Chapter 3
I was not marrying their uncle for him to play with my hair.
Tamara
The room I walked in didn’t make any sense.
There was not one alien but many, and except for two shorter ones, they all appeared like they were from different species. And they looked nothing like the two winged giants married to Wendy.
First of all, none of the aliens in this room had horns. Second of all, only one had some sort of butterfly wings, and given the delicate traits of her greenish face and the giant—pierced—uncovered breast she rocked, it was not a man.
I had never been attracted to women but…She was absolutely stunning. And if she was the one I was supposed to marry, maybe it would fix all my problems. I wasn’t too fond of men right now…
My eyes finally met Maxwell’s. “Uh…hi? What’s going on?”
“There you are!” He smiled. I forced myself to return it, but the amount of people—all strange looking for a human eye—made me uncomfortable. “Here are…uhm, Guidy and…Tegha?” He sounded hesitant. I couldn’t blame him, these names didn’t sound easy to pronounce.
The two short, colorful and bald aliens nodded.
Two? Oh dear, was Wendy wrong? Was I going to marry two of them too?
No, no, no…This wasn’t supposed to be like this.
I could barely muster the courage to marry only one!
And, compared to the other aliens in the room, these two looked like actual children!
“Uh…yes?” This was all I could articulate. What was I supposed to say?
“This is Tamara,” he told them. “Your uncle’s bride.”
The building anxiety suddenly vanished, leaving me light-headed and forced to grip the door handle for support.
Their uncle. Okay. Yes, this made sense. These two were…my future husband's family.
“It is nice to meet you,” the most purple of the two said as they took a step forward to place a hand on my ribcage. I flinched. Their eyes widened. Shit. “Oh. I am sorry, did I hurt you?”
“I—uh…no? It’s just that…why are you…”
“Tamara isn’t yet familiar with the way of your people,” Maxwell jumped in. “Please, be patient and teach her everything she needs to know while you get ready.” He turned to me. “Filbur’s nieces will help you get dressed and will accompany you on the way to Cancer.”
Nieces. Okay, so they were women. Got it.
“Our people are looking forward to meeting you,” the other girl said.
She had more blue-gray undertones, but her eyes were the most striking lavender.
She lifted her hand and took her sister’s place.
“It is the way we greet our family,” she explained, moving slowly until her palm was softly pressed just under my sternum.
“It is a sign of respect and affection.”
I blinked. Okay, this made sense. With hesitation, I lifted my arm and mimicked her. When my palm connected with the loose fabric hanging from her neck and only covering her chest, she smiled.
“Filbur apologizes for not welcoming you himself,” the purple one said—I really hoped they would introduce themselves soon, because even if I did remember their name, I had no clue which one was who.
“We are in the middle of our migration and he is in charge of our people’s safety.
Our sister has not yet finished her healer training, so our father could not spare him. ”
It was actually perfect; more time for me to try and get a feel of the man before I met him. If they hinted at any form of violence when they talked about him? I’d jump on the first shuttle and flee far far away from there.
“So, this is what a human female looks like?” a high-pitched voice said and my whole body tensed, remembering other aliens were in fact observing us in the room.
My wide eyes met the ones of the butterfly. She looked like a girl and sounded like a girl. Why was she here? I thought…Wasn’t the program meant to marry human women to alien men? Wait…were there transgender aliens?
“Marvelous, right?” a blond-haired man said. “I was already struck with the one they paired with the Tauri. This one looks nothing alike, yet she is just as enchanting.”
“Fascinating,” the girl mused and they exchanged a look.
I was still frozen when Maxwell placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t mind them, they’re just excited about meeting their own brides.”
“What do you mean their?” The blond one was a man—I think?
Most of his toned chest was on display and although his feline features looked a bit feminine, something told me he wasn’t.
But the butterfly? She sounded like a woman and looked like a woman—not to mention the pretty obvious breasts.
Although I guess men can have breasts too?
Dear lord, this whole thing was too confusing.
“Sylo over there is the next one to get his bride,” Maxwell explained, pointing at the blond man. “He’s a Lionus. They live on the most beautiful planet I have ever seen.”
Sylo gave a curt nod. “Thank you. The answer to your request is still no, but I will be happy to gift you one of the stones you so desire once I have my bride.”
Maxwell looked positively giddy. “And I’ll gratefully accept it.” He turned toward the colorful butterfly. “This is Anate?a. Libaris are a species exclusively female and they…adapt. They have both female and male reproductive organs.”
Oh. Oh. My damn cheeks flushed. “You tell her about my people’s genitals and do not comment on the beauty of our world?” she teased. “I am deeply offended.”
Maxwell let out an awkward chuckle. “Your world is incredible, but you know by now that I am terrified of bugs. The fact that yours are giant doesn’t help.”
Anate?a rolled her eyes but her grin didn’t leave her face. “Make sure my bride is braver than you, please.”
“Alright, enough chit-chat,” Maxwell said, turning back to me. “The shuttle is set to leave in three hours. Guidy and Tegha will help you prepare.”
And with these last words, both of them grabbed my hands and pulled me back into the corridor. I wasn’t worried until I noticed the size of the bags they both carried.
“This looks like a lot of work,” Guidy—the purple one, now that we formerly introduced ourselves—said, sliding her long fingers along my braids as I sat quietly on the bed. “Why do you wear your hair like this? The other humans do not seem to bother doing much with theirs.”
My shoulders sagged as I inspected the thin braids. I loved them, and it was actually a lot less work keeping them like this. “You don’t like it?”
Guidy’s eyes widened as her sister lightly slapped her shoulder. “You have hurt her! Why do you always say things like this?” Tegha grumbled.
“I am sorry! I did not mean it this way. It is absolutely beautiful! Like art that grows from the skull.” What? “What I meant is that it looks really hard to do. Do you weave your hair into this one by one?”
Again…what? “I…I take strands and braid them? It takes a few hours, but it lasts really long, so it’s worth it for me in the end.”
“Is it something your family does?” Tegha asked. “Or is it something human females do? We have only seen male so far and they all have short hair.”
“We do not have any, as you can see,” Guidy added, sliding her hand over her bald but strangely textured head.
“When I first met some other species and they had hair, I was so jealous,” Tegha said, letting out a long, envious sigh, the questions she asked now forgotten. Good. I didn’t feel like talking about my family right now. “There was this Tauri female once…What was her name again?”
“Was it Zhari?” Juni offered.
“Yes! Ghauro’s sister! She was so nice. Anyway, she let me touch her hair! It was so soft. I Loved it.”
What was happening right now?
“Does it stay like this all the time?” Tegha continued, playing with another braid while her sister was digging into one of the bags.
“It doesn’t,” I answered. “When my hair grows too much, I have to redo it.”
“You will have to teach us to do this!” Tegha said. “So we can help you next time.”
I cast a glance at their strangely shaped thumb. It looked more like a pincer, and definitely not practical to braid.
“Do not be silly, Tegha,” Guidy said. “If someone helps her do her hair, it will be Filbur.”
She pulled out long pieces of fabric and placed them next to my arm, examining the color.
Tegha groaned and leaned back, visibly deciding that she didn’t want to be helpful. “This is unfair. I want a human bride too! Why is he the one who gets to play with her hair?”
Oh dear… “Hum…uh, how old are you girls?”
“I was born from my box twelve years ago,” Guidy said proudly, picking another piece of fabric to inspect it. “Tegha is still a child. She was only born eight years ago.”
“Some would say that both of you are children.”
They exchanged a look and paused whatever they were doing. “I am not,” Guidy countered and Tegha shook her head at me like I was insane. “I will start my huntress training after the next migration. I am basically grown up.”
The fierce look on her face was adorable.
But, despite what she was saying, they were still children. Otherwise, they would know that I was not marrying their uncle for him to “play with my hair.”
And the reminder of what was expected of me sent me into another anxious spiral. So much that I barely registered anything else they talked about.