"No?" I ask her.

"I'm not Tzar and I refuse to be one. I have been flying away from my home, away from everything I'm familiar with, put into a different world, with different race, with your different language and writing, different nature and different culture. The least I can do is keeping my values and culture with me. You cannot take that away from me." With that, she grabbed my plate and put it in the dishwasher.

"You should adjust to the way of our life, you can blend in better, and taking part in society faster," I tell her.

She turns to me and looks at me with sad eyes. "I might be able to pretend outside, but not here. I will not pretend to be somebody I'm not to you. We're going to spend the rest of our life together! You cannot expect me to lie to myself until I die."

That wasn't what I mean.

"We're two different individuals, we have different backgrounds, we have different needs, we have different expectations. Can't we meet halfway at least?" She pleads.

This is wrong. This is very wrong. No female should ask. No female should compromise. No female pleads or says thank you. She worth more than hundreds of male, why cannot she see it?

"I want to make this pairing work. I want us to be a team, instead of two people living together, can we do that?" Her eyes searching something in mine, I'm not scared that she doesn't find what she is looking for, I'm scared she'd find it, would that mean I'm as odd as she is?

What should I say? Her strange white and green eyes looking at me with sadness, her small body looks frail even when she stands on her full height. Her words and her voice tug something in me I didn't know exist. If only she knows, she can ask me for a rebellion, for me to fight for her to be the empress of this planet, I won't think twice to pledge my loyalty to her.

But why does a small act of washing my plate, getting me a drink, or bid me goodbye sounds like life or death matter to her?

She is waiting for my reply with wary eyes. I don't want to see her like this.

"What can I do?" I ask her.

She let out a deep breath, relieved. "I want us to take turns to care for each other."

What does she mean by care?

"I mean, we have our roles here. You go to work, you provide a roof on my head, food on the table, bed for me to lay on." She starts to talk. "And I think I can manage to care for you, I can cook, I can help you clean the house, we can talk, please let us talk, I cannot go a day without interacting with other intellectuals, living being."

"It's my duty to... provide for you, and you, by all means, have no responsibility to... care for me." I told her, but she just shakes his head in frustration, for a moment I'm scared her delicate neck might snap with the way she moves her head left and right.

"Let's try another approach. I will tell you what I need and what I expect from you, and you can take a turn and tell me what you need and expect from me, okay?" she pulls a chair closer to me, a bit too close our knees touched.

Doesn't she know that I don't expect and need her to do anything? For her to breathe and live is enough for me.

"Besides the obvious, house, food, clothes, I also need companion, I need somebody who can make me feel secure, somebody with whom I can turn to anytime in need, I need somebody who can teach me things about life and any aspect around it, I need somebody intelligent enough to guide me, and to share his wisdom with me, I need somebody who can take a lead when I'm in doubt and confused, I need a person who genuinely has his best interest to my well-being," when she stops talking my whole body feels heavy from all her demands but oblivious to my state she goes on, "I expect you to at least try, to make me... happy, content, I expect you to let me have a purpose on our pairing, I don't want to sit around and do nothing to our pairing when you go work to provide for us."

I clear my throat uncomfortably. "You want us to... work together, to create pleasant relationships?" I try to summarize.

She smiles, "Close enough. I want us to try to love each other."

KATE:

"Excuse me?" Zer asks in confusion

I take a deep breath, "I want us, to try to love each other." I repeat.

He looks confused. "One word doesn't translate. You want us to what to each other?" he asks again.

They don't even have a word for love?

"Love?" I ask him.

"What is that?"

How do I explain it to him? "Well, love is... a feeling, between two individuals, it's... deep affection to each other, intense feeling of adoration, and... basically, I want us to feel we can't live without each other."

He turns quiet.

"Zer?" I lean towards him.

"Such a feeling is impossible, Kate. At least for Tzarian."

I thought so. "Can we at least try?" I ask him.

He let out a deep breath. "I will promise to always have the best interest in your well-being."

"Thank you." I tell him and he freezes again so I smile, and this time mischievously "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." I repeat.

"Stop that." He's obviously uncomfortable with me saying thank you.

I grin at him. "No, I will keep saying that until you get used to it."

"That will take a while."

"Then I'll keep saying that over and over again for a while."

For a moment the time stands still and we sit there wrap in comfortable silence.

"We should go to sleep." He finally says.

"Lead the way, husband."

"I definitely need a while for that." He cringes.

I just laugh at him softly.

"You can take my bed I'll sleep on the couch."

I look at his two meters muscular body and the small couch. Yeah.. he shouldn't.

"You have a big bed, why don't we share it?"

"For the living of the sun, female!" He suddenly stands up, "If you keep talking I will walk myself to my last resting place soon."

That bad?

"Why?"

"Such physical contact needs some assistance, we cannot just... do it."

My face turns red but I laugh. "That's not what I mean." I wipe a tear from my right eye. "I genuinely suggesting us to sleep, you are too tall to sleep in such a small couch and I won't be sleeping there when I know you have a massive bed."

"I don't know Kate, everything you do, everything you say sent me to the edge." He says truthfully.

Truth is a good start.

"In a good way?" I ask him smiling.

"In a different way." He replies.

I'll settle with that for now. "Different is not bad," I say, mostly to myself. "How comfortable are you with me initiating physical contact?"

"Very uncomfortable." He says a little bit to fast.

I cannot hold back my laugh.

"Not that kind of physical contact. I mean, how about a hug? Holding hands? A kiss on your cheek?"

It's quite funny to see a mountain man shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Let's talk about it tomorrow." He says finally.

"Okay," I reply and stand up. We walk up the stairs and I let him use the bathroom first. I climbed on the bed and wait for him to walk out of the bathroom. And walk out he does, bare chest. All muscles and battle scars. I cannot help myself from checking him out.

"You're beautiful," I say before I chickened out.

And it's his time to laugh. "You're the first to say that." He walks towards the bed slowly, probably giving time for me to change my mind and send him to the sofa, but the way his hip dips, and that V, and those abs, and those pecs, and...

Yeah, not going to happen tonight.

"Come." I pat the space beside me and he slowly climbs on. His body lies there stiffly. "Good night Zer." I tell him.

"Good night." He replies.

"Good night, DAI."

Good night, Kate.