CHAPTER 42
The next morning, I met Kashtinela for breakfast at the Palace.
It was nice to sit, just the two of us. The food replicator didn’t contain any breakfast foods, unfortunately.
Still, there were bacon bits and shredded cheddar cheese, so I asked Selica, the Palace chef, if she could include those in an ovina egg omelet.
She was pleased with the result and said that she would experiment with the other human food options in the replicator to see what she could blend with Ptexari cuisine.
Her tentacles waved happily as I saw her studying the Earth ingredients.
I don’t think I had ever seen her so excited.
Kashtinela tried the omelet and wrinkled her nose.
“It is very salty,” she said. This seemed to be the general Ptexari consensus about human food.
They weren’t wrong. I found Ptexari food in general lacked seasoning, but the Ptexari didn’t sweat like humans, so I don’t think they needed much salt in their diet.
I closed my eyes and hummed happily as I dug into the omelet. Kashtinela was pleased for me, even if she didn’t care for it herself. But she adored the cup of coffee I produced for her. I remembered how Camavel also enjoyed it. Bitter coffee seemed more pleasing to the Ptexari palate.
“I hear you are going to the ruins and floating market with my brother,” Kashtinela said as she eyed me from the side. “You two are getting along? The last time I spoke to you, you wanted nothing to do with him. You said you did not even wish to see him.”
“I’m making an effort, at least,” I told her.
“We’re going to be attending a lot of the same events together.
Your father will make sure of that. And one more thing - He was supposed to be in meetings with you and the Charonu ambassador, but he told me you all agreed to let him out of it to spend time with me. Traitor!”
She snorted. “He did not exactly give us a choice. He told Father he would give up his position and live in exile if we didn’t let him pursue you.
I told him you were going to be impossible to convince.
It would appear I overestimated your resistance.
” She raised her eyebrow and took a sip from her mug.
“Thanks for the warning,” I said sarcastically.
“But, I do need to learn to be in the same room with him,” I mused over my coffee.
“Plus, I’m trying my best to forgive him for what happened.
Intellectually, I know it wasn’t his fault, but my body hasn’t caught up.
I still lock up involuntarily sometimes when I first see him.
I need to get comfortable being around him. Exposure therapy, and all that.”
“And the male human, Leo,” she said. “Is he a potential love interest? Despite what he told my brother, I know Dakleth is jealous of his presence.”
“Leo respects my boundaries,” I said. “We’re just friends, and that’s all it will be.
If he were moving to Ptekennan permanently, I’d probably explore a different kind of relationship with him.
But he’s going back to Coromonn, and a long-distance relationship between us wouldn’t work at all.
So I’m keeping him firmly in the friend zone.
” I drew a box in the air with my hands.
“Friend zone. I have not heard this term,” she said. “It is an area for a male friend?”
“An imaginary area, I guess. It means that you think of them as a friend and nothing more.”
“Is my brother also in this friend zone?” she asked.
“I have no idea what your brother is to me. Right now, he’s barely a stranger. He says he wants to be friends, but I know he wants more. I don’t know that I can count on him to respect a friendship boundary. If he doesn’t, then I won’t be able to spend time with him, I don’t think.”
“I confess, I do not fully understand your human friendship and mating practices. I am glad to call you my friend. However, I do not wish to hug you or clasp our hands together,” she said.
“I know, I get it. And I’m glad we’re friends,” I smiled at her.
“Humans love to hug our friends. I never realized how much humans touch each other until I came here. It makes me a little sad, sometimes. Not gonna lie, it’s been a difficult adjustment.
It’s one of the things I’ve appreciated about having Leo around. I’m getting my hug fix.”
“Hug…fix?” she asked.
“That means I am taking all the hugs I can get from Leo in anticipation of the day he won’t be here to hug me anymore.”
“Ah, yes, I understand. I am sure my brother would be happy to help you with your ‘hug fix’,” she enunciated the words slowly.
“I’m sure he would, but I worry he would think it means that I’m interested in being more than friends.”
“You are more than friends. You are mates.”
“Ugh, yeah, that.” I could see this conversation wasn’t going to go well, so I changed the subject. “What about you? Why aren’t you mated yet?”
Kashtinela was quiet for a moment. “I am a daughter of the royal house. My mating will be arranged by my father.”
“Oh,” I said, “I hadn’t thought of that. Are you ok with it? Has he chosen someone?”
“It will likely be an offworlder who can provide access to expanded trade opportunities. Father invited a few candidates to the harvest festival ball, but I was unimpressed with the lot. He is putting together another ball. The pretense is to celebrate our renewed trade talks with the Charonu of Coromonn. The guest of honor will be their prime minister, who is visiting in a couple of weeks. It is my understanding that Leo’s partners will be coming along to visit, so that Leo may extend his stay here for another month. ”
I was overjoyed to hear that Leo would stay longer and that I would get to meet his partners. But I hadn’t imagined Kashtinela would go into an arranged marriage. I mean, politically, it made sense, but it seemed like such an outdated notion. “How do you feel about all that?” I asked.
Kashtinela sipped the last of her coffee and placed the mug on the table.
“I have always known my mating would not be entirely my choice.
Father is reasonable, though. He will present me with candidates, and he will have his favorites that will benefit the family and our society, but he would not force me to mate with someone I did not feel was compatible. I will have some level of choice.
The only contentious point is that Father is hoping I marry up in station to someone in line to be King of his own people.
This would create stronger ties, but it means I would have to move to my new mate’s planet.
I would prefer to marry a second or third son so that we can stay here. I do not wish to live offplanet.”
“That’s understandable,” I said.
“We shall see what candidates he has found for me at your performance. Now, I shall let you go,” she said as she looked at her wristband. “It would seem my brother is looking for you.”