Chapter Seven: …And Into the Fire

--

Hoshi's confession had shaken him. His very being--his reason for existing--was now null and void. His career lay in ashes around her feet. He had spent his entire adulthood cultivating and working up to his position, forfeiting so much that he had forgotten what exactly it was that he had sacrificed.

He was the bodyguard. He had been his entire life…always protecting those who needed it and willing to die in the process. Even as a child he was the protector, saving his younger sister Madeline from imagined monsters and their father.

Malcolm had never run into this before. He had always done his job, and done it well--very well. Keeping his employers out of harm's way had been accomplished with a one hundred percent success rate, even at the expense of his own safety. Of course, his previous clients had been cooperative. They listened to and respected his advice, and heeded his instincts. In essence, they accepted responsibility for their own safety.

Staring at the woman in front of him, he bristled with anger. He hadn't seen this coming. He would lay down his life for her, not out of a displaced sense of patriotism, but because it was his job. He was trained to be proactive, to be several steps ahead of the daily threats. His previous clients worked with him and none of them had come to harm, which led him to the person who stood before him.

How did he protect her from herself?

He held his breath, daring not to move. He wanted to throttle her. He wanted to strangle her. He wanted to knock her on her ass and walk away. "I quit," he heard himself say.

It was like a mantra playing in his head. "I quit. I quit. I quit," repeated in his mind as he walked past her, unsure as to where he was going but knowing he needed to get away from her.

"You—you can't quit!" Hoshi declared. "You've got to get me out of here."

Malcolm stopped dead in his tracks, turning slowly. "What's the matter, Your Highness?" he sneered. "I thought you would be ecstatic. You've gotten your wish. Your machinations and scheming have made me realize how pointless my job is. I quit."

"But you can't," sputtered Hoshi. "Not now! You've got to get me out of here. You've got to take me home. My mother will be worried. She'll –"

"And where did your mother fit into your plan when you and your lover were concocting your great escape?" he asked, acid in his inflection. "Was she in on it too?"

"I would never involve my mother in such a manner. I –"

"You didn't consider how your stunt would affect her," Malcolm argued.

Hoshi's eyes watered and she said nothing. He was right. She hadn't thought about her mother at all. She had just assumed she would call the queen after a few days and have a good laugh about it all. What had she been thinking? A few days? She would have put her mother through agony for a few days to have a laugh at this man's expense?

Now it was so much worse.

Starting to pace, Malcolm swore under his breath and stopped in front of her. "I've got news for you, Princess. You're on your own. Good luck with the rescue. There's nobody on their way. In all likelihood, they've accused me of the kidnapping. I don't –"

"What do you mean?"

Malcolm grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "I have no backup! I could turn the locator beacon on and you could take your chances with Tucker and his friends. I could –"

"There's no one coming for us?" she asked disbelievingly, the cold wind chilling her.

"That's right, Your Royal Self-Centeredness!" he shouted. "You're on your own!"

She watched in horror as he walked away.

--

She tucked her hands into her armpits, trying to keep the numbness at bay. With each breath she expelled into her frigid surroundings, a plume of vapor swirled from her mouth. With the exception to the emergency lighting, there was no power of the shuttle, and she hadn't the first clue as to how to restore it. Since he'd left her, she had found some clothing in the hold, which included some socks and shoes. At least she was able to cover her feet now.

Leave it up to that bastard to crash-land on a cold planet! I hope he's freezing his ass off out there! Better yet, I hope he's –"

Thump!

Hoshi bolted upright, grabbing an upended seat cushion and holding it up like a shield. Something or somebody was outside, she thought. It could be a wild animal. It could be Tucker. Or worse, it could be her former security guard!

She stumbled toward the hatch, preparing to hit whoever or whatever was crawling through the hatch. Her foot caught and she fell flat on her face, her fall softened by the cushion.

Malcolm crawled through the hatch with ease, surprised when his hands connected with soft flesh. "Bloody Hell! What have you done now?" he grumbled as he righted himself and walked to the console.

The shuttle came to life, the low hum of electricity sounding throughout the cabin. "Why didn't you turn the heat on?"

Hoshi crawled onto her makeshift bed and groused.

"Guess what, Princess? There's nobody here to wait on you and draw you a warm bath, so you're going to have to get off your pretty little ass and do for yourself," Malcolm said as he walked up to her. "Scoot over."

"What?" Hoshi pulled the bundle of clothes she had formed into a nest closer to her.

"Relax, Your Majesty," Malcolm said with a sneer. "I'm exhausted and it's freezing. I don't see why you didn't turn the heat on."

Hoshi gasped as he laid next to her and pulled her down.

She tried to pull away from him but his arm was like a steel band around her waist. "Let me go."

"Stay still, Hoshi. I'm exhausted," Malcolm growled. "I've spent all night securing the perimeter and it's below freezing out there."

Relaxing against him, she damned the tears that stung her eyes and sniffed. "I thought you were gone."

Drifting off to sleep, Malcolm barely heard her.

She shifted closer, wiggling against him.

"Stop moving," he hissed, damning his exhaustion and his libido.

"I'm glad you're back," Hoshi whispered softly, and tucked the clothes around his arm.

"Tomorrow, you can start working on getting me out of here."

Malcolm smirked. Tomorrow…she was going to get a taste of her own medicine.

--

She scowled in her sleep, swatting the cold and wet thing away from her. It seemed to go away and she settled into her nest, intent on going back to sleep.

"Get up," a stern voice commanded.

Hoshi grumbled and turned over, opening her eyes. As if the smell of a dead fish wasn't enough to wake her, the sight of it hovering just centimeters away from her face disgusted her. "Get that thing out of my face!" she ordered and swatted it away.

"That thing is your breakfast," Malcolm stated. "If you want to eat, I suggest you get up and clean it. The scales aren't very appetizing."

She pushed it away again and stood up. "I'll have a ration pack, thank you."

"Are you hungry, Your Highness?" he asked sweetly.

Hoshi nodded her head, not really sure what to answer. She could sense the sarcasm in his tone, but his smile was genuine. "Why, yes. I am hungry," she replied. "I would like something to eat…please."

Malcolm did something totally unexpected. He clutched his sides and laughed so hard, tears fell down his face.

She smiled irritably, feeling as though she were the center of an amusing joke she didn't know about. "What's so funny, Mr. Reed?"

He sobered immediately and approached Hoshi, picking up the fish. "Clean the fish and cook it. It's the only way you're going to get anything to eat, Hoshi. I've hidden the ration packs. You won't find them. I've already made the fire, but it's dying quickly. So you might want to hurry and cook your fish."

Fuming, Hoshi stood up and grabbed the fish by the tail and prepared to throw it at him.

"I wouldn't," warned Malcolm. "That fish is a freebee. From now on you'll have to catch your own. I'm no longer responsible for you. I quit. You'll have to learn to survive, even if it kills you. There are no servants here…nobody to draw your bath or serve you. You'll have to work for your keep. It's just you and me, little girl."

"You asshole!" she shouted, finally hurling the dead fish at him.

Dodging it with ease, Malcolm watched it fall at his feet. "One more thing." His voice was smooth and dangerous. "You will address me as Commander Reed or sir. Is that understood?"

--

TBC