Why Is There An Alien Princess In My Room? (ONC 2023 - Alien Romance - Complete)

8: Vyrsa Enjoys Netflix and Chill

"Can we just watch one more?" Vyrsa begged as the credits to the twelfth Star Trek Voyager episode of the night rolled. "I think I'm getting a hang of it now. They're traveling in space but it's not real. Because real space travel doesn't work like that."

Really, she didn't care if it was real or not at this point. She just wanted to know if Captain Janeway and her crew would make their way back home. Being stranded far away from home herself, she could certainly relate to their situation. And as soon as she knew the conclusion to their saga, she would start to scan Tristan's data device to find her own path home.

"Sure," Tristan agreed, grabbing the device that appeared to control the screen in front of them from the side of the couch. As he moved, his gaze fell upon the band on his wrist, which appeared to be some kind of primitive time-telling device, although it was probably easier to read than the endless list of time stamps available by pressing a button on the sleeve on Vyrsa's space suit. Since the Union of Intelligent Life had been unable to get its members to agree on one unified way of telling time, local time always had to be displayed in thousands of different manners. And then there was the matter of galactic time zones... Her mind often got dizzy from just trying to comprehend when a universal event, such as Squid Bowl, was supposed to occur.

"Dammit," he muttered, his eyes still fastened on the round display. "I was supposed to be in Computer Science Class thirty minutes ago." Leaning back again, he whisked some stray curls from his face and smiled at her. "Guess I forgot all about time."

"Will you get in trouble?" she asked cautiously. When she studied Universal Relations at the Nebula Academy in the capital of the known universe, tardiness had been a crime punishable by expulsion. If you weren't inside when the classroom door was closed, you were never seen again in the halls of the school. What actually happened had happened to her tardy classmates, if they were merely sent home or flung into the depths of space, was a mystery keeping Vyrsa up at night, since none of them had ever been seen or heard from again in the central galaxies.

"I think I'm good," Tristan assured her.  "I've never missed a class before so I can probably catch up. I can text my classmate Jordan and ask him to take notes. He owes me anyway for helping him study for the previous exam." He grabbed the square data device on the living room table and started to tap on the buttons, presumably doing the task he'd referred to as "texting".

Eager to watch the next episode, Vyrsa grabbed the control device for the screen, which lay on the couch cushion between them.

She'd seen Tristan use it before, and how hard could it be to manage? Surely, she, coming from a technologically advanced civilization, would be able to figure it out. She randomly held in a button to test it out and a loud roar, reminiscent of the sand avalanches back home on Isola, suddenly attacked through the speakers. Prepared to protect herself from a wave of sound, Vyrsa threw herself on the floor, dropping the control device in the process. She covered Bobby, who slept stretched out on the carpet, with her body to ensure the safety of the precious creature.

"Mrroow?" the cat asked, awoken from her peaceful slumber by the attack from an alien princess.

Closing her eyes as she braced for impact, Vyrsa suddenly noticed that the sound was gone. Slowly opening her eyes to look upon orange fur—as she cradled a confused cat—she released the tension in her muscles and looked up to see Tristan standing above her with the control device in his hand. "You pressed the sound button," he explained, reaching out a hand to help her up. "I muted it, so the sound is gone."

Feeling embarrassed over her overreaction, Vyrsa rose to her knees, allowing the cat to escape from her hold. Bobby immediately started licking herself furiously, insulted by the sudden embrace which had dirtied her meticulous coat. Despite glitter rising on her cheeks, Vyrsa took Tristan's hand, not because she needed it but because she wanted to touch him. A comfortable warmth embraced her fingers from his hold, reminding her of the temperate blue sun of her home.

"Thank you..." she mumbled, unable to meet his warm gaze. In fact, his whole body appeared to radiate warmth from where he stood, mere inches from her. Vyrsa realized she'd never been this close to Tristan before and she wondered if all earthlings were this warm and inviting. Although she had no pressing desire to linger in the vicinity of any other earthlings to find out. This one was sufficient for her.

Forgetting her embarrassment, she looked up into Tristan's brown eyes, which reminded her of the sheen from Isola's seventh moon. It only appeared in the night sky on clear days, delighting the planet's inhabitants with its golden glow. On such days, every citizen came out on the streets, rejoicing in the good fortune that the lunar presence was said to bring.

Perhaps it was the reminder of her home planet that spurred an urge inside of her. An urge to kiss the earthling in front of her, who she barely even knew. And it wouldn't be a kiss just to soothe him into slumber, like last time, no, this would be a kiss to spark a romantic connection.

She restrained. Because the notion was silly. Perhaps earthlings didn't even kiss anyway? Then she might scare away the only being she knew on this remote planet. And regardless, she wasn't here to spark romance. She wasn't supposed to be here at all. She was supposed to be at home, and she needed to focus on how to get there.

So she looked away from Tristan's intriguing eyes and focused on the cat instead, who had now taken Vyrsa's spot on the couch. Releasing Tristan's hand, she stepped away from this warmth and perched herself beside Bobby, careful to not entrench on the cat's personal space.

"I should start reading the data from your device," she said, without looking at Tristan. She couldn't be distracted from her mission. Her family back home must be missing her terribly, and she owed it to them to try to return to them as soon as possible. Even if her father, the king, would probably be terribly mad at her for hitchhiking to Coi and stealing the valuable key without his permission.

She'd done what she did to serve her planet, and she needed to return to it and enjoy the glory it would bring them.

"Sure..." Tristan replied. The confusion in his voice made her wonder if he'd felt the same urge as her. "Here." He handed her the square communication device from the table. "I guess I'll just... go study or something."

He started to rummage through his bag for some books, while Vyrsa put her fingers on the device, immersing herself in a flood of data. But even as facts about Earth flowed through her mind, one question floated above them all: Did earthlings also kiss in a romantic manner?