Johann drifted out of his dreams only to feel himself engulfed by a chill. He opened his eyes and stared into virescent eyes glaring right back at him. Jolting back, he banged his head against the petal encasing he’d been forced to sleep in. He pressed his eyes shut and tried to rub his head, only to find that he couldn’t move his arms. He stared down the length of his body and found Ajalla pressed up against him with her arms and legs intertwined with his.

“What are you doing?” Johann demanded. His heart thumped against his chest, demanding to be heard. While it wasn’t uncomfortable, it took him off guard and made him feel uncomfortable. Memories of the night he spent with Zafira flashed before his eyes. The way her hips had rocked. Her smooth skin and ample breasts. The conflicting emotions excited his body.

Ajalla smiled and snuggled in tighter around him. “You’re so warm,” she mused. “I came in to bring you some morning food but you were still asleep. You just looked so nice.”

“You decided to just come in and assault me in my sleep?” The heat inside him flamed, even with Ajalla’s cold body pressed against him. A trickle of sweat rolled down his back.

“Don’t be upset,” she said and surprised him with a kiss. “You slept so long and I wanted to rest as well.”

“Long? What time is it?” Johann stirred, trying to free himself from her grasp once more.

Ajalla released him and held a hand up to her mouth as she yawned. “The sun has just revealed it self fully.”

Johann sighed with a sense of relief. He feared oversleeping and missing the opportunity to return home. The longer he spent away from the Earth, the more difficult it would be for him to explain his absence. Katarina needed to read her husbands last words.

“Where’s Kiri?” he asked. She went to bed only a few paces away and with his luck, she was bound to catch them together and assume he was up to mischief. The thought crossed his mind. He glanced down at her cherry red lips and lush dark skin, enticing him to make a move.

Ajalla’s ears perked as she released herself from him. “She’s outside, basking in the morning light. Let’s eat,” she said in her sing-song voice. Ajalla shuffled up onto her feet and poked the petal, causing it to fall back in a gentle arch.

Johann saw how Kiri had opened and closed the petal to her flower last night. It didn’t work out the same way for him though and he had to pull the damn thing up three quarters of the way until it snapped shut. He stepped out of the flower and onto the branch. It took some getting used to, but he figured he could be able to walk along the length of it without falling to his unfortunate death. He put on his boots and joined Ajalla by the trunk of the tree. She sat down and swung her legs over the edge of the branch.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She patted the spot next to her and twisted to pull a small sack onto her lap. Ajalla unwrapped the melon. It was orange with several thorns poking out of the side. She pulled a knife from her ankle and sliced in between the thorns.

“You carried a knife with you in bed?” he asked, remembering how her legs had been wrapped around his. He could have easily cut himself on the edge.

Ajalla grinned holding the knife up for him to see. “I made it myself and always carry it around. Did Kiri show you hers?”

“No she didn’t,” he said but recalled seeing a strap of fiber attached around her ankle. “That doesn’t look edible.”

Ajalla frowned and resumed her work cutting open the melon. It took her a great deal of effort to crack open the shell and when she did she ripped them apart and plopped one half onto his lap. “Eat. It’s ruma ... a horny melon.”

His stomach churned just looking at it. A violet meat filled with hundreds of cream colored seeds made up the interior. Still, he didn't have much of a choice after last nights selection of a banana and two carrots.

Ajalla had gathered them and claimed they were real food. While technically true, he had been hoping for some potato stew, eggs or chicken. Anything that would settle his stomach for more than a few minutes.

He peered up into the top of the tree and caught sight of a twig nest left unattended. There might be an egg there, but from what he understood of the Alseid it would only make him even more unpopular. He forced his gaze back down to the melon and held it to his lips. It had a foul bitter stench as if it rotted from the inside out.

Ajalla didn’t seem to mind and had her face smeared with purple juice. She noticed him looking her way and broadened her smile and beckoned him to join her.

Why was she so cheerful all the time, he thought. She was practically trapped inside an oven every day. Went around without proper footwear and had none of the commodities modern housing provided. What these people needed were railways and steam engines, the building blocks of any advanced civilization.

He took a bite but was cautious about the taste. The last two pieces of fruit he ate were distasteful and came with unexpected side effects. His eyes widened as his teeth sank into the soft flesh and sweet juice squirted onto his tongue. He eagerly continued chomping, pressing his face deeper inside the melon.

“That was delicious,” Johann said, setting it aside and wiped the juice off his mouth with the back of his hand. The empty shell rolled and fell off the branch, crashing down below.

A group of people looked up and shouted at the pair.

Ajalla grabbed him by the chin, turning his head towards her and kissed him. Short but vivid.

“What was that for?” he asked still fixated on her mahogany lips.

“You were troubled. I cheered you up,” she said curling her lips into a grin. “You feel better now.”

Johann leaned forward and returned the kiss but broke off and pulled away again. “I’m dreadfully sorr--”

“Don’t be sorry,” Ajalla said, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder. “Take care of Kiri and lessen her troubles. She’s the most important person in all the world to me and I want to see her happy.”

“I don’t think I can make her happy. She hates my guts.”

Ajalla pointed at a shadowy figure laying in the clearing. “If you give her a chance, I’m sure you’ll both learn to like each other a lot more.”