XERIS' POV

The closet door closed behind me. I turned my body slightly and looked at it over my shoulder and then turned back.

What an awkward situation that was.

I kept on overlooking the differences between the people from Earth and those from Thanzor. Earth people wore separate garments as under clothes. I looked to the bed on my left.

I have yet to explain our sleeping arrangement.

With a sigh, I walked towards the viewing glass and gazed at the stars, waiting for her to come out. I replayed our earlier conversation in my mind.

That was not what I expected.

And then Purit's words came to me 'have no expectations, negative or positive'.

Easier said than done.

Her facial expression before she left for the bathroom stuck with me. She seemed to have a deep understanding of the state the Earth was in. But what about the moisture in her eyes?

Was she referring to herself?

Did she mean to say that she belonged to the crowd that knew what they were doing was wrong, but still did it anyway in order to fit in? Or was she trying to inform me that she belonged to the group that considered itself worthless? Her constant use of the pronoun 'we', just made it harder to figure out. She said she was far from being good. That must mean she belonged to the former group.

But what about the unshed tears? Did she feel guilty for it? Why would she feel guilty? We were taught that Earthians thrived in their sin. Was everything we knew wrong?

I sighed again and rubbed my face. I was stopped in my thoughts when I heard the closet door open.

She stood there in her sleep attire. The attire fit her loosely. It comprised of a long sleeved white shirt and pants that fell almost to her toes. It was made of a silky material. It was different from mine. My sleep attire comprised of a white cotton vest and white cotton pants.

She looked like she didn't know what to do with herself, constantly shifting her hands to and from her chest area. So, I approached her and she looked to the floor.

"It is meal time. You may proceed to the kitchen and have your meal."

She nodded her head but did not move.

"I shall be taking my shower now." She just nodded again and still did not move. What was so interesting on the floor?

I walked around her and just before I entered the bathroom, I turned to go to the closet. These chambers were not solely mine any more, I couldn't walk around naked. I grabbed my sleep attire and walked out of the closet. She wasn't standing there anymore. She was in the kitchen, ordering her food.

I entered the bathroom and was soon standing under the falling water after undoing my braid. I took longer than I normally did, trying to prolong my solitude. I tapped the green circle and shampoo fell from the shower head. I closed my eyes and tapped it again for it to stop. I washed my hair carefully and then tapped the blue circle to rinse it out. Once I was sure all the shampoo had been rinsed out, I tapped the yellow circle and dried up. I stepped out of the shower and walked to my sink. I pulled out a brush from my drawer and started brushing my hair. Once done, I braided it again. It was quite a feat, considering how long it had grown. I wore my sleep attire and walked out. I went to the closet and saw that her outer garment that she wore earlier was folded neatly on the cushion in the middle of the closet. I grabbed it and walked to the mirror. I tapped it and the laundry latch opened.

I forgot to tell her about this.

I put the clothes in it and closed the latch. I lay my boots in their place and walked out of the closet, barefooted.

I found her seated in the stool I put her in earlier, half way through her Lumpum. She had ordered the green juice this time. I ordered the same thing she did and sat down to eat. We ate in silence. She finished before me but did not stand up to leave or dispose of the bowl and glass she had emptied. I finished my meal and took her tray along with mine and put them in the disposal latch.

She just sat there looking at the table.

What is she thinking?

"There are some things I have yet to disclose," I said.

She finally looked up at me, but wasn't looking into my eyes. Her shoulders were slouched as she sat.

"As you have noticed, there is only one bed in these chambers, and two of us. We are both occupants of this room. It is neither mine, nor yours. It is ours."

Why did I say that?

I cleared my throat, "And as such, we share everything here equally. Including the bed. If you feel too uncomfortable to share the bed, then I shall rest in the medical bay."

Is this really me? Why am I offering her my, no, our bed to use alone?

I waited for her response. She said something but I couldn't hear what it was.

"Could you repeat that?"

She cleared her throat, "I said, you don't have to make yourself uncomfortable for my benefit." She looked to the bed, "besides, the bed is large enough for both of us to sleep comfortably."

She stood up from the stool and approached the foot of the bed. I asked, "Which side would you like to take?"

"Any will do."

"You can have the right side and I will take the left." I moved to the left side, the one closer to the bathroom and closet; and she moved to the right, the one facing the viewing glass. I pulled back the cover and she followed suit. I waited for her to get in and followed suit.

We both lay on our backs, almost two feet of space between us. "What do I call you?" she asked. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"Xeris."

"Zeris?"

"No, you pronounce it with a 'z' and 's' sound combined."

She tried again, "Xeris?"

"Yes, like that."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

"How long have you been twenty?" she smiled.

What an odd question.

I did the mental calculation in my head, "a couple of months."

She chuckled.

What was that about?

She turned on her side and faced the viewing glass. I looked back up at the ceiling. It was the same in every room. It dimmed and brightened to signify the time of day it was on Thanzor. We were quiet for some time. I thought she would be bombarding me with questions and that's why I thought this silence strange.

"Don't you have any more questions?"

"I do, several of them."

"Why do you not ask them?"

"Mm, I've asked enough for today. Unless your promise to answer my questions has a time limit."

She made it sound like a question.

"I will answer all of your questions whenever you ask them."

"Tomorrow it is, then."

She just kept on surprising me. She did not do what I expected. I closed my eyes thinking I wouldn't be able to sleep. I had not shared my bed with anyone in my life; and I thought that doing so would be too uncomfortable for me to sleep. But my dreams were soon pulling me into deep slumber. Soon I was lost to the land ruled by my subconscious.

***

I awoke to the sound of someone trying to contact me. I stood up and walked into the closet, so as not to wake Victoria. I needed some time to myself before I woke her. I tapped the side of my head to see who was trying to reach me, and Bulba's caller ID appeared.

Of course.

I tapped the right side of my head again to pick up the call.

"Good morning, your highness. I hope you had a good night's rest, because phase one of your mission begins today."

"I am well aware of that. There was no need to remind me."

"Yes of course. However, I did not call to remind you of that, I called to inform you of some changes that have been made concerning your programme."

"Proceed."

"As you are well aware, Purit and I are in charge of this operation and whatever we say goes, even for you, your highness,"

Is she showing off her temporary authority over me?

"and we have decided to take over her diet while you are in temporary confinement. I know that Purit trained all the males participating in this mission, with the basic requirements in terms of dieting including you; and we mean no disrespect by saying this, but, we feel that we are more qualified to handle your charge's diet. As she has been paired with you, your highness, we have to make sure that she is in top condition, for her welfare concerns all of Thanzor."

We, we, we. She kept saying that. Where was Purit?

She paused, almost as if waiting for me to retaliate. When I showed no signs of it, she continued, "due to her current state, it is imperative that we pay special attention to what she consumes."

"I understand."

She raised her eyebrows a little. I guess that was not what she expected.

"Furthermore, Purit and I shall be visiting you more frequently than the other pairs are visited by their physicians. Our other pairs shall be visited monthly, whereas I shall be visiting you weekly. As for Purit, it is up to him to decide the frequency of his visits. In the time I visit, I shall perform oil thinning and hair control procedures. I shall also do a full body check-up to ensure that she is in top health. Your check-ups however, shall continue being done once a month. As you are responsible for her mental state, we shall leave that out in her check-ups. Do you have any queries?"

"How often do I need to check the schedule?"

"Weekly should suffice. We will be adjusting it according to the results I obtain after each visit."

"Is that all?"

"That is all."

I double tapped my head and disconnected the line. I sat down and opened the new schedule. I looked at the main headings, not paying attention to the set times or subheadings. Morning meal: Opia. Exercise. Lunch: Lumpum. Rest. Evening meal: Uhoru. Greenery accessible.

I checked the time and noticed it was still quite early. I couldn't go back to bed, so I grabbed my training attire and went into the bathroom.

Once I had showered and dressed, I quietly went to the table that was on her side of the sleeping area. I took a seat and double tapped the table to activate it. After touching my index finger to the DNA reader, my workbook opened up. After looking at the daily schedule again, I made adjustments to the schedule I had created.

As I only had control over what occurred during exercise and rest time for now, I decided to create a detailed plan of what activities would be carried out in exercise. I left rest time alone for any questions she might have. My free time would be when the greenery became accessible.

I looked at the time. 5 AM.

Time to wake her.

I closed my workbook and deactivated the table. I stood and walked over to her. She lay curled up in a tight ball on her side, still facing the viewing glass. It looked like she was trying as much as physically possible not to cross over to my side of the bed. She was practically hanging off the edge of the bed.

That must be uncomfortable.

I bent down and lightly shook her right shoulder. Nothing happened. I shook her shoulder again. Still nothing. This time I shook her a little more forcefully. She only mumbled. I shook her again and she swatted my hand away.

This is not going to work.

I seriously considered just pulling the covers off her and throwing her in the tub.

"Victoria," I called out as I continued to shake her. "Victoria, wake up."

It wasn't working. I tried raising my voice, "Victoria, wake up!"

"Five more minutes Nessa."

I huffed.

I don't have time for this.