged herself.
"Now this is what I call life," Laurel sighed. "It never gets old."
"It does feel wonderful." If you take out the whole naked women running around.
"I have a feeling Zotheans don't take baths, so this is a privilege only humans have." She chuckled. Laurel nodded in approval."You really are highly intelligent and adaptable." She had wonder in her voice. "It's rather weird. They take dust baths," Laurel giggled.Logan smelled pretty good, so those must have worked."You let Logan court you." The words were said more as a statement. "Good on you.""Well, he said it was like dating. As a teenager, I always thought if I could date a man who had the soul of a cat, so...""Well. You like cats but usually, women aren't able to resist Zotheans. And Logan... he's a wonderful guy. If you take him as your mate, he'll make sure you get everything you want to make you happy.""I could see that he gets upset when he thinks I am dissatisfied," Ellis told her. "I was a little shocked by the whole slave thing.""Be careful about that," Laurel warned in a low voice. "
"Today, the special market will sit, so it's the best day to take you around," Logan said softly.Ellis peered around at the open market. Stalls littered the road, covered by tarps to protect from the weather. It seemed so much like a flea market that Ellis felt right at home. People flocked the stalls and bargained and she even recognized some of the alien species from the dinners.Ellis tried her best not to stare but did peek at the aliens often.No one recognized them and for that Ellis was thankful. When she looked back, she could see that the Koln had accumulated a lot of paper in his hands. She shrugged and kept looking. Logan took her closer to the stalls so that she could look and read the signs aloud to her and explained what they were."What is that?" she asked, pointing towards an item that Logan had skipped.Logan twitched. "A tail extender," he said, filled with embarrassment. "Guaranteed to extend the length a
"You are cold." Logan frowned when he saw her cheeks flush with the chill. He brushed his finger over her cheek."It's fine," Ellis argued, unwilling to leave the market. She was learning so much about their culture from this trip to the market.Logan grabbed her wrist and led her away from the market. "We will get you inside and warm. Don't worry, you will enjoy it."The buildings they passed were tall but the walls were surrounded by decorative plans and grass, making a vertical wall garden on each building. She remembered her home town and how crowded and polluted it was and had to marvel at this well-planned city. The only litter on the floor were the fallen leaves.They finally reached their destination after walking for a few minutes. "It's one of our libraries," Logan informed her as they went into a set of doors.The man behind the desk didn't look up as he instructed them, "Please leave your Koln outside." Logan glanced t
"We have a council meeting after this. I would like for you to join me," Logan told her when they stopped at their apartment. She was made to change into a more formal looking tunic and Logan matched her. Logan even put a matching tiara on her head.Ellis felt very much like a Disney princess. She looked at herself in the mirror and had to appreciate how good she looked.Through the winding hallways they walked, Logan told her about how the Council representing different ministries came to a decision and then presented it to the Emperor for him to sign or discard."The political framework seems easy but the relationships are difficult. Most of these people have been members since my parents were on the throne, so they consider me a youngling. It's hard to earn their respect.""I understand," Ellis replied. She meant to observe and say nothing. She had no power at the moment, so she couldn't voice her opinions.Nin strode forward a
“Get up,” a female voice called. Ellis swam out of sleep and pushed herself upright, glaring at Laurel. Every morning, Laurel would barge into their room and wake her up for the daily bath. Ellis and Logan usually played a very complex game somewhat like chess late into the night and usually spoke about their childhood and education, all small talk, and went to sleep so late that Ellis was barely functioning any longer.“I hate you,” Ellis muttered. “Why are you so energetic so early in the morning?” She made a face of disgust.The nest was warm and soft and sleeping beside Logan was a novelty. Every morning she would fake sleep for a few more moments to listen to his heartbeat and his body shaking with his purrs before waking up fully and facing the world. Usually, in his sleeping state, he would stroke her back and hair.He was fascinated by her hair for
Ellis lay limply in the hot bath, staring at a woman who was clearly pregnant. As she stared, a sudden thought passed her head. Her period had yet to come. A sliver of fear passed through her that she was pregnant before her rational brain reminded her that she had not had sex for a really long time.Then she remembered that she had been taken by aliens. So, nothing was impossible."Laurel?" she whispered. The other hummed. "I haven't had my period yet. Am I pregnant?" Laurel turned to her with a peculiar look."Do I have to go over the birds and bees with you?" she asked."Well, maybe you should," Ellis hissed. "Did they plant a baby in me or something?" She probed around her body to check for any newly formed bumps."No, it is the same insert pendrive in Slot A thing. Your period won't come. Something about genetic coding. Some earlier women get their period every four or five months, but apart from that, the new com
Ellis couldn't help but wonder how she ended up in this odd situation. Laurel was on her knees in front of Ellis (who was as naked as the day she was born), painting designs on her body."Why are you drawing?" Ellis whispered, feeling somewhat awkward. They were buddies who shared the same pool but this was beyond her comfort zone."It's a tradition," Laurel explained. "Zotheans lick off every single stroke of paint before getting to the real business." Ellis looked at her reflection in her mirror and felt a rush of embarrassment evade her."It sounds so lecherous yet lewd at the same time," she whispered."Oh, that reminds me. They don't understand the whole kissing thing." Ellis chuckled."Don't tell me... they bite." She was joking but Laurel just nodded. Ellis gulped as she remembered Logan's sharp teeth. They were wicked sharp."Don't worry about it." Laurel grinned. "Their bodily fluids act like hero
Warning: R-18 Content ahead. Read at your own risk."My mate," he whispered as he traced a finger over her face. "Come, let us dine." The ribbon had to stay on until they went to bed, so Logan took delight to take her over to the rarely used desk that had already been filled with plates of food. Ellis had been so nervous that she hadn't realized she was starving.She tried to pick up a piece of vegetable, but Logan stopped her. "It would be my pleasure to take care of you." He picked up a bite of food and placed it to her lips. She accepted it and chewed with enthusiasm."Delicious," she affirmed. She took bite after bite until her stomach was full. "Now, I will take care of my mate," she declared with a smile. Logan's tail flickered playfully as he opened his mouth. As he took the food from her, he gave her finger a little nibble. When she giggled, he pounced on her, knocking her back against the cushion."Not hungry?"