An Alien Love

Preparing to Meet

Pacing the room nervously, Jewlo stopped by the monitors to check if the women in room five had finished their morning meals. His heart sank with sickening fear as the first woman picked up her tray and turned it over to the belt on the back wall that opened to the kitchens. More earthlings stood to do the same and Jewlo knew it was almost time to meet with the woman that he had chosen.

Resuming his pacing, Jewlo wished he had taken just a few more minutes to ready himself, but really there was only so much he had to do. Stopping his pacing, Jewlo looked about the room trying to picture where he would sit and where he would have the woman sit. He had the couches facing the monitors but something about the setup seemed wrong. They were arranged in a barely broken line, meant more for viewing than comfortable conversation.

Jewlo frowned at the arrangement and looked around the room once more to see if there was anywhere better. The dining table sat against the wall but somehow felt closed off from the rest of the room. The bed was most defiantly not an option. There were chairs seated around the large ornate hookah that stood more towards the middle of the room, but Jewlo didn’t think that the woman would be interested in partaking of the herb he had available to burn. The couches were the best option, they just needed a little rearranging.

Jewlo busied himself pushing the seats around, making a ‘U’ shaped area that would allow her to sit across from him with the small table in between them. He then began busying himself with fluffing pillows and aimlessly tidying the already clean area.

Kanoch’s laughter rang through the room and Jewlo stopped trying to wipe nonexistent dust from the flat surface of the gleaming wood to look at his guard smiling and shaking his head with humor. “Your Highness, I’ve just gotten the report from the kitchens. The last tray has been collected. Are you ready for the earthling woman or do you need more time to rearrange?” The guards’ laughter was a rumble of thunder in the distance and it cut the tension that had filled the room. Jewlo stood tall and faced his guard, feigning confidence.

“Bring her to me, Kanoch.” And with a small nod of his head, the guard left to fetch the woman. The second the doors swished closed, the prince rushed to the monitors to watch the guard’s procession. Jewlos’ heart raced with fear as Kanoch and his underlings got closer and closer to her room. When Kanoch entered room five with his entourage, Jewlo rushed back to the couches. Sitting in the seat facing the door, the prince rearranged his robes about himself trying to display his upper body but not appear too open. He rearranged his face to be stern and serious. Sitting tall and proud for a few seconds, Jewlo held his breath trying to calm his racing heart. It was a losing battle and suddenly he jumped to his feet feeling ridiculous. Pacing in a tight circle, Jewlo flared his robes dramatically about him, then he placed his hand behind his back and posed. Feeling even more ridiculous, Jewlo walked over to the mirror standing against the wall.

“Come on Jewlo. You’re the prince. You’ve addressed an entire nation. This is a woman. It won’t be that bad.” Jewlo sighed in frustration.

He was being a fool. No matter how he posed himself when she walked through the door, the earthling would only see a monster. Turning to face the room, Jewlo held his breath then breathed it out, feeling himself relax. His heartbeat slowed as the prince focused on breathing.

The reprieve from his anxiety was short-lived. Looking at the monitors, Jewlo found the procession of guards was just down the corridor that housed his room. As he rushed to the couches to pose himself once more, the prince tripped on his robes and splayed across the floor. Struggling to stand, the prince caught his robes with his hand and fell once more. Giving up on standing, Jewlo crawled to the couches quickly and was just pulling himself to his feet when Kanoch entered the room.

Laughter immediately lit up Kanochs’ stern face for the fourth time that day. The guard bit his lip and doubled over, his whole body shaking with repressed laughter. Jewlo rolled his eyes towards the large man and cleared his throat with annoyance. “Only you would dare to laugh at me, Kanoch.”

“I know your highness but you are so funny when you are flustered.”

“I am not flustered.”

“Tell that to the blush creeping up your face. I know you better than that, Jewlo.”

Kanoch silently laughed, going down to his knees before finally catching his breath and standing up one more. As he stood, the fight to compose himself was very obvious. But, with the woman waiting, he had to be strong. “Are you alright my Lord?”

“Yes, Yes. Fine.” Jewlo brushed him off with a cool expression. Kanoch stared for a few seconds, mouth twitching.

“Are you ready for me to bring her in?”

Taking one last calming breath, Jewlo nodded. Then he drew himself up tall and proud. “Yes.”

Kanoch stepped to the door and allowed it to swish open, suddenly revealing the earthling woman Jewlo had chosen cuffed and surrounded by tall and imposing guards decked out in full gear just as they had been on the day of the abduction.