Between Rebels

Chapter 3

3

Laki made true on his promise. Nobody came to give me food or water all day. I was alone with my thoughts and fears.

At some point, the lights in the room automatically dimmed, probably to simulate nightfall. I crawled into bed and hid underneath the fluffy blanket. It didn’t feel very different from my duvet back home. I could almost imagine that I was back in my room, safe and mostly happy, with Tonya next door. She used to snore loud enough for me to hear it through the walls. Back then, it annoyed me, but now I would have given anything to hear her snore.

There was no sound besides my own breathing. The ship vibrated softly as we tumbled through space, noticeable whenever I put my feet on the floor, but it didn’t give off any sound. Maybe my room was soundproof, or maybe the ship was simply really, really quiet. This was my first time on a spaceship, so it wasn’t as if I had anything to compare this to.

As tired as I was, sleep didn't come to find me. I turned and tossed, then stilled and cowered beneath my blanket, only to start rolling around again.

My door was locked from the outside, but I had no way to lock it from this side. There was no chair that I could have shifted underneath a handle (which didn’t exist, it was an automatic sliding door), and my bed was bolted to the floor. If the aliens wanted to come inside to do me harm, there was no way I could stop them.

When the lights came on to signal that morning had arrived, I’d not slept for even a single minute. I got up and used the bucket, cursing the Athions. I’d not give in though. I’d rather go without a toilet if it meant resisting them. I’d never willingly become theirs. No way in hell.

I sat back on my bed and waited. I wished I was wearing a watch, but that was in my bags, which were probably still on Earth. I couldn’t imagine the aliens taking care to take my baggage with them. The loss of the watch didn’t hurt as much as the other things I’d taken with me to London. Photos of my family. The children’s book my mother had written when I’d been a toddler. A picture of Tonya and the other girls in the house we’d shared. An old, tattered teddy bear my grandma had given me shortly before she’d died. A silver spoon that had belonged to my granddad. Those were the things I was going to miss most. Without them, I had no history. Now all I had left were my memories. I’d not let them take those from me.

I was going to stay myself. The woman who’d resisted both Trads and Athions for years. I could survive on my own, no problem. I just had to get away from them and somehow find a safe place. There had to be a place like that in the universe.

The door opened without warning. Arri entered, wearing nothing but loose yoga pants, his blue chest exposed. In another life, I may have found him somewhat attractive, but right now, the only emotion I felt was terror.

He grinned at me. “Shower time.”

The way his eyes roamed my body made it clear that I wasn’t going to shower on my own.

“No way.”

I glared at him with as much energy as I could muster. I bet there were dark rings beneath my eyes which likely made me look weaker than I wanted to appear.

“You will come.”

“No.”

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, forcing myself to give up my protective position.

His smile disappeared. “I wasn’t asking. We can do this the easy or the hard way.”

“Don’t you dare touch me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re our wife. Laird help me, I’m going to touch you as much as I want, whether you like it or not. Now get up or I’m going to make Laki put a collar on you like he’s been planning to.”

A shiver ran down my back at the threat. They were going to break me. Not now, not soon, but eventually. They were two large, strong men and while I knew some basic self-defence, I knew it wouldn’t do much good against them. If I wanted to survive, I needed to change my strategy. Pretend to play along, preserving my strength. I wouldn’t be able to escape if my body was bruised and broken.

“On Earth, we marry before we become husband and wife,” I said quietly. “Do you have something similar on Athion?”

He didn’t reply, so I continued talking. “A wedding is a very sacred ceremony. It means they truly belong to each other.”

Arri laughed roughly. “You already belong to us. We don’t need a ceremony to prove that.”

“But it would make it official.”

“Would you obey us if we’re married?”

I suppressed a shudder. “Yes.”

No, obviously not. I was just trying to buy myself time.

“Laki likes his women rebellious, but I have to say, a good obedient wife is much more to my taste. How do we do this wedding ceremony?”

"There are many different religions on Earth and they all have different ways of celebrating marriage. Don't you have anything like it on Athion?"

He rubbed his chin. "We did, yes, before the women died. I was a child back then and never went to one. There was something about binding the root of the Yurra plant around the couple's hands, connecting them through nature. A kiss at the end. Lots of speeches. Boring."

I certainly didn't want to be bound to these men with some kind of root. That sounded way too dangerous. What I needed was a chaste, safe ceremony, one that probably didn't even exist on Earth. They didn't need to know that though.

"It takes five days," I began, making it up as I went along. "On the first day, the couple talks while eating lots of food, getting to know each other. On the second day, the man brings the woman gifts and they go on excursions together. Like the zoo or a museum. On the third day, it's the woman who gives the presents and who organises what they do. On the fourth day they invite all their relatives so that they can meet their new family. And on the fifth day is the actual ceremony. That's the first time the couple can share a bed."

I should have made it longer than five days, but that may have been too much for the Athions to believe.

"Five days, huh?"

I nodded, keeping my expression neutral. "Five days, but after that, the bond between husband and wife is strong. Nobody can get between it, and all accept it to be an everlasting relationship.”

The cogs turned in his blue alien brain, that much was clear.

“And you’ll be our submissive wife after?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Laki is planning to break you, but I can’t help but think how much effort that would be. I’d much prefer having a pliable little human sucking on my c**k without needing force to make her. A wedding it is. And today is the first day. Let me prepare some food.”

My stomach growled in response. Thank goodness that I’d made up something that involved eating. I could devour a horse and still be hungry.

He left the room, mumbling something about Laki under his breath. Hopefully, Arri would be able to convince his brother that this was the way forward.

Five days, that was all the reprieve I had. Five days in which I had to find a way off this ship before I was trapped with these aliens forever.