VICTORIA'S POV

Bulba had come earlier and taken off the gel. Walking afterwards with that leg felt weird in the beginning. So, for the following week, Xeris helped me strengthen it with targeted exercises while incorporating other body exercises as well. The entire time during our exercise sessions, I found myself staring at him more and more or holding his gaze for longer than necessary.

Whenever he touched me, my heart would beat a little faster, my breath would be a little shallower. I honestly couldn't control these reactions, no matter how hard I tried. He continued teaching about random things, and I continued enjoying the lessons. I was happy that he stayed with me during this duration and wasn't pulled away to work. I wasn't even sure what work he did.

When I finally asked, he told me that he had to make sure everything on this operation ran smoothly. So, whenever he left, he did routine check-ups at the different posts on the ship. He hadn't even visited all the sectioned off areas designated for the men and their charges due to the considerable number of participants.

It was finally time for him to take me with him out of the apartment. I was feeling both excited and nervous. I didn't know what the outside of this apartment looked like. He picked out my day wear for me. Unlike the usual day wear, this looked a little more formal. It still looked elegant. It was all black and I liked how it shaped me. For my hair, I still did my two braids, except I left a few curly strands out front to soften my features. I also loosened the braids instead of braiding them so close to my scalp. I used two bands to tie them off at the end with curly tips peeking out.

The reason I put in so much effort was because I was trying to look good for Xeris. I didn't want to embarrass him because he had told me that he was quite an influential person on this ship. I sat down in the closet, on the cushion, and pulled on my boots. These too were different because they had heels. They looked really cool. They weren't too high to make me uncomfortable or too low to look old fashioned. They were just right.

I stood up and tightened the belt around my waist a little more. Once done I looked at my reflection. A smile escaped. I looked different. I looked like someone in a high position, someone to be respected. I looked confident, I felt it too. My skin looked flawless, not a blemish or pimple in sight. My eyes seemed to be almost glowing. They had gotten much lighter and now looked almost golden; they were a honey brown. I pulled the ends of my hair in front of me and they fell to below my breasts.

As I stared at my reflection, Xeris walked in and our eyes met in the mirror. I looked up and saw that he was in his more formal day wear as well. He came and stood behind me. He placed something on my right temple, and it changed to match the colour of my skin. I couldn't even see it anymore.

"That allows you to communicate with anyone on the ship. You just need to purposefully think of who you want to talk to before tapping your temple and when that person accepts your request, you will be able to see them before your eyes. Only you will be able to see them. Give it a try, think of talking to me." he said.

I thought of him and tapped my temple. Immediately, his figure from the shoulders upwards, appeared before my eyes. I could still see around me as his image was a little transparent.

"Cool," I uttered.

He grabbed my left wrist in his much larger hand and again, my heart rate spiked a little. I swallowed as he put the time teller on and watched the bands wrap around my wrist.

His hand lingered a little longer on my wrist before letting go. I looked up at him. Even though I was wearing heeled shoes, he was still taller than me by half a head.

"Let's go." He turned and proceeded out the closet. I followed him and we walked into the hallway outside our apartment. This time, instead of turning right, we turned left and approached the door. I was now able to tell were a door was.

It opened and outside were six guards wearing a mixture of orange and black uniforms. They all bowed once we emerged. Xeris continued walking and four of the guards followed behind in formation. I looked to Xeris, again wondering exactly who he was. His strides were much longer and I was struggling to keep up. He noticed and slowed his pace to one I was comfortable with.

"What's the rush?" I asked him.

"Sorry, I'm used to walking fast." I heard sharp intakes of breaths behind me and turned to see the guards looking at Xeris. My eyebrows came together wondering that was about.

Xeris paid no mind and kept walking.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

I saw guards every now and then and every time we approached, they bowed. I had yet to see anyone else.

"I'm going to introduce you to the ship."

The ship?

I looked questioningly at him. he rolled his eyes and said, "the people on the ship, not the actual ship."

I heard a little snicker behind me but didn't turn. I was too embarrassed.

"Oh," the only sound I could produce.

We kept walking side by side and I took the time to admire my surroundings. The hallways were quite wide, which wasn't what I expected. We would come upon connecting hallways that led to different directions, some which ourselves took. I then started to see people. The people wore different coloured garments. Some wore a light blue garment, others red, yellow, orange, white, purple and brown. All of them rushing somewhere, but not forgetting to bow towards our group.

Apart from Xeris and I, no one else wore black. The guards that were following us and that were stationed around our apartment were the exception with black and orange.

"What's up with the colours?" I asked.

"The different colours represent which department you belong to. Blue is for the medical department, red is for command, yellow for the training department, orange for security, white for the kitchen, purple for the cleaning and maintenance department and brown for the participants of the mission. You will rarely see these other departments apart from the trainers, medical department and security department."

I digested this information. "What about grey? Purit and Bulba wear grey."

Again, I heard sharp intakes of breaths behind me. This time, the guards were looking at me.

What is up with them?

I looked back to Xeris and continued my questioning, "and us. How come we are wearing black? And our shadows?" I looked back briefly, "Why are their colours black and orange?" I looked at Xeris' side profile.

"Purit and Bulba wear grey to signify that they are the leaders of their departments. All the leaders of departments wear grey. This distinguishes them from the rest of the crew. We are wearing black because I am an important person, and as my charge, you are important too. Due to our importance, our guards too are important and hence wear orange and black to signify that they are guarding important people."

Important this, important that.

I had never heard a person use the word so much in one go. I was about to ask how important we were when we came to a door with two guards in orange out front. They both bowed at our approach.

What's with all the bowing?

All these thoughts flew out of my mind when I entered the room. 'Room' didn't quite describe this place. This place was huge. I couldn't even bring myself to call it a hall. It was much too large for that, and it was filled with. Men and women everywhere. The majority were men. Each department was represented. It wasn't that hard as I could see they sat according to the colour of their clothing. I could see people in grey at the front of each department. I recognised Purit and Bulba immediately. I was frozen in place. I was overwhelmed.

"Victoria," Xeris called out to me. I saw that he was a few steps ahead and quickly approached him.

I thought we would approach the men but instead, we approached the podium. I looked at the gathering and witnessed them all stand and bow as Xeris and I climbed the small flight of stairs. I looked at Xeris again.

Who exactly was he?

I followed behind as he approached the centre. I stood a little behind him and to the left once we reached our destination. He touched the base of his throat and his voice boomed throughout the place.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

I didn't hear the rest of his speech. I was too busy looking at him. He commanded respect. Everyone's eyes and ears were trained on him. He looked comfortable in the spotlight, like he was born to be there. He looked different.

Formidable.

Was this the same man I spent all this time with? Was this the same man I shared a bed with? I was awestruck.

Then I noticed that it was quiet. Xeris was looking at me in expectance. He tapped the base of his throat and said encouragingly, "come," and only I could hear him. He held his hand out to me. I looked into his eyes and saw the reassurance there. He wasn't smiling, but I could feel it. I didn't hesitate and grasped his hand as I walked to stand beside him. I was still looking at him as he touched the base of his throat again and turned to the crowd.

"I ask that you accord her the same level of respect as you do me. After all, if she will have me, she will lead Thanzor beside me as princess." He looked nervously at me as he said that.

Princess!

The multitude received his statement joyously.

Princess?

He looked back and concluded his speech, my hand still clutched in his. Everyone bowed as we left and retreated to our quarters. The entire way, the word 'princess' going through my head. The trip back seemed shorter than the trip there. The guards bowed at the entrance and we walked in.

Princess!?!