Our palace in Gliese was nothing like other nobles’ palaces. The black triangular shape made sure that the the ice would slide down the surface and that the little amount of heat would be attracted in the building. The only way to notice the palace, especially during one of the many snow storms, was the amount of fluorescent lines scattered on its surface. On the inside, it was nothing like the fancy and well decorated buildings of VTR. Gliesek respected a rule of modesty that applied to our clothing just as much as our furniture. In fact, only the essentials were allowed in the chambers. It wasn’t a place to host guests by any means, and it was in fact quite rare to find someone who would visit us. As the slaves of our palace paved the way to the Marquis’ family, I couldn’t help but peak at them. My father was standing next to me, tall and serious, his silver hair pushed to the back with only two front pieces framing his face. His broad shoulders were introducing an equally bulky physique, a feature that still today I envied from him. I thought that maybe having a typical Gliesek body would make me stronger, but instead I was shorter than average and slender. A weakling if you might say. We were both wearing our honorific clothes, black, tied on one shoulder and with a long cape with fur. On the other side, the Sabar family was slowly approaching. They looked in high distress, covered in many layers of loose fabric, trying to conceal the arctic Gliesek cold.
“Sdravek, what a great surprise.”
Said the father while extending his arm. From behind him, the two Sabar brothers were looking at me. I reciprocated the sight with a small bow.
“I heard that you were in trouble, who better than the warrior race to help you and your family.”
That dinner was weird and uneventful. My father presented them the best delicacies of our modern days while conversing with the parents. On the other hand, the older Sabar was trying hard to have a conversation with me while the younger ate his meal in silence. I had no interest in the older Sabar nor his questions about my name and mother, but I kept answering out of respect towards my father. After dinner, the two siblings followed me in my chambers, completely against my will. I appreciated my personal space and didn’t like having people invading it, but my father asked so I obeyed.
“Woah, your rooms are huge!” Said the older Sabar.
“You were packing to go to the academy, right? You must’ve been invited since you committed travek.” Said the youngest while pointing at my bags.
“Yes.” I replied.
“Ah I wish I could’ve gotten to the academy too, but they would’ve eaten me alive just for who I am.” Said the oldest while throwing himself in my bed “Deni, on the other hand, may have a chance.”
“A chance?” I said while looking at the youngest.
“Being strong in Sabar means nothing, we’re not warriors.” the youngest replied.
“Strong? Deni is fast! Faster than anyone I’ve ever seen!” The oldest said.
I didn’t reply, I didn’t know what to say and honestly I didn’t believe it was true. His older brother was revealing great information about his brother to a total stranger, customs in Sabar must be extremely weird.
There was a moment of silence in the room in which the oldest looked at me in anticipation. Then, when he realized that I wasn’t going to answer, he sighed “Gosh, you’re so boring.” Before storming out of the room.
The youngest stayed still, leaning on the wall, first looking at his brother leaving and then at me. When our eyes met, he couldn’t help but laugh a little, that made me smile.
“If you think he’s annoying imagine what’s like living with him.”
I couldn’t help but feel pity for him. Being an only child with no friends meant always having my personal space and silence. Such a talkative sibling would make me insane.
“By the way, I have something for you.”
“For me?” I replied in confusion.
He slowly approached me and put a white bracelet around my arm.
“What’s that?”
“A temperature manipulator.” He replied while raising his eyes to meet mine “VTR is a hot planet and you already suffered last time, imagine living in it.”
I knew about temperature manipulators but they weren’t more than a legend in this part of the galaxy. They were hard to find and extremely expensive, so it was rare to see one around.
“How-“
“I stole one from one of the bandits that are attacking my planet.” He replied “They’re trying to conquer Sabar without being able to bear with its temperature, how lame.”
Temperature manipulators weren’t exactly devices you could find on any lowly bandit, who were exactly these people?
He came closer to me, and put himself in tip toes to get closer to my face.
That startled me and made me backtrack.
“What colors are your eyes?”
“Blue.” I replied, almost annoyed by the obvious question.
“Oh, they don’t look blue to me.”
I frowned in confusion.
“Us Sabars can see more colors than other humanoids, didn’t you know?”
“No.” I replied.
“Well you don’t have blue eyes, they’re bohers but I can’t recognize that shade.”
“What color are your eyes?”
“What color do you think they are?” he said while getting closer and tippy toeing again near my face. I lowered a bit to reach his face and looked closer into his eyes. He grabbed my shoulders to not loose balance while I hugged his back to keep him straight.
“Violet.”
He smirked at my answer. We were close, tremendously close, but for some reason I didn’t seem to mind. I wanted to stay like that for a bit longer. His body was warm against my palm, almost burning it. If he thought I was suffering on VTR, he must be in great distress too considering the climate in Gliese.
Suddenly a faint sound behind us snapped me back to reality.
My father. My father was at the door looking at us.
I didn’t even know what happened or what hit me but suddenly I was in the empty hallway trying to catch up with my father. My head was dizzy, going to all directions and I couldn’t help but show my fear through my heavy breathing. Suddenly my father stopped. His broad shoulders were directed at me, interrupted by his silver hair. I stopped right behind him, too scared to see his face.
“I approve.” he said.
“What?”
He slightly tilted his head towards my direction and repeated “Whatever is going on with the young Sabar, I approve of it.”.
He then left leaving me in confusion and fear. I made my way to my chambers, collapsing on the floor. My mind was racing, my breathing kept getting faster and despite feeling the air traveling through my nose, I felt like my lungs weren’t getting any oxygen. Everything was flashing in front of me, Zukrya leaving, me moving, my father watching me. Everything was going so fast and was amplified, I cared so much but I didn’t want to. Why was I caring? I never cared! I don’t care, I don’t care. I’m a Gliese, I shouldn’t be this emotional.
I slowly raised my head to see the young Sabar talking to me. I didn’t hear much of what he was saying, all I could think of was how he had to see me in this condition. When he realize that I could barely hear, he laid his forehead in mine and started scanning slow breaths for me to follow. Copying his pattern, I started slowing down and suddenly my mind was cleared.
“It was a panic attack.” he said.
“What?”
“A panic attack. It’s normal for people who suffer from anxiety.”
Me? Suffering from anxiety? A Gliesek, a warrior who just happen to have panic attacks. What a joke, what an insulting joke. With a clear move I raised my body, pushing the young Sabar to the ground. He looked up at me, I saw no surprise in his eyes but he still didn’t say anything more.
“Please, leave my chambers.”
Without speaking any further words, he raised his body and welcomed himself out of the rooms.
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