She placed the mug back on the tray with an inch of the beverage still in it, and then waded to the other side of the pond to begin her bath.
A quick exploration of the various pots and bottles on the bank gave her no more information than she’d started with. The labels were in different languages, some of which seemed to be a kind of texture. She guessed it was meant to be read with fingers, or whatever appendages you happened to have.
Juno worked the nicest smelling concoction liberally into her hair and onto her body and then ducked beneath the surface of the water to rinse it.
When she was satisfied that she was cleaner than she had ever been in her life, which wasn’t a very high bar if she was being honest, she emerged from the pond.
The air, which had seemed warm before, now left her shivering.
She was glad to see a fur robe hanging by the door.
She pulled it on and tied it firmly around her waist. Then she retrieved her clothing, which seemed terribly dusty and sour now that she was so clean.
She held it in one hand and used the other to ease the door open.
“Are you finished already?” Vaxyn asked in that same warbly voice.
“Yes, thank you,” she said.
“What a transformation,” Vaxyn replied. “Quite elegant. Come with me.”
Juno followed to a room with dim lighting and some sort of chair-bed.
Vaxyn held open a cloth tote and indicated that Juno should put her belongings in it.
When she complied, Vaxyn placed the bag beside the reclining chair.
“Lie down,” Vaxyn said. “You will sleep now, while I tend to you.”
“Uh, I’m okay,” Juno said nervously as Vaxyn sat her in the chair and helped her to lie down. “I don’t really need to sleep right now.”
“Relax then,” Vaxyn said, the voice going deeper, as if in amusement.
Juno didn’t know if it was the bath or the snack, but as soon as she rested her head on the cushion behind her, she felt herself begin to drift.
Three of Vaxyn’s appendages began smoothing through her hair appraisingly as she fell asleep.
In what felt like an instant, but somehow also a week, she awoke to a deep crooning song. The harmony of the voices was heavenly.
She opened her eyes to see who had joined them.
The chair-bed had been inclined so that she was now in an upright position. No one else had entered the room. Vaxyn was the one singing in harmony.
Juno wondered how many voice boxes Vaxyn had.
“Complete,” Vaxyn declared. “I’m a genius, but I had good materials to work with.”
They offered her a mirror and she took it.
The woman looking back at her was herself, but accentuated. Her green eyes appeared slightly larger with the addition of subtle make-up. Her hair had been thoughtfully cut so that it fell in waves around her shoulders instead of lank all the way down her back.
“Thank you,” Juno said, feeling relief as well as gratitude.
“One last thing,” Vaxyn said turning away.
The lighting in the room shifted subtly as Vaxyn turned back to her, holding out a sparkling tiara in two appendages.
“Now you are officially a princess,” Vaxyn declared, placing it on Juno’s head.
It was heavy enough that the jewels encrusting it had to be real.
Juno laughed in disbelief and Vaxyn made a growly rumble that must have been a laugh as well.
“Wardrobe left this for you,” Vaxyn said, pointing to a cream-colored gown that hung by the door. “You’ll report there when you’re dressed, and a valet can bring the rest of your trousseau to your suite.”
“Thanks so much,” Juno said.
“Have you ever worn a gown before?” Vaxyn asked politely.
“No,” Juno heard herself admit.
“It will be my pleasure to assist you,” Vaxyn said.
A few minutes of shifting and adjusting later, Juno found herself swirling around in a foamy gown, watching sparkles from her tiara dance along the walls.
“I will walk with you,” Vaxyn said, heading to the door back into the main area of the ship.
Juno looked at the people in the waiting room.
“I remember where it was,” she said.
“A princess is always escorted,” Vaxyn said, inclining their shimmering onyx head.
Juno was surprised again with how far they were willing to go with the princess package.
She and Vaxyn entered the ship proper and she found herself gazing up at the trees again.
“You will enjoy your time here,” Vaxyn said kindly. “The forest is open in the early evenings for our VIP guests to explore.”
Juno nodded, wondering if she really would be treated as a VIP guest. She’d thought maybe the free passage and a room would be it.
When they reached the wardrobe station, a clockwork android approached.
“My princess,” it said politely.
Juno turned to Vaxyn, wanting to give the beautiful alien a hug, but unsure if it was permitted.
“Until we next meet,” Vaxyn purred with a deep bow.
Juno bowed too and figured by the sound of Vaxyn’s strange rumbling laughter that she wasn’t supposed to have done so.
She had no idea being a princess had so many rules.
She thought to ask where she could learn more, but the clockwork android was already guiding her in the direction of a pair of huge wardrobe carts.
“Princess” Juno followed obediently.
2
Zane
Zane hacked away at the thick undergrowth in the glassed-in forest.
His muscles ached, but the pain felt good. He was doing something meaningful, creating a path that could be enjoyed by passengers for as long as it was maintained.
No one was watching him, kowtowing to him, judging him for who he was or what he was to become.
Among the trees he was only himself, a man at work, giving pleasure to others.
He sensed movement outside the glass, and an instinct he couldn’t quite explain made him lower his machete and take note.
The ship was taking on passengers today. A bustle of activity was expected. It was part of the reason Zane was working in the forest, hoping to avoid interaction with the influx.
He’d planned to lose himself in the work, but something had arrested his labor.
He stepped closer to the glass, feeling drawn like a mynar to an exhaust port, trying to make out what he had seen that affected him so.
Vaxyn, the salon artist, was exiting the first-floor spa with a small human woman.
The woman was lovely - a foregone conclusion for any creature lucky enough to have credits to burn at Vaxyn’s spa.
But there was something else, something in the movement of her dark hair, the set of her shoulders. It made him feel fierce and tender all at once…
Mine.
The feeling tore through him and he felt as if he had simultaneously climbed an electric field and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
He shook his head and blinked a few times.
Maybe Anna was right, he was pushing himself too hard in here.
But when he opened his eyes again, the sight of the woman’s small form affected him even more strongly. A sort of halo shimmered around her, like a target.
“Fuck,” he groaned as the realization hit him.
There was no other excuse.
This was a mating bond.