Page 15 of The Royal's Bumblebee
“Oh.” He chuckled nervously and covered his pouch with his hands. His hood flattened as he cleared his throat. “I don’t want you to be frightened. Especially not of me. You can bathe alone without worrying about wasting water Billie. I am a Royal.” He leaned back on his tail as if to leave.
“I don’t care what you are. I don’t like wasting water.” I wrapped my arms around my legs and held them. He half-turned away from me. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No, why?” His voice raised in alarm, but he didn’t come back either.
“Because you’re leaving. You were going to get in the bath and now you’re leaving. I said something wrong didn’t I?” This was why Hannah’s friends always left whenever I was around. I always made them uncomfortable. It’s why I moved out when I went to college, so she could have friends again. Even if I cried every night for three months before I got used to it. I lowered my forehead to my knees and shut my eyes. “I’m sorry...I want Hannah.” I whispered and gripped my hands into fists around my legs.
“No, Billie,I’msorry.” I heard the sound of water being broken and some splashing around me. “Please don’t cry Billie. I’m here.” His voice sounded really close. “I’m sorry. I became embarrassed. I don’t mind sharing a bath with you. I don’t mind answering your questions. You haven’t done anything wrong. Please, ask whatever questions you like. Just please don’t cry.” I didn’t stop just because he asked me to. I don’t work that way. Hannah knew that. Izule doesn’t. He isn’t Hannah and I want- “What’s a duck?”
I sniffled and slowly peered up from behind my knees. Izule’s tail was coiled in only two wide rings and he laid his upper body in the middle of it. He folded his arms on the top ring, the water just below his chin as he smiled at me. “You said you used to have baths with Hannah, and there were bubbles and ducks. I know what bubbles are, but not ducks. Rubber or otherwise.”
“It’s a bird.” I sniffled and wiped my face with warm wet hands. He seemed to lose whatever tension was gripping him as his shoulders sagged with relief. “Does Thelia have birds?”
“Yes. Many.” I blink and lift my gaze to look at his mouth. He’s smiling. That means he isn’t upset with me. “They are very tasty.” That’s funny, but it doesn’t translate to my face.
“Are birds a main part of your diet?”
“No, but they make for a nice snack. Why did you say you’d like to see me eat?”
“I think it would be fascinating to watch on a snake your size. What do you mainly eat?”
“Mammals. What doyoumainly eat?”
“I like seafood. Crab. Prawns. Fish.” I giggled and lowered my legs into the water. “I like this. Me and Hannah play the question game to pass the time too. Taking turns to ask things. My turn.” I opened my mouth to ask if Ucfeni ate fish, when I noticed his yellow eyes staring at my chest. I looked down at my breasts and returned my attention to his face. His scaly lips were pressed into a line and he was still staring at my chest. “Do Ucfeni females have breasts?” I waved my hand at my chest area.
“No.” He shook his head and his hood flattened to his neck. “I understand that like mammals on Thelia, those are for lactating milk for your offspring to feed from?”
“Yes, primarily.” He nodded slowly. “And for use in sexual stimulation, as a secondary function.” His eyes widened for some reason. “Do Ucfeni offspring eat meat right away?”
“In a paste form, yes.” Izule suddenly chuckled into one of his hands and his cowl widened. “Our females get pregnant and lay eggs. Do humans give live birth like our mammals?”
“Yes. One or two at a time. Usually one, but sometimes up to three babies.” I nodded, comfortable now we were back to asking questions. “How many eggs do Ucfeni lay?”
“A clutch can be as few as two or as many as 10. On average we tend to lay 3. Royals are rare in the fact that we tend to lay one single egg at a time. Other kinds of Ucfeni can lay more. It depends.” I dropped my eyes when I noticed the end of his tail swaying slowly in the water near my ankles. “Why did you come to Thelia?”
Chapter 11
Gently now
Billie
“I was bored.” I stared at his tail as it got closer to my toes. “My life was comfortable and I liked my routines. But it was also stale. I was stagnating and I wanted more. Sometimes it’s like there’s a war going on in my head.” His tail tip flicked and I wondered if he was toying with me as he moved it this way and that to see if I would keep tracking it. “Because of my Aspergers, I struggle to process the world around me in the same way that normal people do. Mainly people, really. But at the same time, I see things they don’t. Hannah says that I take more pleasure out of things than regular people do. My IQ is higher than most, and I’m only here because of my programming skills. It’s all about the math. Numbers have always comforted me because I know the rules. Binary code and algorithms behave within the parameters I set. I control the field. I like that control. But I can’t control people. They like to control me, though, and that never works out for anyone.” I jerked my head to one side to keep the end of his tail in sight. “I was bored and I wanted an adventure. I wanted to be needed for more than just regular coding work. When Alaric tried to hire me I wanted to say yes but I was too scared to go. Too many unknowns.”
“And the unknown frightens you.” He nodded slowly. “Why did you come to Thelia in the end?”
“Because of Hannah.” I whispered with a smile and the very tip of his tail was so close to my toes I thought he was going to try and tickle me. “She makes me brave. I wish I was more like her. I think I would be happier if I was.” I slid my right foot forward and poked his tail with my big toe. He gasped and I looked up to catch his yellow eyes, but only for a moment. “I thought I couldn’t be happy without her. I want her to be happy too, and she’s given up a lot for me.”
“How so?” He raised a brow.
“When our parents died she worked every job she could to support me. She became more than just my sister. She became my mother too. And she’s always been my best friend. She gave up her own education to support mine. She gave up friendships over caring for me. Hannah even broke up with boyfriends who wanted her to spend more time with them than with me. I…never liked that.” I shrugged slowly and cupped my hands on my lap. “She always gave everything to me. I could never give anything back.”
“I’m sure she would disagree.” Izule smiled and the tip of his tail flicked teasingly before my toes to invite me to poke it again. Which I did. “I think you have a lot to give.”
“I know, because now I’ve proved it.” I nodded firmly. “I brought her to outer space. To an alien world to establish a human colony on a tropical jungle planet. I couldn’t come without her, but she couldn’t come without me.” I frowned and rubbed my arms. “We are meant to be together. Hannah is my rock.”
“But I’m your mountain.” His voice rumbled and his tail tip rested gently over my toes. “And she will have her own sponsor to be hers. You are both getting the adventure you desire. Your life will not be boring now, but you can control the parameters of our nest. You can even design the lower level to meet your needs.” I stared at the brown scales of his tail and the warmth I felt from them over my toes. “I am glad you came to Thelia.”
“Why?” I looked up to see he was smiling so wide I saw the membranes at either side of his jaw.
