More back-story, and planting some seeds for future use. Rated K+. I don't own Randor or Marlena, but I invented the other characters to populate the royal palace. Please read and review!

Day 9

Nurse Tasha spent the morning taking care of the ginger-haired alien visitor, and telling the story of her family's connection to the royal family: her mother, Basha, had been a hairdresser for Queen Adora and Princess Mira many years ago, and her father, Phodor, had been one of the sergeants who trained young military recruits (including Randor for a brief time). Sergeant Phodor retired after the Great Unrest to a small farm, which had been granted to the family by Randor himself.

"Really? And why did he choose your family for that gift?" Marlena queried. It seemed unusual that a hairdresser and a sergeant would receive land for their loyal service, especially if they were city folk with no farming experience…

"Actually, it was given to us in honor of my late husband's sacrifice," Tasha answered, looking away toward the window. "He died protecting the king...he used his own body as a shield...he was loyal to the end…"

The captain was shocked - she didn't know how to react to that. "I - I'm so sorry, Tasha, I had no idea -" Then her shock was doubled as she realized that Tasha was chosen for this job specifically for her family's loyalty to the crown. Since her crash landing, the only people Marlena had had contact with were the healer Trin-Lor, Nurse Tasha and Randor. Heck, maybe Tasha wasn't even a nurse - maybe she was a hairstylist like her mother. The healer probably had a similar history of proven loyalty. And the guards outside her door - were they hand-picked by Randor, too? If so, then he was in absolute control of the whole situation. After all, one couldn't expect anything less from the king of a planet.

All of these thoughts passed through the astronaut's mind in the blink of an eye.

Before Marlena could articulate further, there was a knock at the door, and King Randor swept in with a handful of papers. "Good morning, ladies, how do you do? Captain, I'll need your signature on some documents here…"

At that, Nurse Tasha politely excused herself and exited.

"What is all this?" asked Marlena. It looked like legal forms: a deed and some type of title work.

"I'm making you a duchess, and giving you the province of Westfarland," he answered without missing a beat.

"What? Why? That makes no sense!" the lady protested.

"It makes perfect sense," Randor calmly contradicted her, with a twinkle in his eye. "Allow me to explain: if you stay on Eternia, I want you to have as much freedom as possible - to choose your own path. Owning land will give you an income stream, and I'm pre-dating the title transfer to one year ago, so you'll already have a small nest egg. You may also choose to accept the job at my lab, developing technology. Of course, I still hope that you will allow me to court you publicly, and that will be easier if you are the Duchess of Westfarland."

"I see - you've thought of everything, except that maybe I don't want my own province - or a husband, for that matter!"

Randor chose to ignore that personal jab. "You haven't even seen this place! Of course you'll want it. It's 34 acres with a silver mine that also has a vein of rare minerals that you'll need in your lab. Borders on the western sea, best fishing waters on the planet - I have a little cabin there on the peninsula - it's your cabin now. The population is only 112 people, very friendly and hard-working...it's the furthest province from here, so none of my courtiers will know you weren't born there…"

The mention of rare minerals got her attention. Then she was distracted by the hint of deception. "Wait - you're going to pass me off as an Eternian native?"

"There's more."

"Ah - please do continue, then." She tried not to go too heavy on the sarcasm.

"I need to give this to you now and create an identity for you, in case…"

"...Oh, now I follow your logic..."

"Allow me to finish, my dear - please!" Randor was becoming impatient every time she broke through his train of thought. No one else dared speak to him that way! "I am about to negotiate a treaty with the new chieftain of the Gar - I'll be gone at least tonight and all day tomorrow - it's a seven hour journey each way…"

"The Gar! Are you sure it isn't an ambush?"

"Again with the interruptions! An ambush is certainly possible - I can't rule that out. But...my instinct tells me that something has recently changed and they are ready to make peace. The intelligence report said that my brother had a falling out with his cousins there, and he left in a hurry. However, there is a risk that I may not return, and if that is the case, then you need to be set up as an independent landowner right away. Therefore, I need your signature here, here and here." He pointed to the bottom of each page.

And so, Captain Marlena Glenn of the U.S. Air Force, a red-blooded American, became a member of an alien aristocracy, signing her name next to the royal seal and signature of 'Randor Rex.'

**Author's note: Yes, I am slowly building up to something...you'll see on days 36 & 37...those will be fun chapters. It will be a few weeks before I post again, but the story will move more quickly in the next two chapters.