Page 8 of The Royal's Bumblebee
“No.” I answer honestly and tap my thumb to my middle finger on my right hand. My left-hand feels empty without Hannah’s hand, so I hold my right bicep instead.
“Then I am your sponsor.” He bowed his head to me. “As a Prince, my nest is large, luxurious, and remote. You are a ‘very important genius’ with an important job?”
“I am.” There was no point denying it.
“Then you won’t have to worry about distractions. No one may enter my nest without permission, and you can have it renovated to suit your needs.”
“I have to live with you?”
“Yes.”
“Would we go there today?”
“Yes.” He chuckled. “Is there a rush?”
“I want a shower.” I mumble and blush, but he smiles at me with a nod. “You seem to be the best choice of sponsor for me.”
“Thank you.” His deep voice is soft and he pats his tail. “In the future, if you wish to hide, you can tell me and I will surround you in my tail. Nowhere on Thelia is safer than inmycoil.”
“I don’t like being touched.” I shake my head and jostle my glasses. I push them back up my nose absently.
“I am large.” He chuckled and his cowl seemed to darken with his neck scales. “You can stand comfortably in my coil and wouldn’t touch my scales unless you wanted to.”
“…?” I took a curious step towards him. “…promise you won’t touch me unless I say you can? Or I ask you to?”
“I swear on my scales.”
“…” I nod and shuffle towards him. I look into his yellow eyes and then lower my gaze back to his mouth. His eyes are intense. His mouth is easier to look at. I timidly point at his tail. “Show me?” His smile opens wide, from jaw hinge to jaw hinge. A stretchy membrane becomes visible, connecting the upper and lower jaws on either side. I stare in fascination. He has no teeth and seems to be nothing but gums in his mighty mouth. Under my stare, he shuts his mouth but still seems to smile. I tense as he leans his weight to swing to my left.
“Steady.” He speaks with a smile and I turn on the spot to track him as he coils around me. “There. Safe behind the fortress of my tail.” I peer over the top ring of his brown scaly tail and he comfortably rests on a good amount of it, before the rest coils around me. “Comfortable?” I fold my arms and turn around on the spot. He isn’t touching me. I lower down to sit with my legs crossed and he still isn’t touching me. I feel warm and it’s darker now I’m sitting down.
Since Ihaveto have a sponsor, and I want to be here, Izule seems to be my best option. I look up and see his yellow eyes and wide cowl with the brown markings on his hood looking down at me. “Are you comfortable Billie?”
“You can be my sponsor.” I answer him and I close my eyes. I am comfortable. “I want a shower.”
“As soon as the hall is clear I will take you back to our nest so you can be comfortable there. Anything that you need, you will have.” As long as I can have my computers, my snoogie, and my sister, I’ll be comfortable.
“Will Hannah live with us?”
“No. She will have her own sponsor, but you can see her and speak to her.” I peer up again and he’s still staring down at me. “Thank you for choosing me. I will make sure you don’t regret it.”
“Okay.” I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. “But first I want my sister. She’s my rock. I don’t like that you made her go away, but she was shouting and I didn’t like that either.”
“Your sister is safe with the Ambassador, Billie.” I pursed my lips together and look up to see Izule looking down at me from above the coil.
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
“...okay. Can I have a shower now?”
Chapter 7
Challenge
Izule
I am pleased. Billie has chosen me as her sponsor and is settled in the coil of my tail. The moment the hall is clear, I will take her back to my nest for her to rest. In my sponsorship training, I was taught that humans are quite fatigued when they first ‘wake up’ from their frozen sleep, and require much rest. In my mind, I am excitedly going over all the things I want to talk to her about first, when a bloody human staggers before me. It’s Billie’s sister, and she appears to be injured.
