Chapter 8: Challenging the Emperor to Court the Empress

"They're carnivores," Laurel whispered. "I tried feeding Dorian a vegetable and he gagged and puked for the next three days. I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you want revenge for something." Laurel looked very pleased. 

"Was your attempt an experiment or petty revenge?" Ellis asked, just to be sure. 

"A bit of both," Laurel admitted honestly. "Of course, Dorian wouldn't reprimand me. He ate it willingly." She had an evil smirk on her face. Ellis nodded, suddenly enlightened about this woman sitting beside her. 

Logan's eyes remained on Ellis as did the eyes of some of the other men in the room. Ellis found it hard to eat while she was stared at. Finally, she knew how animals in the zoo felt. The men couldn't use her fingers as deftly as the human females could because of their claws, so they poked holes into the pieces of meat and popped them into their mouths. 

It seemed those claws could double as toothpicks, how fascinating.

The others in the room had features of all sort. The presence of limbs, sometimes numerous were there, but most of them walked on feet and had hands for other use. The colors, configurations, and body parts seemed to be the same... with small differences. 

Now, she wondered if she should have gone to raid Area 51 like those teenagers had planned. Maybe she wouldn't have been flabbergasted right now. 

"If the food to your taste?" Logan asked, making Ellis jump.

"Yes, it's good. Thank you." She remained polite. Wouldn't want to infuriate the guy who could crush her head with his bare hands. 

"Human females like the spices we bring back on our trips, so I asked the kitchen to make yours according to Laurel's likes. Please let me know if you want any changes to be made." Ellis nodded. Logan seemed to be a polite and considerate individual. 

"They can't take spices as we can. Can't digest it," Laurel told her. 

"Why do I feel like they are cats?" She squinted at them. 

"You're not wrong. They are very catlike." Laurel pressed back a laugh.

Ellis wanted to frown though. She had a soft spot for cats. She didn't know if she felt the same about big, predatory cats, but the swish of Logan's tail was quite cute if she may say so herself. 

She scolded herself internally. If you like cats, just get a pet. No need to marry a man because he is an overgrown cat!

The dinner finished without incident and the people washed their hands. The dishes were cleared away by the Kolns, much to her dismay. Ellis made a point of thanking the Koln who approached her, receiving a delighted look from the man. Ellis smiled. 

This Koln had never been treated well, she could see that. 

Logan stood up and the room became silent. "I intend on courting Ellis," he announced. He looked around to see if anyone had objections.

"I challenge," someone retorted. The man stood up and Ellis frowned as she saw him. This man had flaming red hair and his tail had a small bush at the end of a similar color. 

Logan was upset. There were a few gasps around the room and Laurel, who was beside her closed her eyes with a grimace. 

"Well, he can never shut up," she sighed. 

"Who is that? What is this about?" Ellis asked frantically. 

"That's a cousin of Logan's. His name is Ronald and he has an inferiority complex when it comes to the Emperor. He's challenging Logan for the right to court you."

"So, they'll try to impress me so that they can date me?" Ellis asked. Human terms would be appreciated. 

"I've been here for too long. I've forgotten the human nuances a bit. Yeah, dating with the intention of marriage." She stopped and thought for a bit before telling her more information. "Because they are part of the same family, they share enough DNA to be a match for you."

"In that sense, shouldn't Leo also be a match for me? They just fall in love with you at first sight or something." 

"Right. Leo should be attracted to you as well. But he is very close to his brother. It would be catastrophic if Leo challenged Logan. I don't even want to think about it." She shuddered. 

"And they are treating me like a possession? My opinion doesn't matter, does it?" Ellis asked blandly. 

"I mean, you could refuse either and put an end to it. But their honor rests on this competition. I'd advise you to stay away and turn a blind eye." Laurel gave her a piercing look.

"What do you chose?" Logan boomed. "As you have issued the challenge, I will allow you to choose your weapon."

"The wooden sword," Ronald barked. 

"Well, no one is dying today," Laurel said, slumping back.

"There was a chance people would die?" Ellis squeaked. 

"If they fought barehanded, their claws would do serious damage. They're predators by nature." Ellis reminded herself of the same. 

"What happens to the person who loses?"

"The fight continues until one of them surrenders. Usually, the one who loses gets their tail cut off."

Ellis made a small prayer in her head and let it go. 

The tables were pulled to the side, making room for the two to fight. Two wooden swords were brought into the room and given to the participants. 

Like a fencing match, Logan and Ronald bowed to one another and assumed fighting stance. 

It was Ronald who took the first initiative, swinging his sword toward's Logan's head and missing abysmally. Logan raised his weapon and tapped Ronald on his unprotected side, showing everyone just how unprotected this man was. Two other sweeps were made, but in the end, Logan flung Ronald away. 

He landed a little away, sitting on his butt and looking on in astoundment. The sword was laid across Ronald's throat. He made a long pause before hanging his head and yeilding. 

Logan bent over his cousin, making Ellis think that he was helping the other to his feet. But she was wrong. Logan lashed out with his claw, slicing through Ronald's tail in one go. 

Ellis stopped breathing and stared in horror. 

This was definitely the medieval ages. She'd somehow ended up in Rome and aliens had taken over. 

She could see Logan was carrying the still-twitching thing towards her. She wondered for a moment how she should react but when she saw Laurel's expression, she knew she had to accept it. 

He knelt and held it out to her, his head bowed. 

Ellis felt her stomach churn as she gingerly reached her hand out and closed her fingers around the severed tail. It was surprisingly heavy and thick. She didn't know much about cat or alien anatomy, so she couldn't say what it really was made of. 

The room burst into rowdy cheers and Ellis saw Ronald being tended to by what she supposed was a doctor. Her eyes followed for a second before she felt Logan's piercing eyes on her. 

She looked down at the tail in her hand and didn't know what she could possibly do with it. 

Bewildered, she turned to Laurel. "What am I supposed to do? Eat it?" Her whisper was very low and Logan shouldn't have heard it.

Yet he did. His face twisted into a grimace. He didn't know what to say. A gasp escaped his lips. "We don't eat our tail. Wouldn't that be cannibalism?" he inquired softly.

Ellis looked on helplessly. 

"Just keep it in your hands, for now," Laurel assured.