Stellar

Chapter Four

Anastasia Ellis spent the week following immersed in the Utanian and Rasmieque culture. Her time was divided between sleep and meals, socializing with the queen, and studying. To her delight, the planet's technology mimicked her own, and she was capable of having manuscripts translated, easing the difficulty of learning.

The man who had escorted her to the throne room on day one had become her keeper. Upon the third day, Ana learned his name; Tylishemi, or T as she was prone to call him. He was charged with ensuring she was where she was expected to be at the time she was expected. That included, but was not limited to, meal times, study sessions, and time slots where the queen was not occupied. Essentially, T was her personal alarm clock, tour guide, and teacher—a package deal.

It was not given to him as a duty, but the red alien had begun teaching the language to the human. She was grateful for it, but upon learning the numerous ways to say one phrase and the dangers of using the wrong variation, Ana was reluctant to attempt to speak Rasm to any besides T. He taught her key phrases—basic manners, greetings and farewells, and common questions and answers. Her favorite, so far, was the way they said please.

Vrašuë

T stressed how important it was to pronounce it as bruh-show, as any variation would be considered an insult, but that wasn't why Ana was fond of it. When she pronounced it, she thought of it as a variation of "fo-sho", and had to stifle her giggles. She attempted to explain it to the red man, but to no avail. As T was unable to understand the joke, the human tried to amuse the queen. Eris gave a laugh, but it was more piteous than humorous. Ultimately, Ana relented, keeping the joke to herself.

On top of her cultural lessons, Ana worked side by side with Eris' second in command, Rochet. The man was ruby, but lacked the black designs on his skin that T had. Rochet was attempting to repair the locator in her ruined spacecraft, but they hadn't any luck so far. They were missing a key component, but Ana wasn't sure what that was exactly. They were stumped.

The woman picked at the meal in front of her. She had no interested in food—her mind was elsewhere. Her crew occupied her thoughts; how they were getting along, what they were doing, if they were searching for her. She wondered if Zuri was still grasping and striving, if Iliza was making sarcastic comments to deal with her frustration, and if Johnny was trying to be "queen bee" of the hive as he always had when Ana was away from the station. Of course there were more crew members, but those three were Ana's specifically. She had trained them all personally, watched as they thrived and struggled. It was her proud mom moment.

"Ana?"

The queen's voice caused blue eyes to meet gold.

"Sorry, I'm not all here at the moment."

"I know no what that means," Eris stated, taking a sip of her drink. "You must eat."

To appease the queen, Ana plucked a piece of fruit from her plate and popped it in her mouth. She cracked a smile around the food. "I am eating. See?"

Unconvinced, the lavender alien stood, grey dress swishing, and approached her guest. Nimble fingers grasped the brunette's wrist. Ana was pulled along without protest, following as the queen lead them through the many hallways. They stopped in the area the human called "Rochet's Room"—a space dedicated to technology and advancement.

"Why are we here?"

The red man was huddled around a table, along with a handful of other men and women. They were whispering amongst themselves, and Anastasia was able to pick out bits and pieces of their conversation.

"You're certain Hiftlesque will have it?"

"Completely Rochet."

"Inform the queen and her plæsta—"

Rochet paused once he noticed the visitors in the room. He bowed his head, and greeted the women, catching them up to speed. Ana was curious as to what a plæsta was, but assumed it meant something along the lines of guest or human.

To her delight, the second in command revealed that a neighboring country had a piece similar to what they were missing. The only catch was that they were not fond of how Eris ruled with her council or Rochet's leadership—enormous downfalls in setting up a deal with their country.

"Alert Ashtur that we will be arriving tomorrow. We will make a deal," Eris asserted, her gold eyes ablaze with determination.

Ana's stomach tightened with an unknown mix of emotions. The queen was fighting for her, despite knowing that an alliance with the country was implausible.

Rochet glanced down at Ana, then back to the queen. "Are you certai-"

She cut him off before he could finish his question. "Remember your place," Eris hissed, and the brunette could help but stare in awe at the gorgeous and threatening alien.

Lavender legs carried the alien out of the room, and once again, the human was pulled behind her. She heard Rochet repeat the word she didn't know as they left, and decided she'd ask the queen later.

Anastasia was led to the queen's bedroom—a room she was already becoming familiar with. They had spent a few hours in there, talking of nothing and everything. They were becoming a regular Thelma and Louise, minus the crime and run-ins with authorities.

The brunette flung herself on the bed as soon as they entered, waiting for Eris to join her. When she did, Ana rolled over and tangled her hands in black tresses, forcing perfect curls apart. The queen melted beneath her ministrations, releasing a purr of approval.

"Trį draseü gil lōftèr."

"I do not believe will be alright," Eris rebutted, gold orbs falling beneath heavy lashes. "Your Rasm is improving well, but draseü was not correct."

Fingers stopped working through hair. "How do you pronounce it then?"

"Dray-sh-ow," she stressed, sinking further into the bed.

Ana made a mental note and went back to caressing the queen's scalp and hair.

Before too much time passed, the human boldly announced what she was thinking. "I'm going with you tomorrow."

Eris hummed in agreement, and Ana couldn't help but feel victorious that she had won that battle, despite not having been a battle at all.

"What is a plæsta?"

Enraged eyes flared at the brunette. The alien shot up from the bed, her face inches from Ana's. She had yet to see the queen angry, and the reaction to that word undoubtably put fear in her human body.

A nimble finger pointed in her face. "Never say again." It was a warning with no explanation, but Ana was sure not to repeat the offense.

The brunette moved back a few inches, knees curling to her chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Gold eyes softened. "I should not have been that way."

Both women slumped, the tension leaving their bodies. Ana was silent, looking everywhere but the queen. She wasn't sure why that word warranted such a reaction, but figured she shouldn't press the matter. It must be something offensive or vulgar, or so she assumed.

"It is not a...kind word."

"I figured as much."

Their eyes met, and the queen's remorse flooded over the human. "A plæsta takes from a ruler and country, and set on bearing children to take rule."

And it made sense.

Ana refused to tell Eris where she heard the word, specifically who called her that, but the reason was plausible. Eris treated the human more like a lover or confidante than a guest in her home. They were together when time allotted, she ensured the woman learned the culture and language to get along better, and they spoke of things that were almost confidential. And knowing that Ana no longer had anything to her name—at least in this planet—it made sense why her second in command would call the brunette a gold-digger.

Though she understood why, it didn't excuse him referring to her as such without knowing for certain. Ana would be sure to discuss that with him in their next meeting.