With my schoolwork done for the day, I didn’t have much to do and with my date not until the evening, I decided to call my mom to see how she was doing. I rang her up and waited extra long for her to pick up, technology was never her strong suit., even something as basic as a smartphone.

“Hola hijo, como estas?” she said slightly out of breath. I could hear the clanging of dishes in the background, looking at the clock I realized I once again missed lunch. She would kill me if she found out ha-ha.  

“Hey ma, I’m doing fine. I'm just riding out my suspension, trying to stay on top of classes. How are you?” She clicked her tongue at my question. 

“We are fine, hijo. I know you don’t get along with him, Dean, but he is your father. Even if you don’t see eye to eye on things.” How she put up with him, I’ll never know. Still, I bit my tongue and asked how he was doing. “It’s the funniest thing, he’s happy, Dean. I haven’t seen him this happy in ages.” She giggled. “He even took me out to eat and bought me some new clothes!”  

What. There’s no way Dad did all of that. He never, ever, gave out gifts or did things for people unless it was mandatory or a holiday. It’s a good thing my mom couldn’t see my face right now, otherwise I’d get a quick slap to the back of the head.  

“That’s great mom,” I did my best to not sound weirded out, but she probably didn’t notice given how happy she sounded. But hey, if she was happy, then I wasn’t going to intrude on that. It was odd as hell though. “And you know what, I’ve got some news of my own to share.” 

“Que?” I hesitated for a moment, deciding not to tell her the whole truth. 

“Claire and I broke up.” I heard my mom gasp. 

“Pobrecito, my poor baby, are you alright? What happened?” she asked, turning off the loud faucet. I thought back to the events of the past two weeks and settled on a lame lie. 

“We uh...drifted apart since college started. It was bound to happen sooner or later. I guess we um, stopped seeing eye to eye on some things.” And yeah, most of those things happened to do with our alien conqueror's but she didn’t need to know that. Plus, the last thing I needed was for her to mention any of it to Dad. He’d track me down in a heartbeat and hand my ass to me. 

“Ay, that’s too bad, she was a good girl. But don’t worry hijo, you’ll find someone else. You're young, you have plenty of time to settle down.” 

“Thanks, ma, I’d rather not talk about it much more, I’m still sore about it. But hey, since Dad is in a good mood maybe I’ll visit next week? I’m still on suspension so I’ve got the time.” She excitedly told me that sounded great and we made dinner plans. After we said goodbye, I tossed my phone onto my bed and sighed. “Wonder what’s got him so excited,” I muttered. Meh, he probably got the promotion he thought he deserved at work. Or maybe he’s getting to play with some new military tech, he was always an old-school expansionist after all. He would’ve loved leading soldiers Westward during the whole manifest destiny thing in the United States.  I laughed to myself and went to the kitchen to get myself something to munch on and switched gears to Freyja. 

She had been all secretive about what it was she wanted to show me to prove that she could contribute to our Bond. I’d expected a princess to be less concerned about such things, but I keep having to remind myself that their notions of courting between men and women are completely flipped.

Regardless, I was determined to hear her out to make her feel okay about everything. It was the least I could do, given the fact that she, as a princess, was willing to humble herself to make me see her value as a person beyond that.  

“Oh shit, what do I have to offer? She’s a princess, rich as hell, could kill me, and speaks like fucking Shakespear!” I looked down at my pants. “Okay, I got one thing. But that ain’t good enough.” I paced around the room stressing, who gave a shit about perfect biological compatibility if I had no money, no job, and barely knew what I wanted to do with my life.  

Put plainly, I was a bum. A bum that could fight, but a bum nonetheless. Feelings of insecurity and shame crept down my brain and into my body, making me break out into an itchy, hot sweat. I looked over at my computer and grit my teeth in nervousness. 

“M-Maybe I should look online, figure some shit out.” I dejectedly went and sat at my desk and opened up my web browser. I wanted to type, I did, but my fingers were frozen in place, unable and unwilling to listen to my commands.  

The military is the only place for us Reyez’s, Dean, don’t forget it. 

The words of my father hung heavy over my head, enraging me. As I looked down at my desk, I saw something that I had been neglecting for quite some time, buried under a pile of folders and papers: my sketchbook. I smiled, remembering hazy memories of my uncle. Filled with renewed resolve, my fingers finally started to work. 

“Okay Dean Reyez, what the heck do you wanna do with your life.”  

*** 

I knocked on the door to Freyja’s apartment with a knot in my stomach, a part of myself felt awful. She was going to be showcasing what she had to offer in our relationship. And no matter how I tried to rationalize it, she was better off with someone better put together. Not to mention someone to match her social standing. I did, however, make some headway into what I wanted to do, so that was neat.  

For now? I was all kinds of messed up inside. 

With the quickness that I was used to by now, the door opened, and Freyja revealed herself to me. I started to say hello when my voice got caught in my throat when I noticed her hair was now short, into a bob cut I think it was called. She was grinning ear to ear with those shark teeth of hers and greeted me eagerly, ushering me inside.  

“Someone’s in a chipper mood,” I said as I took off my jacket, Freyja gently pushing me onward to the living room.  

“Of course, today is the day I prove to you what it is I can offer you as a mate.”  

“Right.” I sat down stiffly, thinking back to my minor existential crisis earlier that day. Freyja, currently the bundle of nervous energy that she was failed to notice my enthusiasm and got to work immediately. She told me to wait and hurried over to another room, grabbed what looked like a couple of speakers and plugged them into a nearby outlet. “Whatcha doing?” I asked, watching her fiddle with her holographic phone tablet thing with a frustrated look on her face. Once she figured out whatever it was that she was doing she grinned and looked down at me. 

“I had to get the music just right, sorry about that,” I told her it was fine. 

“I love your hair, by the way, a brand new you, eh?” She blushed bright blue and ran her hand through her hair. 

“It is my opinion that if we are going to move forward in this relationship, then we should take it seriously. For you see, Dean, when a Bevusian woman cuts their hair short, it is to express their commitment to their partner. We take great pride in our naturally long hair, so it is seen as a sacrifice, to show how far we are willing to go for our partners.” I soaked in the lore dump for a moment, and while it was great, wonderful even, that she was opening up to me more and more. 

I felt bad. 

Inferior. 

I have nothing great to offer. 

“Well, Freyja, I’m happy to see it. You look lovely, it means a lot to me.” Pleased with my response, she bent over, giving me an eyeful of her chest before grabbing my face and kissing me roughly. Surprised by the sudden tongue invasion, it took me a second to reciprocate before she pulled away suddenly but kept her face close to mine. Her eyes were shining now, her breath ragged.  

Suddenly, she shook her head, and her eyes returned to normal. 

“Keep it together, you’ll frighten him.” She muttered to herself like I couldn’t hear her as she walked over to the center of the room. Wanting to save her from the embarrassment, I spoke up. 

“Sooo, what do we have going on tonight? Something music-related yeah?” Once we got down to things, Freyja began fidgeting and her voice stuttered before she could respond. 

“Y-Yes! Ah, sorry. I mean that is correct, I will be singing for you a traditional song from my home planet.” 

“Ohhhh, nice. I’ve always been jealous of people who could sing. Welp, you’ve got my full attention, so I’m ready when you are.” I smiled and gestured to her to begin. She took a deep breath and exhaled before tapping the play button on her phone.  

Slow rhythmic beats began playing accompanied by drumming and an instrument that sounded like a bunch of bells jingling in tempo with said drumming. Slowly, Freyja began dancing, swaying her hips side-to-side, moving independently from her upper body. A pair of her arms went behind her head as the other went low. She waved them around like snakes as she danced in place, mesmerizing me before she even started to sing.  

And then sing she did. 

Her voice was low, soothing, effortlessly singing words in a language utterly foreign to my ears. She kept pace with the slow beat of the drums as she moved across the room now in circles, her movements completely calculated yet fluid, natural. It was slightly unnerving, however, seeing her move around so smoothly and softly compared to watching her fight that construct a week ago.  

She started to pick up the pace now, her words getting louder and as her dancing became more frantic yet still controlled. Her hips began gyrating in a way that could only be described as deeply provocative. She eyed me hungrily as she ran her hands through her hair while another pair briefly cupped her breasts. 

If this is how they danced, I have no idea how any blue-blooded male Bevu could resist.  

Once the song reached its peak, she cried out something in a loud voice before she and the music quieted down. Freyja collected herself as the music picked up again, quieter this time and she began singing barely above a whisper as she approached me. Once she reached me, she knelt leaned over me, cupped my face, and kissed my forehead after singing one last note. 

Pulling back, she retrieved her phone and turned off the speakers. 

“S-So, how did I do? Did you enjoy it? The song is typically sung to a prospective mate during courting, a love song if you will. This is what I can give you, a voice to lift your spirits...and to entice you.” I stared at her slack-jawed, unspeaking as I looked away, my expression no doubt sour at this point. “I-I see, it was no good.”  

“Freyja, it was phenomenal. You gave me literal chills, I could feel your words reverberating in my body, it was insane. Just...” 

“What is it, Dean? You are always welcome to speak freely with me. An honor few have I might add.” She chuckled, trying to cheer me up. When I didn’t smile, she sat down next to me and took one of my hands in hers. “Please. Talk to me.” 

“Why even bother with me?” I looked up at her. “I’m just a college kid, still taking money from my parents and have little prospects for the future as it stands. And yes, as much as I hate to admit it, you’re royalty, I’m way beneath you. Why slum it up with me regardless of what this biological miracle you guys talk about? It doesn’t make any sense!” With my anxieties laid before her, I waited for her to say something. 

Instead of talking, she laughed. Genuinely laughed out loud, slapping her knee and everything. Heat rushed to my face, and I asked her why she was making fun of me. 

“Oh, Gods. Forgive me, Dean. Truthfully, you are one of a kind. You do not need to worry about such things. They should not now or ever be a concern to you. “She cupped the side of my face with a yellow hand. “Honestly, by virtue of worrying over these trivial matters, you have proven to me that you care about my future happiness. Besides, it appears you need a reminder.”  

“Of what exactly?” I asked, prompting her to crawl over to me, straddling me once she did so, but was careful not to crush me with her weight. She draped her arms around me as she pushed her chest partially against my own and my face.  

“That you are unable to appreciate how...precious you are. Many Bevusian women go their entire lives without a mate, resigning themselves to fates as spinsters or warriors and going to unsavory establishments for companionship.” She brushed her lips against my own briefly before continuing.” Even royalty such as I struggle to find mates. The value in finding your Elskar is given priority over anyone else. Therefore, our males reject even prosperous women in favor of their destined lover.”  

“I, um, guess that’s nice?” I tried to shift under her, but she held firm, unrelenting in her desire to hold me here. “But what about me? I have nothing to my name; my future is uncertain. I’m scared Frey.” It was weird being so vulnerable. Sure, I’d confide in my mom and Joel from time to time, but this was different.  

It was a level of intimacy that surpassed what I had with Claire, one that had grown far faster than I had expected. 

“Relax, to me you are more precious to me than all my riches combined. And believe me when I say that it is a number that if you quantified it would make your head spin.” She giggled, her voice low and raspy now. “So, whatever you choose to do, or choose to become, I am with you. As long as it’s nothing repulsive of course, I am a princess.” She joked.  

“Well, thank you, Frey, that puts me at ease. I’ll still try to do something with my life, I’ve got an idea, but I’ll let you know about it later when I’m ready. But uh, what would your parents think about all of this?” Her eyes widened in realization, and she jumped off me like I’d just hit her. She had clearly forgotten about that major detail.

“T-That’s...something to worry about later.” Not wanting to let her squirm her way out of this, I crossed my arms and looked at her sternly. 

“I asked Erik about your House, he didn’t know anything. Later, I asked Hilda, and she refused to talk to me about it. If we’re going to get involved fully, I think you need to tell me why the oh-so-great princess of The Royal House of Diplomacy is kept secret from the entire empire! Hell, Erik knows you exist, but he has no idea of what you look like or what you do, you're a total black hole. So?” Defeated, Freyja’s shoulders slumped, and she let out a sigh of exasperation.  

“Very well, so as not to frustrate you further, allow me to elucidate the circumstances of my family. And why, despite my affection for you, fear getting involved with someone of your meager social standing.”  

She certainly had a way with words that would make any guy swoon. Regardless, I was finally going to get some answers.