Chapter Thirty-Seven - What Does He Look Like?
***
Aiyana shivered as she felt the shadow of the prince fall over her. Tamashiiro was studying her carefully; she felt his eyes on her, but refused to turn and meet her gaze.
Finally, he sighed, rather angrily. "Look at me."
Aiyana ignored him.
He circled the bed she was seated on - Tamashiiro had entered the lavender room she had claimed. He had ruled to allow her to stay there, but only because it was in the midst of the other Detlta's rooms. Any escape attempts would have been futile.
Tamashiiro came to a stop in front of her now, eyes trained on her. It was the first time he had seen her in a real dress; the most feminine thing he had seen her in was the skirt and sweater she was wearing when the company had come to Earth. Now she was clothed in a powder blue dressing gown she had found among Hotaru's things - which, not surprisingly, had fit her in size but not in height. The hem skirted her shins.
"The Zeta are working right now. They are augmenting the Psi's power at this very moment with that delightful little crystal we've discovered. They experimented with one first; it's extremely powerful now. None of this world's warriors will be able to hold up against them.
"They're going to do us next." He bent down to study her face. "Although I doubt that you'll benefit from that."
Aiyana tilted her head slightly to break his eye contact; she didn't want to acknowlege his presence, but she couldn't stand the gloating look on his face.
"We're also going to explore the limits of your power. As the heir - no, ruler now, with the death of the king and queen - of this planet...well. You own an extremely beautiful planet. And soon, we will own it." He chuckled. "My father has agreed to let me have this planet for myself...as a little experiment in ruling before I become emperor. Of course, he's changed his opinion about you. He still believes you're the amazing fighter you always were. Just that he's not pressuring me to court you anymore."
"I'd never have married you," she spat back.
"I don't know," he said doubtfully. "Timid Aiyana, pre-Earth, would have married me at the emperor's lightest wish. Post-Earth Aiyana hates my guts." He grinned. "But you've never really been pre-Earth, have you?"
"You know more about me than I know about myself."
"I definitely do." He smiled, complacent, and seated himself opposite Aiyana. "It irritated me that my charge had risen higher in the ranks than me - that she was getting more recognition than me - not only was she a female, she was an Earthian, someone I was charged with looking after."
"Your charge?"
He nodded solemnly. "You were a test experiment. The Zeta had become interested with aliens as of late, especially humans. But so far, they'd only been experienced with older humans. They wanted fresh young ones - they had less complications and were easier to mold, I suppose you could say." His eyes darkened considerably. "Besides, some of the scientists were taking particularly well to the female test subjects. There wouldn't be those...accidents...if they had younger subjects."
Something was off in his tone, but he was pushing on with his story and she didn't want to miss it. Aiyana stored his facial expression and tone of voice in the back of her mind for further replay.
"So, about five Earth years ago, they planned an expedition to Earth, researching the nationality closest to the Andromedan culture. It was difficult. The Asian, especially Japanese, appeared closer to the Andromedans than any other race. But the immuno-structure was closest to that of Africans, while the physical, skeletal build of Andromedans was closest to that of eastern Europeans. It was a tough break.
"However, the scientists were roaming and deciding when they were attracted by a burst of power in one of the test sections - western Europe. It was at a middle school that had just opened. There were several students with very faint traces of supernatural power, and they took them all, but there was one that they considered a boon." He stared at her, his look almost a hard glare. Another emotion was present - anger.
She stored that away too.
"I was kidnapped from the planet when I was twelve?"
"Basically. The Zeta just wanted to run tests on you and the other test subjects. Brilliant. But an ex-military member had the most brilliant idea of all - why not run some of the young humans through the military school? Erase their memories, make them think they were Andromedans, and put them through the military ranks. Watch their progress in all areas. That way, they'd know which bodily systems were strongest in you, and they'd know which parts of your DNA to blend with the other members of the system." He stopped for a moment, crinkled his brow. "There's tons of it, copies and copies."
"Of what?"
"Your DNA. Your age was frozen for a few months, and they copied your DNA many times over. Since then, who knows how many people it's been integrated with? Three of the Psi they're engineering now have it in them. It's disturbing because very small parts that no one else would notice resemble you closely."
Aiyana shivered, wrapping her arms around her.
"After they unfroze you, they decided you would be their special test. They'd put you out there. And they chose me to be your guardian, to watch your progress, even though I wasn't even in the same caste." Tamashiiro shook his head. "Fate works in strange ways, doesn't it, Sigma Khalidah?"
Aiyana sighed.
"In any case, that's how you became a member of the system, and rose through the ranks so quickly. Your prowess was amazing, yes, because you were human." He hesitated before saying the last word, Aiyana noticed - she was now analyzing his behavior to the fullest. "But the higher-ups really wanted to see how you would act in each caste of the military, what jobs suited humans the most.
"Your mission to Earth with me was a mistake. You were my partner, so the military scheduled you to go. The science division protested, but it was too late, and you had to come with me."
"Is that why you were angry? Because I wasn't supposed to come?"
Tamashiiro frowned. "No."
"So why did you hate me? You hated me before I hated you, you remember." She lowered her eyes, turned them towards the bed. "I never hated you before. I almost thought you could...help me. Until..." She shifted uncomfortably in her place. This wasn't the time to discuss old news. He was supposed to be interrogating her.
Besides, revealing her feelings - no matter how old or how stupid they were - would be dangerous. Tamashiiro was no longer her partner. He was her enemy.
"Well, if you'd worked as hard as I did to get to the top, wouldn't you be angry if some little girl from another planet claimed your position when you'd just gotten it?"
"You started to hate me even before that."
Tamashiiro didn't respond to that, just turned his eyes towards the window in Hotaru's room.
"Did you really kill the king and queen?" he asked. His voice was more curious than interrogative.
Aiyana didn't answer.
"I didn't think you could do it...I still don't think you could do it. And one other thing - if you're the princess, what were you doing in western Europe?"
She turned her eyes back to Tamashiiro and tried to think of a way to answer. "I wish I could tell you that myself," she said, keeping her voice steady. "I don't remember any of that. Remember, my memories were erased, and a past was fabricated for me. I remember an Andromedan mother and father. An Andromedan brother."
"He was based upon me. To make you more comfortable in my wake." Tamashiiro shifted position and finally stood, made uncomfortable by the spill of feelings that had suddenly developed.
Suddenly he turned back to Aiyana, his hazel eyes hard and cold - if cold could be a word to approproately describe the warm green-brown depths. "On the way here, I experienced a medical condition. Ilytheoisis." He raised an eyebrow. "It's a medical disorder that's caused by somatic...irregularities, I suppose you could say...related to impending fatherhood."
Aiyana couldn't help her reaction - although her eyes remained steely and her lips pressed in the thin line they had been in since Tamashiiro had entered the room, she couldn't help it when her face turned white.
"Was there..." Tamashiiro shifted, uncomfortable with the realization that there was no delicate way to go about asking this question. "Did you...have a child..."
Aiyana turned her eyes to the bedspread and contemplated how she would answer, but realized that her silence was answer enough for the young prince. He turned his eyes away from her, looking out of the window once more.
His next question was the most startling at all.
"What does he look like?"
Aiyana recoiled as if she'd been slapped in the face. She never expected the prince to show any kind of concern for this child of his. "She," she corrected, out of habit, and the prince grunted softly - somewhere between a chuckle and a groan. "Why do you ask?" she said guardedly.
"I don't know myself," he admitted. "I suppose I know how it feels to have your parents abandon you..."
***
Aiyana shivered as she felt the shadow of the prince fall over her. Tamashiiro was studying her carefully; she felt his eyes on her, but refused to turn and meet her gaze.
Finally, he sighed, rather angrily. "Look at me."
Aiyana ignored him.
He circled the bed she was seated on - Tamashiiro had entered the lavender room she had claimed. He had ruled to allow her to stay there, but only because it was in the midst of the other Detlta's rooms. Any escape attempts would have been futile.
Tamashiiro came to a stop in front of her now, eyes trained on her. It was the first time he had seen her in a real dress; the most feminine thing he had seen her in was the skirt and sweater she was wearing when the company had come to Earth. Now she was clothed in a powder blue dressing gown she had found among Hotaru's things - which, not surprisingly, had fit her in size but not in height. The hem skirted her shins.
"The Zeta are working right now. They are augmenting the Psi's power at this very moment with that delightful little crystal we've discovered. They experimented with one first; it's extremely powerful now. None of this world's warriors will be able to hold up against them.
"They're going to do us next." He bent down to study her face. "Although I doubt that you'll benefit from that."
Aiyana tilted her head slightly to break his eye contact; she didn't want to acknowlege his presence, but she couldn't stand the gloating look on his face.
"We're also going to explore the limits of your power. As the heir - no, ruler now, with the death of the king and queen - of this planet...well. You own an extremely beautiful planet. And soon, we will own it." He chuckled. "My father has agreed to let me have this planet for myself...as a little experiment in ruling before I become emperor. Of course, he's changed his opinion about you. He still believes you're the amazing fighter you always were. Just that he's not pressuring me to court you anymore."
"I'd never have married you," she spat back.
"I don't know," he said doubtfully. "Timid Aiyana, pre-Earth, would have married me at the emperor's lightest wish. Post-Earth Aiyana hates my guts." He grinned. "But you've never really been pre-Earth, have you?"
"You know more about me than I know about myself."
"I definitely do." He smiled, complacent, and seated himself opposite Aiyana. "It irritated me that my charge had risen higher in the ranks than me - that she was getting more recognition than me - not only was she a female, she was an Earthian, someone I was charged with looking after."
"Your charge?"
He nodded solemnly. "You were a test experiment. The Zeta had become interested with aliens as of late, especially humans. But so far, they'd only been experienced with older humans. They wanted fresh young ones - they had less complications and were easier to mold, I suppose you could say." His eyes darkened considerably. "Besides, some of the scientists were taking particularly well to the female test subjects. There wouldn't be those...accidents...if they had younger subjects."
Something was off in his tone, but he was pushing on with his story and she didn't want to miss it. Aiyana stored his facial expression and tone of voice in the back of her mind for further replay.
"So, about five Earth years ago, they planned an expedition to Earth, researching the nationality closest to the Andromedan culture. It was difficult. The Asian, especially Japanese, appeared closer to the Andromedans than any other race. But the immuno-structure was closest to that of Africans, while the physical, skeletal build of Andromedans was closest to that of eastern Europeans. It was a tough break.
"However, the scientists were roaming and deciding when they were attracted by a burst of power in one of the test sections - western Europe. It was at a middle school that had just opened. There were several students with very faint traces of supernatural power, and they took them all, but there was one that they considered a boon." He stared at her, his look almost a hard glare. Another emotion was present - anger.
She stored that away too.
"I was kidnapped from the planet when I was twelve?"
"Basically. The Zeta just wanted to run tests on you and the other test subjects. Brilliant. But an ex-military member had the most brilliant idea of all - why not run some of the young humans through the military school? Erase their memories, make them think they were Andromedans, and put them through the military ranks. Watch their progress in all areas. That way, they'd know which bodily systems were strongest in you, and they'd know which parts of your DNA to blend with the other members of the system." He stopped for a moment, crinkled his brow. "There's tons of it, copies and copies."
"Of what?"
"Your DNA. Your age was frozen for a few months, and they copied your DNA many times over. Since then, who knows how many people it's been integrated with? Three of the Psi they're engineering now have it in them. It's disturbing because very small parts that no one else would notice resemble you closely."
Aiyana shivered, wrapping her arms around her.
"After they unfroze you, they decided you would be their special test. They'd put you out there. And they chose me to be your guardian, to watch your progress, even though I wasn't even in the same caste." Tamashiiro shook his head. "Fate works in strange ways, doesn't it, Sigma Khalidah?"
Aiyana sighed.
"In any case, that's how you became a member of the system, and rose through the ranks so quickly. Your prowess was amazing, yes, because you were human." He hesitated before saying the last word, Aiyana noticed - she was now analyzing his behavior to the fullest. "But the higher-ups really wanted to see how you would act in each caste of the military, what jobs suited humans the most.
"Your mission to Earth with me was a mistake. You were my partner, so the military scheduled you to go. The science division protested, but it was too late, and you had to come with me."
"Is that why you were angry? Because I wasn't supposed to come?"
Tamashiiro frowned. "No."
"So why did you hate me? You hated me before I hated you, you remember." She lowered her eyes, turned them towards the bed. "I never hated you before. I almost thought you could...help me. Until..." She shifted uncomfortably in her place. This wasn't the time to discuss old news. He was supposed to be interrogating her.
Besides, revealing her feelings - no matter how old or how stupid they were - would be dangerous. Tamashiiro was no longer her partner. He was her enemy.
"Well, if you'd worked as hard as I did to get to the top, wouldn't you be angry if some little girl from another planet claimed your position when you'd just gotten it?"
"You started to hate me even before that."
Tamashiiro didn't respond to that, just turned his eyes towards the window in Hotaru's room.
"Did you really kill the king and queen?" he asked. His voice was more curious than interrogative.
Aiyana didn't answer.
"I didn't think you could do it...I still don't think you could do it. And one other thing - if you're the princess, what were you doing in western Europe?"
She turned her eyes back to Tamashiiro and tried to think of a way to answer. "I wish I could tell you that myself," she said, keeping her voice steady. "I don't remember any of that. Remember, my memories were erased, and a past was fabricated for me. I remember an Andromedan mother and father. An Andromedan brother."
"He was based upon me. To make you more comfortable in my wake." Tamashiiro shifted position and finally stood, made uncomfortable by the spill of feelings that had suddenly developed.
Suddenly he turned back to Aiyana, his hazel eyes hard and cold - if cold could be a word to approproately describe the warm green-brown depths. "On the way here, I experienced a medical condition. Ilytheoisis." He raised an eyebrow. "It's a medical disorder that's caused by somatic...irregularities, I suppose you could say...related to impending fatherhood."
Aiyana couldn't help her reaction - although her eyes remained steely and her lips pressed in the thin line they had been in since Tamashiiro had entered the room, she couldn't help it when her face turned white.
"Was there..." Tamashiiro shifted, uncomfortable with the realization that there was no delicate way to go about asking this question. "Did you...have a child..."
Aiyana turned her eyes to the bedspread and contemplated how she would answer, but realized that her silence was answer enough for the young prince. He turned his eyes away from her, looking out of the window once more.
His next question was the most startling at all.
"What does he look like?"
Aiyana recoiled as if she'd been slapped in the face. She never expected the prince to show any kind of concern for this child of his. "She," she corrected, out of habit, and the prince grunted softly - somewhere between a chuckle and a groan. "Why do you ask?" she said guardedly.
"I don't know myself," he admitted. "I suppose I know how it feels to have your parents abandon you..."