My 1000-years love

Chapter 8

I woke up, having no idea what time of day it was, what would happen next, or how I was supposed to spend the next three months in this completely enclosed tin can. Three months? What would happen to the rest of my life! I knew only one thing for certain. Although this hot-headed, jealous, and despotic raath was a real pain in the ass, I could be sure that, for some reason, he had an interest in me and needed something from me. Of course, I didn’t believe in pure and bright love. Nor did I believe in simple s****l gratification. Any pretty girl would suffice for that. My experience in earthly relationships had convinced me that any relationship between a man and a woman is not selfless. And I don’t mean money, of course.

Nevertheless, he is willing to make concessions, taking my boys, giving me time to get used to him, wanting to establish contact, showing me his world so that I would stay with him on relatively good terms. And it was like that yesterday, until I messed everything up. I wonder if it’s unhealthy to cause hurricanes on the ship every time I think of another man? Something needs to be done about this. Maybe I should let s*x with another big muscular alien happen quickly and see if he’s right?

Today, this thought was no longer so unacceptable, but responded with a sweet languor running through my whole body. When did I become so depraved? Probably after several years of complete absence of a s*x life. I lazily stretched out on the pillows and jumped up briskly.

Well, new day? Here I come! First, get myself in order, then find the raath!

Rushing into the bathroom, I realized I would have to ask for T-GInArA’s help.

“Um, esteemed T-GInArA, would you be so kind as to show me how everything works here... for human and other needs?”

“Of course, Arkhaite Haagnarath.”

“Sorry, what did you call me? Sgannar also called me Haagnarath yesterday. Is this some special title? Or a nickname?” I tried to joke.

"Haagnarath is your true name. The name you had when you and Sgannar were still together."

"Oh!” was all I could manage to say. I actually liked the unusual word right away.

“To avoid bothering me every time you need to use the restroom, just say ‘toilet,’ ‘shower,’ and so on. Now, I’ll leave and won’t peek.”

“Yeah, I’d prefer that.”

It seemed that the inhabitant of the endless cosmos was extremely displeased that I distracted him with my minor earthly needs. Following the gravinid’s advice, I quickly tidied myself up. When I stepped out of the shower, my gaze fell on the mirror. I was curious to see what my unauthorized upgrade had resulted in.

I looked at myself, and my mild shock gave way to puppy-like delight. It was me, yet not me. My face and body had not just reverted to their state from ten years ago, when I was in my early twenties. They had become more perfect. My skin glowed from within, without blemishes, scars, age spots, or even stray hairs. My nails were as hard as stones. My brown eyes sparkled and seemed to have lightened slightly, glowing with a honey hue. My lips... Wait a minute, it seemed that Laor had been feeding me cosmic nonsense: we already discussed my breasts, but my lips had never been this full. So, this bastard not only took ten years off me but also adjusted my appearance to his liking? My hair had also never looked so effortlessly styled. To tame my unruly spirals into this Hollywood hairstyle, it would take a ton of styling products, an hour of my time, and a lot of patience. And the result was never guaranteed. Yet here I was, fresh out of the shower, looking flawless without any Photoshop. I waved my hand at the mirror and turned away. At least there was some benefit to all this madness.

As I left the bathroom, I hoped to find Sgannar in the cabin. But it was empty. Summoning my courage, I waved my hand in front of the door that had slammed so terrifyingly shut behind me in the storm yesterday. This time it opened smoothly and almost silently. In the corridor, a nervous, lanky alien youth awaited me. He looked about fourteen years old, though who knew how old they really were here. Like everyone I had met here, this individual was very tall, about six and a half feet, quite pale, and so thin that yesterday’s storm could have snapped him in half. Twitching nervously, he extended his hand and squeaked in an adolescent voice:

“Arkhaite Haagnarath, my name is Diarth. I will be your guide here for as long as I can be of use to you!”

Clearly, Sgannar had sent me this pale, trembling child specifically to prevent a repeat of yesterday’s incident. Overprotective.

Without thinking about propriety, I blurted out, “Good morning, Diarth. Sorry for asking, but how old are you?”

He blinked in confusion, so I clarified, “I mean, purely out of curiosity. Yesterday, Archon Sgannar surprised me with his age, so now I’m extremely interested in this topic.”

Diarth’s lanky shoulders relaxed a bit. “Of course, Ari Haagnarath. You may ask me any questions at any time, and you don’t need to explain why you need the information. I’m only fifty years old. And by the standards of the Allion race, I’m still a teenager.”

So, I wasn’t wrong.

“But my intelligence and brain activity indicators are extremely high!” he continued proudly. “So, the Destiny and Motivation Recognition Program recommended me for service on the warships of the Eyia and Anaya Galactic Empire’s Fleet. By special order of Archon Sgannar, I was assigned to his personal ship.”

“Wow,” was all I could manage to say. An empire? Of two galaxies? This boy would have to answer my questions until nightfall. My brief “wow” seemed like the highest compliment to him because a genuine boyish smile spread across his pale face.

“Well, in any case, you’re twenty years older than me! And definitely smarter.” He puffed up with pride, and I mentally scoffed. Such a kid. “So, tell me, is Archon a position on this ship? Something like a captain?”

“Oh, Ari, no. The Archon is certainly the captain of this ship. But in reality, it’s another title for the emperor of Raiuarath.”

“What?!” I choked on my own saliva as I inhaled and began to cough hysterically. Diarth awkwardly patted my back.

God, the emperor? Of two galaxies? No, I had completely lost it and was now sitting in a padded room, pumped full of tranquilizers, imagining all sorts of nonsense. Step by step, I tried to come to terms with what was happening, but for some reason, this news broke me completely. As soon as I stopped coughing, I started laughing hysterically at how comically I had choked. A dismayed Diarth was utterly stunned. After laughing and wiping away my tears, I walked a little further and nodded.

“Okay, why don’t you show me around the ship and take me to a dining area? I’m starving.”

“Didn’t Ari Haagnarath eat in the Archon’s cabin? It seems T-GInArA should have taken care of your breakfast.”

“No, no droids with food this morning. Maybe they got tired of taking away cold meals. I still want to walk around the ship and explore everything. Is there a kitchen or a dining hall? Or does everyone eat separately?”

“No,” Diarth frowned. “The whole crew eats in the common area. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to go there without the Archon officially presenting you as his other half. Not all the regular crew members are aware of our true mission on Gaia. The Archon doesn’t report his personal motives. And you’re…,” he hesitated, “a bit unusual, and some crew members… well, they’ve been in space for a long time and might look at you differently than they should look at their Arkhaite. I think that might upset the Archon again. The whole crew, including T-GInArA, felt yesterday what it means to have an upset captain, even though… he finally found his Lleiro and should be happy.”

Ah, so little Di likes to gossip. But my kidnapper and T-GInArA hadn’t told anyone about my little adventure. At least there was that. How, then, did he explain the brutal punishment of Laor, who had heroically come to his aid in the battle with pirates shortly before?

“And still, I’m not under arrest. The Archon is not here, and I don’t want to sit in the cabin indefinitely, eating alone. So, let’s go: you were told to show me the ship, so show me. And I want to eat with everyone. If the Archon wanted to keep me hidden, he wouldn’t have let me out of the cabin. Let’s go,” I said, pulling him by the hand.

“And by the way,” I remembered as we were still walking along the long, slightly curved corridor, “you can call me by my shortened name without the ‘ari’ prefix. By the way, what does it mean? A polite address for a woman?”

“Arkhaite is the female form of the word ‘Archon.’” I stopped, eyes wide open. “’Ari’ is the shortened form of ‘Arkhaite.’”

“No way, dear. You won’t be calling me that. I haven’t agreed to it. For now, I’m just Haag. Although it’s a silly name. Until I remember my normal Earth name. By the way... T, I addressed the ceiling, excuse me, could you tell me what might cause my memory lapses?”

“I suspect psychosomatic causes of amnesia, Haag,” she replied, drawing out my new nickname with some kind of cheerful satisfaction. “It happens when the subject is dissatisfied with their current existence. The reparative-adaptive module causes various side effects. It’s quite possible it will pass soon. Or not,” she added after a pause.

For some reason, my name didn’t matter much at that moment. I needed to find the Archon, smooth out the tension, and explore the ship!