XERIS' POV

My thirty-four hours were up. The time flew by much quicker than I would have liked. The dreaded hour was upon me. I walked into my medical bay and saw her, for the first time. I couldn't believe she was the most compatible with me.

I turned to Bulba "Are you sure we match?"

"Yes. Actually, out of all the matches made, you two have the highest compatibility; 92%. Astounding," Bulba spoke like it was the greatest discovery in the universe. That was the first time I ever saw that twinkle in her eye. But it was quickly extinguished.

"Surely other matches have similar percentages?"

"None of the matches have even made it above 60%. In fact, even back on Thanzor, the highest percentage ever recorded was 74. You might as well have found your soul mate."

Soulmate? You must be joking. This coming from Bulba?

"There must have been a glitch in the system. Run it again."

"I assure you, your highness, the systems are running perfectly," she looked insulted.

I looked at my charge. She had dark skin and her hair was a different texture from mine and barely reached her shoulders. I had no qualms about her race as everyone on Thanzor was considered equal. She was overweight and the attire she wore did little to hide this fact. She was wearing similar articles of clothing as Bulba, the only difference being the absence of the inner body mask and sleeves on her outer attire. The colour too was different from Bulba's. It was black, like my own. A sign of difference. A sign of royalty.

Her face was riddled with pimples and I could hear her breathe heavily.

More like snore.

She started breathing quickly, the monitor indicating that her heart rate had increased. Bulba tried to calm her down and then she started thrashing about violently.

Animal.

Soon she was calm and opened her eyes.

I stood a little behind her as I had walked in from my chambers. Wait, now our chambers. She looked around in wonder while I tried to stamp my revulsion for Earthians down. By the time I had put on my blank face, Bulba looked at me. I walked to the foot of the bed and turned to look at her.

She gaped at me like an idiot. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide. She realised what she was doing and stared at me. My mask slipped a little and she noticed. I stared at her, daring her to speak, her eyes turned away.

That's right.

But then they turned back and held mine. She was challenging me. I wasn't one to lose easily. Bulba interrupted us and left.

I need to get myself together.

I was trying so hard to follow Purit's advice. But I couldn't stop myself from judging her. All I could think of was how she had no morals. I walked away from her before I voiced my thoughts. In the doorway, I told her to follow me and walked on to the viewing glass. Whether she followed me or stayed in the medical bay really did not matter to me.

I have to think of Thanzor. I have to think of the men. I have to move past this and be the leader I am expected to be.

God give me strength.

"How is this possible?" A voice came from my left.

I hadn't noticed her walk up to me. I thought of a smart retort but held my tongue. That seemed like the safest thing to do. I continued looking at the stars. I turned slightly, so she wouldn't notice, and observed her gazing at the stars.

Her stomach rumbled then. She quickly put her hands to her stomach and looked down at the floor in what must have been embarrassment.

I turned and walked to the kitchen. She stood still. I looked at her and said, "do you expect me to raise my voice in order to be heard? Come closer."

She hesitated and came into the kitchen, still standing at a distance behind me.

Relax Xeris, she knows nothing. Start by showing her what she needs to know.

"Why am I here? What will you do with me?"

I chose to ignore her first question. I wasn't ready to have that conversation just yet.

"Feed you."

That's all I said. I didn't turn to gauge her reaction. I started pointing out the gadgets in the kitchen.

"You touch here and the menu comes up. The food has already been prepared so you just have to choose what you want from the available options. The food shall only be available three times a day at specific times and in specific quantities."

I moved up the counter and opened the delivery latch.

"The food comes here not more than two minutes after you have ordered. This next to the delivery latch is the juice bar. Again, you touch here and a menu comes up. The juice is delivered through the same delivery latch."

I moved up again and touched the drawer above the counter. It opened and I continued explaining.

"These vials are filled with our daily dose of water. One vial a day is enough."

I closed the drawer and moved to the other side of the kitchen.

"This is the warmer, and this is the cooler. I'm sure you know what they are used for."

I moved along and touched the snack container.

"If by chance you find yourself unsatisfied with the food at meal time, this is the snack container. Be warned, these snacks are not delicious in the slightest. They serve as a means to fill you up. They are concentrated vitamins," I said as I looked her up and down.

I walked towards the wardrobe which was past the right side of the bed and next to the bathroom. I touched the door with my palm and it disintegrated. She gasped. I turned and saw astonishment on her face. I turned back and walked through the door. The middle had a cushion and the farthest wall was a mirror. I turned to face her "As you can see, the clothes on your left, belong to you, and those on your right, to me. The drawers at the bottom hold your footwear and gloves, for when the internal heating does not ease the cold."

I walked out and turned to the right, where the bathroom was. I stood in front of the closed door and placed my palm on it. The door disintegrated and the entryway opened. To the right was a double sink. "This is your sink," I pointed to the one on the left, "and this is mine," I pointed to the one on the right. "The drawer above has teeth cleaning fluid. You rinse your mouth with it and spit it out." I pointed to the little vials "one per day, every morning."

"Wait, what?"

I thought I just spoke English. Wasn't English her native language? If not, it would have been installed in her.

I turned my face to look at her. "I am pretty sure the notion of cleaning your teeth every day is not foreign." I lifted my eyebrows.

She recognised the insult and pursed her lips. "Why would we need separate sinks?"

Was she playing dumb on purpose?

"Are you telling me that we," she pointed at me then her and back " are going to share the same room and bathroom?"

Ah, it only clicked now?

"Why else would there be two sinks? Why else would the closet be divided into yours and my sides?"

"But..."

I carried on, not wanting to answer any more questions. I turned towards the shower. "I'm sure you know the purpose of the shower. You step in," I touched the glass door and it slid to the right and stepped in, "and tap the blue tile for water, the green for shampoo, red for soap and the yellow for the drier."

"Drier?" she asked.

She doesn't know anything Xeris, don't get irritated.

"It dries your skin and hair of any lingering moisture," I said without infusing sarcasm in my tone.

I touched the side of the glass door and it slid into place. I turned and walked ahead past the shower and sinks and pointed out the toilet on the right. "This is the toilet."

I touched the wall above the toilet and the lid slid out and uncovered the seat. "I presume you know how to use it."

I looked at her and she still looked upset about the earlier retort I made. This just added fuel onto the flame.

I touched the wall again and the lid slid into place. I walked past the toilet to the tub that occupied over half of the bathroom. It was already filled with cleansing water and had a transparent lid covering the top. I walked to the left and tapped the raised tile.

"You tap this, and the lid slides out," I said after tapping the black rectangle. " You tap it again and the lid slides back into place. The cleansing water will alter to your physical needs as soon as you touch it. It shall continue adjusting to your physical needs."

I tapped the tile and the lid slid into place.

Next to that black tile was another slightly raised bump. "The raised black circle changes the fragrance of the water. It changes colour according to fragrance. It is black when no fragrance has been induced."

I turned and found her staring at the tub, seemingly lost in thought. Confusion played on her features. Her eyebrows furrowed together.

Don't tell me I have to explain everything again.

I sighed inwardly.

I need to leave before I say something that ruins everything.

I walked out and left her standing there.

Purit, Purit will know what to do.