Page 53 of Devin
“We can dye it, but over our lifetime it goes gray. It takes a few hours to dye.” Val wasn’t sure she liked where this was going.
“Pity. Fuschia is very in right now, and I think it would go excellently with your skin. Unless we can change the color of your skin?”
“Definitely not, but I don’t think anyone around here is very concerned with fashion, anyway.”
“Yes, but we need to prepare for the future. When this city is full to the brim of Mahdfel and well, as it is out of the way, and a beautiful spot, I’m sure it will be quite the vacation planet. They will need some workers. Can you imagine seeing a Mahdfel in a factory just pushing a button? No, they will need real people. And you, my dear will need to look the part. A warlord must have his wife looking the height of fashion.”
“Devin doesn’t want to be a warlord,” Val said.
“Of course he doesn’t. None of the smart ones do, at least to start. They have to take their time, learn the system, and identify all of their supervisor’s weaknesses. Then-”
“Devin just wants to build things. I think I need some air.” This whole idea of not having someone to rescue her was backfiring.
“I think the system is working just fine. Are your lungs not taking in enough oxygen? I didn’t read that about Terrans.” Grena had the gall to look concerned.
“No, that means, take a walk. Outside,” Val said.
“I suppose that will give me the chance to take another look at your skin in natural light. It is quite a strange color.”
Said the woman who was the color of a banana. At least downstairs there was a chance that she’d run into Jane, Meadow, anyone who could help mitigate her mother-in-law. The idea that Devin wanted to run the place was not too far-fetched. After all, he’d made no secret of what he thought of Kave and his lax leadership style. But the thought of him challenging Kave to a duel and one of them possibly not walking away was a horrible thought.
And Val being in charge of all the society around here? That thought was just plain ridiculous. Anyone who found out that she had come from prison would ruin that right away, and she was pretty sure Jane already knew. And if Jane knew, Meadow would know. Besides, these women were the closest things to real friends she’d ever had. To take control would feel like stabbing them in the back.
Not that she had any idea of how to become a socialite in the first place. Any socialites that she’d ever met like the one who had gotten her in this fix in the first place were all more obsessed with their shoes and their shihtzus than with doing anything real with their lives.
The air was warm and wet as they stepped out of the lift, but there was just the right amount of breeze to keep it from being stifling.
“No, natural light does not improve it,” Grena shook her head with a sigh. She reached a finger out to poke Val’s cheek, and it took everything in her not to grab her finger and break it. Val turned and began a brisk walk in the other direction.
Grena had to scramble to catch up. Annoyingly, she wasn’t the slightest bit winded when she passed Val and blocked her path.
“There’s a general on Takalia that has a wife similar in color. She’s not Terran, and I suppose she’s more of a pinky red, but she’s very popular. I can design a few outfits for you.”
“I don’t really need any new outfits.”
That was a lie. She’d been transported to this rock without a single piece of clothing and most of her wardrobe was made of jean shorts and t-shirts. Honestly, she hadn’t found the need to make any more outfits than that. It just felt a bit of a waste.
“You will need them once that grandson begins to grow. Don’t worry, we’ll make a few outfits to start, and then add slowly as needed.”
“I’m sure all the other women have things I can use when, if, that happens. It’s wasteful to make too many clothes.”
“A girl can never have too many clothes,” a voice spoke out from behind Grena. They both turned and stared at the figure that had interrupted them. Charlette stood near the edge of the force fence that marked the edge of the jungle.
“What are you doing here? You should have left orbit over an hour ago,” Grena said.
“So you did know about it?” Charlette asked.
“Know about what?” Val asked.
“You might not believe it, but Jane, and that horrible- I’m a grieving widow, don’t you know. I can’t believe Your Highness would condone that.”
Val had seen more grief from a neighbor who’d lost a cat. Charlette was about to begin the fake sniffles. Grena was having none of it.
“Oh, suck it up, child. You’re going back to the lap of luxury as a rich independent woman not hampered by children or anything else. You are free, and you are back here, whining.”
“I can’t go back to Earth. I’ll be a nobody there. My family and all of my friends turned their backs on me the moment I had to start fucking an alien. I’m a race traitor!”
Val’s jaw dropped. Grena apparently had the poise to remain unfazed.
