Chapter 14: A date and a murder plot- Ch. 14
-Meanwhile, on Nisnieth's ship-
"What is it? Do you have to cover my eyes?" Liliana asked somewhat nervously as she softly giggled "What is this surprise? Are we almost there?"
"Just be quiet and trust me a little bit, I promise you will like it" Nisnieth said, chuckling lightly as he guided his bride around a corner "It's not much farther now, just through this door right here… you are about to see things you've never imagined before… get ready for it..."
"Now I'm nervous…" Liliana chuckled "What are you showing me?"
"Keep your eyes closed, I am going to open the door now…" Nisnieth chuckled warmly, lifting one hand off her eyes to press it to the starburst on the wall, the door forming and the two side sliding open to reveal an arboretum of extraterrestrial proportions "Take a step forward, my love… then open your eyes…"
With a smile, Liliana lightly shook her head and then did as requested, taking a step forward with both feet… then she slowly opened her eyes… and those eyes widened as a gasp escaped her mouth…
Everywhere she looked, there was a plant or flower… at least she'd strongly guess was a flower… that was more incredible than the next…
She took a step towards a long rectangle shaped planter that was home to what looked like the basic shape of roses… except the petal were like sparkling crystal, each one shimmered and sparkled with a rainbow prism of colors "Nisnieth… these plants are beautiful… are they all from Vuul?"
Nisnieth shook his head with a smile and came up to stand beside her "No, I've collected all of these from different planets on my various travels across the galaxy… some I took from uninhabited planets and others were gifts from locals that I did trade with. I love coming in here to sit for some peace and quiet when I happen to have down time… I thought perhaps, you might like this as well…"
Liliana stepped away to approach a tree that stood about six feet high on a slender magenta trunk that sort of reminded her of bamboo in it's appearance, it's branches were adorned with thick clusters of big leaves about four inches wide and ten inches in length to the tip… they were shimmery and marbled in color with yellow and seafoam green.
"I do like this room, very much" Liliana replied, looking back at Nisnieth with a smile "Will you tell me about them all and where they came from?"
Nisnieth smiled brilliantly, clearly pleased with the direction this was going "Of course I will… we'll even visit some of these planets after our wedding… I imagined you'd like to have a… what is it you humans call it… a honeymoon? Is that right?"
Chuckling softly with a smile, Liliana nodded "Yes, you got the term correct… and… I think that would be a lot of fun… cruising the galaxy and taking in new and incredible sights I'd never see in a thousand lifetimes on Earth"
"That's the spirit" Nisnieth murmured sweetly, his heart swelled with hope and joy… he had been so frightened that Liliana would stay angry at him forever for the methods in which he chosen to obtain her… but it would appear she had indeed seen the truth in what he said about the dismal and dark future she'd have to endure on Earth… maybe she was beginning to see now that with him… he would strive to fill her life with nothing but happiness and light, he would never allow anyone to bully her or hurt her ever again, he would never allow her to feel loneliness again.
"Nis? You alive other there?" Liliana asked with a hint of concern, his expression giving her the impression of being off somewhere far away.
"Oh, yes, I apologize, I've just got a lot on my mind… forgive me for letting my consciousness wander off like that" Nisnieth replied as he broke out of his distracted thoughts "Shall we start with the Nebula Blooms? You really seemed to like those"
Nisnieth gestured towards the crystalline roses she'd admired before anything else.
Liliana smiled brilliantly and nodded eagerly "Yes please! I want to hear about everything! All of them look so unique and fascinating!"
"You have such a curious and inquisitive mind… I like this about you very much" Nisnieth said, gently curving an arm around her waist to bring her back over the Nebula Blooms "These are actually very special to me… they come from the planet Haardal, a small planet not too from Vuul… it is a beautiful place, quite… what is it I am thinking of… I believe akin to your rainforests would describe it best in human terms… but anyway, the king of Haardal, Kilba, he was having difficulties persuading a female of his court to marry… he had fallen deeply in love with her, you see… I was passing by their planet and stopped to trade for a few supplies indigenous to their planet and I heard about the king's plight… something I could very much understand and relate to… in the way that I too longed for a mate, even if I had not yet found her… so I went to King Kilba's palace and asked him if there was any way I could help him… well, to cut a very long story short, I helped persuade the Lady Jusilla to marry the king and he allowed me to choose any reward I wished in his gratitude… I requested some cuttings of their sacred Nebula Blooms. He accepted my request"
"Oh wow, what a romantic story" Liliana replied with a smile, her eyes bright with interest as she looked from the blooms to Nisnieth's handsome visage "You obviously have taken great care of them, they look so beautiful and so vibrant"
She turned her pale blue eyes back to the interesting tree she'd been observing before "What about that one? Where did that one come from?"
"This one came from the planet Rellix, a lovely planet just beyond your solar system… very… tropical, I think is the right word… balmy… I enjoyed my time there. I got it not long before I arrived at your planet actually, traded a Ihorod crystal goblet for it with a local merchant. Little bugger tried shaking me down for two goblets, but I was the victor in that bargain. Ihorod crystal is worth at least twenty of these trees, I was being quite generous as it was"
"If the crystal is worth that much, why not trade something less or just get more trees?" Liliana asked curiously, looking at Nisnieth with an inquisitive expression.
Nisnieth responded with a kind smile "The local market is struggling a little bit… so, I felt that giving more than the tree was worth might be helpful to the merchant's family, let them eat well for awhile"
A sweet smile curved Liliana's lips… that was actually… really cute… it would appear she really had a great deal to learn about who Nisnieth really was and from what she could see so far… it was quite promising… was it too good to be true though? Was it possible that the prince charming she'd always dreamed about really did exist? Albeit… she was expecting a prince from outer space, but still!
Would she be a fool for buying into it all too quickly? Or was she just overthinking things again?
"Are you alright, Liliana? You've gone very quiet…" Nisnieth murmured, coming up to stand in front of her, one hand raising to brush some raven hair away from her eyes "Is there something on your mind, my love? You can tell me"
Liliana just smiled and shook her head "No, it's alright, nothing is wrong at all… just some silly girly thoughts, nothing of consequence… anyway, what about that glowing shrub over there? Where did that one come from?"
Nisnieth had not given her any reason at the moment to start doubting his sincerity, she would take care for now not to overthink and just focus on them getting to know each other.
"My silly queen-to-be… very well, let us go over and I will tell you all about it" Nisnieth replied with a warm gentle smile, guiding Liliana over towards the shrub she'd asked about.
-On Planet Vuul, a shadowy corner of the palace-
"Are the arrangements made? You made certain absolutely nothing could be linked back to me?"
Down on his knees before Prince Grilk, was a mercenary by the name of Orpin, coming from a neighboring planet… a mercenary that owed Grilk a mighty long list of favors… he hated being so indebted to such a scheming nefarious prince… in his opinion, Prince Grilk was lower scum than he was and that was saying something.
He was a fool for coming to Grilk for aid as often as he had in the past and once his debt was fully paid off… he'd never seek out this horrible Vuulian prince ever again.
This job however… Orpin was terrified… the consequences if he were caught…
Grilk wanted Orpin and his mercenaries to attack the ship of Crown Prince Nisnieth and kill everyone on board… no survivors… no witnesses…
If he failed… and he was captured… he would be interrogated… tortured… interrogated again… tortured some more… and when they were satisfied they had gotten everything from him… he would be executed…
He wanted to refuse this job… he wanted to say no… but Grilk had too much on him… the debt was piled too high…
"Yes, your royal highness… everything is arranged… we will operate with the utmost care and delicacy" Orpin replied, not daring to looking up into the seafoam green eyes of the Vuulian prince "His royal highness will be implicated if anything should go awry…"
"If you betray me… you know what I can do to you…" Grilk warned him, his tone low and dangerous as his eyes narrowed "If anything should befall me… those loyal to me will ensure you suffer horribly before you are finally allowed to die… is that quite clear, Orpin?"
"Yes, your royal highness��" Orpin murmured quietly, swallowing hard as he fought to maintain his composure… he knew damn well what Grilk was capable of… he had seen it for himself many times…
"Good… then go… and do not fail me, Orpin…" Grilk replied smugly, smirking coldly at the mercenary… he knew the big terrifying mercenary fiend was frightened of him… and he loved every damn minute out it…
Orpin wasted no time in leaving the presence of this Vuulian whom was more demon than prince…
Perhaps this was the cost of the life Orpin had chosen… perhaps being under the thumb of Prince Grilk was fate's way of punishing him for every horrible deed he'd ever committed…
And now… once he completed this job and Prince Nisnieth was murdered… he knew he would officially be stained beyond redemption forever… he had made his bed and now the time had come for him to lay in it…
The stars forgive him... because he would never forgive himself...
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