Chapter 3: Home Away from Home

After the wedding ceremony, if it could be called such a thing, Asha was marched back to her prison cell in chilly silence. Thorek watched her leave broodingly, and General Parem turned to him.

"You will, of course, want to make preparations for your wife's arrival." He smirked, and a muscle twitched briefly in Thorek's cheek. "You can leave right away. My guards will escort you home in a flitter, and your wife will join you after…five days? Five days should suffice?"

Thorek gave a very curt nod.

"Excellent. This way, please," General Parem said.

Asha was glaring daggers at the force field blocking the entrance of her cell, nauseated by the prospect of spending almost a week in prison. It was definitely not the kind of honeymoon any spouse would want. She thought of her cousin's wedding, probably a beautiful modern Hindu-Vulcan do. Cousin Maya had met her Vulcan fiancé Navok fresh out of Starfleet Medical Academy, and they had bonded together over discussions on similarities between Indian and Vulcan meditation techniques. Although Maya and Asha had completely different life visions, they two of them had always got on well because they had never judged or condemned each other for being total opposites. Maya and Navok would be wondering about her whereabouts. She guessed that even Navok's logic would be at a standstill where she was concerned.

All she had for entertainment of some kind was her PADD with her research notes, returned to her by Mr Sullen, as she had dubbed the sour-faced guard, and the contents of one suitcase. She had to credit the Romulans with not having pawed through her belongings. In fact, everything seemed untouched. They had probably used one of their many scanners to run a check like an x-ray.

Asha chewed her lip as she mulled over her marriage. She was the property of her husband and from what she had read on the PADD, she did not possess full rights as a Romulan citizen. She slept very badly during the next five nights, picked at her food and began to lose weight. Who knew – maybe Thorek would strangle her in her sleep or force himself on her night after night or find some other method of soundly abusing her.

Finally the five days elapsed. The force field was deactivated and Mr Sullen led her to a flitter with her belongings (including the other suitcase). She got inside and sat with trembling knees in the aircar, swallowing down her fear and keeping her hands firmly folded in her lap while she tried to think of some helpful mantra or the other. The driver ignored her. Then she thought of André and his turquoise bicycle. And that helped.

When they arrived, she looked in astonishment at the enormous villa in front of which they had landed.

Thorek was waiting for her, and as she got out, she noticed the tension in his body language and face.

"This is...our home," he said, trying to hide his discomfort. He had almost said "my home".

"It's beautiful," she said spontaneously, admiring the architecture and stately pillars.

"You think so?"

"Yes. It fits perfectly into this area."

"Thank you. I tried to design the building that way."

Her eyes widened. "You built this yourself?"

"Not with my own hands. I merely designed the plans."

"You're an architect as well?"

"Order and disorder in space fascinate me. Fortunately, I have never been interested in designing a prison."

They looked at each other, sizing each other up. Then she said:

"You stopped those guards from slapping me. Thank you."

"No one deserves such treatment, not even a Hu-" he stopped.

She raised her eyebrows. "Not even a Human?"

He looked defensive. "It is ingrained in our culture that other species are...not as developed as we are."

"And you as an astrophysicist with a highly educated and scientific background are willing to accept this indoctrination without scepticism? After what resulted in my arrival on Romulus, I daresay I would have several excellent reasons to measure all Romulans by the same yardstick?"

"I suppose you would," he said reluctantly and decided to change the topic. "You must be wanting to unpack your luggage. Let me show you the house and your bedroom. I daresay you prefer your own bedroom?"

"Yes." She decided to speak openly. "I am very grateful to you about arranging separate bedrooms for us. Given our circumstances, I do not think sharing a bed would be a voluntary option for either of us."

"True. Forcing anyone into my bed is a criminal act in my eyes."

"And in the eyes of Romulan law?"

"Rape is forbidden and punishable by imprisonment or death, but only between Romulans. For arrangements like ours, the law excludes non-Romulan victims. That would be you, obviously. Know, however, that I prefer pleasure that is given with full consent and a passionate heart."

"I am glad you think that way. I was…" she took a deep breath, "…afraid you might insist on, uh, consummating our wedding."

"A very unflattering but natural conclusion to draw. You have nothing to fear under this roof, which is yours, too."

"Thank you." The relief in her voice was evident. They looked at each other, now with growing curiosity. Asha took a deep breath.

"As we are talking about such an intimate topic, there's something important I have to tell you. General Parem mentioned you fathering children with me. I do not want and cannot have children. I know myself well enough that I would make a completely unsuitable mother. I underwent a small surgical intervention three years ago to prevent a pregnancy for good. I do know that family and children are very important to your society, and it is the same with human beings. Women like me are still regarded with suspicion even in this century." She paused, watching him cautiously. "I hope I have not offended you with my opinion."

"You have not, as I feel the same way about my lack of paternal instincts. Nor am I the only one in a population of millions. Parenting is not for everyone, regardless of species. Such a role must be considered very carefully."

"That's a relief to hear." She gave him a small smile.

"I share your feelings on this matter. Now, it is my turn to tell you something important."

He was silent for a few moments, rearranging his thoughts.

"I occasionally meet a woman and have been doing so for four years. Her name is R'ëal. I do not wish to discontinue the intimate relations she and I share."

She said calmly: "Thank you for being honest. We both had a life before I came along. Uh…If you continue to see your, er, lover, I would prefer if you kept it to yourself. It's a matter between you two, and I don't want to mess with your personal life, however strange that sounds, now that we're husband and wife and expected to share a life."

Her cheeks had become a bit red.

"It makes sense to me."

"Does she know about our marriage?"

"Not yet." He sounded terse, and it was clear that he was not keen on discussing the topic further.

"I understand. As I said, it's between the two of you."

An awkward silence followed, and then he said: "You will want to see the house and meet my house staff."

"House staff?"

"Yes," he said, raising an arched eyebrow. Asha had been used to doing her own cooking, household, chores and being very hands-on with how she ran her life. She told him so.

"Romulan life is different," he said pointedly. "We will discuss your activities on Romulus later. I will not force you to do anything you don't want, despite what the Tal Shiar might say. As you know, my sympathy with them is…minimal."

"That is not surprising, seeing what they did to your family. An activity I would be interested in is learning your language."

He nodded briefly, studying her face. His eyes lingered on her bare arms. The bruise he had first seen had darkened to a purple-blue shade. She noticed his gaze.

"It will fade."

"I have a dermal regenerator. Every Romulan household has or should have one. I am not sure about Terran households." A slight haughtiness crept into his voice. "If you wait here, I will be back with the regenerator."

He left her and returned with the apparatus after a few minutes. He carefully took her arm by the elbow and activated the regenerator. He perceived that she was watching him closely with her odd-coloured eyes, scrutinising and assessing him. He found it slightly unnerving – not because of the dissimilar iris colours, but because of the intensity with which she was looking at his profile, despite the discreet lowering of her eyelids. He let go of her arm once he had finished.

"Thank you. It was very kind of you," she said. The gratitude in her striking eyes was sincere.

He inclined his head somewhat stiffly. "Come, I will show you around."

In comparison to her own spartan living arrangements back on Earth, Thorek's house was quite luxurious; but what captured her interest the most was the amount of vegetation surrounding the area. The capital, bearing the same name as the planet, was a flourishing verdant place. As Romulus was rich in lakes, ponds and plenty of water sources, she could see a beautiful stretch of water in the distance from the back of the house. Forests and hills were abundant, and she smiled absent-mindedly as she admired them. Thorek noticed her expression and could not help feeling proud. He had chosen this spot with great care and celebrated with a big bottle of kali-fal on receiving his building permit from the responsible authorities.

The rooms were decorated with strange-looking pictures, reminiscent of Surrealism back on Earth, and little statues and sculptures. Obviously, her husband had a penchant for art – and, she was thrilled to discover – for books as well. Green was the predominant colour, visible on curtains, carpets and furniture upholstery in varying shades without overtaxing the eye.

Her own quarters were spacious, and she explored them with awe. They were usually reserved for guests, but now, all these rooms were hers – a bedroom, lounge, terrace and a huge bathroom.

"Your home is lovely," she remarked, gazing at the carved ceiling.

"I am grateful for your extravagant praise," he said, sounding very formal. "Please join me in the hall downstairs once you have finished unpacking."

"All right."

He gave her an abrupt nod and left. Asha let out a huge breath. An uninterested husband seemed a million times better than one who might easily have gone out of his way to make her life pure hell with systematic abuse. She was almost relieved that he had a lover. It confirmed that she would be occupying her bed alone at night. And now that she realised that her settling on Romulus might in fact be a very lonely affair, homesickness began to creep in. As she unpacked, she tried not to think of her family and friends. She had a new life, and she had to make the most out of the cards she had been dealt. There was no use comparing Maya's marriage to her own. It would only trigger the prelude to a damaging thought cycle, and it was the last thing she wanted or needed.