Chapter 12: Something To Look Forward To

Varya woke up to soft morning light and felt warm arms wrapped around her. A small smile pulled at her lips and she moved her head to look up at the man who held her so lovingly.

Realizing it was Prince Basileus caused her to immediately jump away. It had been barely three months since she was in the arms of another man. It occurred to her right before Rosh died that she was starting to fall for him. On top of the fear of what happened to her the day before, she felt she was betraying Rosh's memory in some way. It was still hard to grasp that she was never going to see him again.

As she scooted away on the bed, her thoughts were conflicting. Being in the prince's arms felt so comforting. Not only that, but his protectiveness over her yesterday caused her heart to beat quickly. She was confused.

Varya looked down at her chest at the thought of the previous day. The bandage held well through the night, but her breasts were nearly completely exposed. Her pale hand went over her chest and her eyes widened. Normally Basileus had a habit of going to sleep after her and waking up before her, but he was still sleeping. A small sigh of relief escaped her lips and she left the bed.

She quietly went into the bathroom to bathe. A hot shower would normally clear her head.

Through her shower, Varya talked herself out of these strange feelings towards the prince. He was just some stubborn guy she had been forced to live with under unfortunate circumstances. He probably considered her to be a pain. All she did was interrupt him and bother him. On top of that, she needed to be rescued by him, causing another problem for him.

Varya went back into the main part of the room with her spandex suit on. Basileus was no longer in bed and she walked over to his training room. The door was open but the lights weren't on. She crept over to the door and peered inside. He was sitting on the floor with his eyes shut as if in meditation. His posture was tall. His physique spoke of strength. She could only imagine what he was capable of. He killed an alien in seconds that she couldn't even escape from.

His eyes opened and the first thing he saw was her blue eyes on him, studying him.

Basileus's overly confident voice stopped her, "See something you like?"

Varya had taken notice to the fact that something changed in Basileus when he went into the training room. He always came out oozing with confidence and would approach her, trying to get her to react to him. She couldn't help responding to him considering how he looked with only shorts on. His muscular body would always remain in her thoughts for a while.

Varya gasped in shock at his insinuation and she stormed away.

Her reaction caused him to laugh. It felt like a good sign she wasn't avoiding him. Guilt over the previous day still stung him in ways he didn't understand.

She lifted a hand and touched her warm cheek. A blush burned on her normally pale features. "What am I doing?" she asked herself. Her resolve to push aside her confusing feelings had been broken.

Varya quickly went to the other side of the room. Next to the fireplace, a servant had set up a workspace for her on the floor. The servants had taken a liking to her so Basileus had asked them to bring her pieces of scrap metal and tools. It helped her stay occupied if she could do something with her hands.

Looking at the tools in her possession, Varya thought of her dad and the life he had built for her. It was her dream to have her own lab like he did, but she didn't know what the future had in store for her anymore. For her most recent project, she was using gears from an old, broken down mechanical instrument to try and create a clock that worked similarly to ones on Earth. A week prior, she had searched through the computer, browsing files and pages trying to find information about time keeping on this planet. It seemed to her that days lasted about 32 hours of Earth time due to the binary star system they were in and she was determined to create something that reflected that.

After seeing Basileus in his training room, she couldn't focus enough to build anything. She sat there with a concentrated look on her face, staring at the partially built clock. Varya had a feeling she wasn't going to be productive.

As the prince left his training area, he saw her distracted in the corner of the large room. Being a skilled hunter back on his planet, he could move without making much noise. He was still in a playful mood from her eyes on him before and the energy he felt from exercise.

He crouched down. "Hey," he whispered into her ear, causing her to fall over and throw the partially built clock.

Fortunately, he caught it and put it down in front of her. For the past week, he noticed her working hard and becoming frustrated over this particular device and he wasn't going to let it break.

Basileus was smirking after receiving the desired response and she huffed at him as she sat back up. The cut on her chest ached and she could hear her own heartbeat.

"Lord Kruos has invited me to an event this evening and I'm taking you with me," he explained. "You're required to wear a dress."

Varya was feeling stubborn and responded, "I don't want to wear a dress. I think they're all too big for me."

It was a lie, of course. The dresses in the closets fit her perfectly. She knew this because she had tried them on when Basileus had business outside of his quarters.

He stood up to his full height and crossed his arms. "I'm sure I can find someone else to attend with me. I was simply considering your desire to get out of my quarters."

She shook her head and stood up. The thought of some other woman hanging off his arm all evening made her sick. "When will we leave?"

"You have a while. Not until the suns begin to set."

"Fine," she tossed her long hair over her shoulder as she spoke and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To get ready, of course."

Basileus noticed a lightness in her steps as she walked. She was excited to go but wouldn't tell him. A faint smile tugged at his lips. He would make yesterday up to her. She would feel safe with him tonight. He would make an effort to be someone she wanted to be around.

With his silent promise, he returned to his training room.

Excitement wasn't enough to describe what Varya felt. The woman she was becoming who only wore spandex suits and brushed her hair to get ready every day was not her. She loved feeling pampered. She wanted to catch at least one person's eyes tonight even if she couldn't leave the prince's side. After seeing what he did to the alien who touched her before, she knew she could trust his abilities.

Varya sorted through dresses in the closet and she found a plum floor length dress that she thought would suit her hair color. There were black shoes with a small heel that would match the dress perfectly.

As she entered the bathroom and looked into the mirror, Varya saw her look of determination staring back at her.