She could spend hours browsing through all of this and not get tired. To her delight, a section of the library was dedicated to books on law and governance, with case files and newspapers in them.
No, it would be too rude to ignore Logan and read through these. She forced herself to give it back to him and sit silently.
"I'm glad you like it," he said. "I asked for Laurel's advice. She said you would need a comfortable and fluffy chair on which you can read, so I ordered it. It should be in transit as we speak."
Ellis gave a small smile. "Yes, a fluffy chair does help. May I ask why you have so many cushions in the room?" she asked.
"Dorian had to buy a lot of pillows when Laurel first came. She likes to sleep amongst them. She told me that you would like it too." He smiled at her, his eyes twinkling.
"And you don't like them?" she teased. Cats do love pillows, especially sleeping on them or tearing them apart.
"Surprisingly, I do. I was used to sleeping on the hard ground, but now I feel much better. It's like sleeping on a cloud!" He sounded so excited that she had to laugh.
Her laugh seemed to encourage him. His eyes twinkled with excitement. "I have a lot of gifts prepared for you. I started buying them when I found out that I would one day have a bride. I always tried to imagine what you would be like... but you're so much better." He dipped his head in shyness.
Ellis felt a twinge in her heart. Having someone wait for years and then exceeding expectations. That was new for her. She was the one pandering to everyone on Earth. It felt nice.
"I don't want to toot my own horn, but I am somewhat amazing," she commented jokingly.
His face scrunched up into a frown.
"You have a horn you don't want to blow?"
With the meaning lost of him, Ellis remembered that everything was working in translation. Idioms weren't easily translated into other languages, so Logan was confused. She committed herself to be as transparent in her speech as possible.
"Okay, let me say that again. I don't want to praise myself too much but I am amazing. But I don't know how to be an Empress. I am not cut out for monarchy," she told him softly.
"Oh, you don't understand. You care about such things. That means you are a good Empress. And don't worry, ours is not solely a monarchy. We have a unique system. I'll introduce it to you later."
Right, she couldn't imagine being okay with a system that supported slavery, so.
"What was the last Empress like?" she asked softly.
"As a mother she was phenomenal, but as an Empress... she didn't care." His jaw tightened.
It seemed Ellis had hit a sore spot. "She was your mother, wasn't she?"
"She was," his voice was low and reluctant.
Ellis decided not to pry further. She put her hand over his in a gesture of comfort, startling him. He turned to her, his eyes wide with surprise. Ellis pulled away immediately, thinking she had done something wrong.
"Did I make a mistake?" she whispered.
"No," he said quickly. "It's just... I know we look very different and you fainted on seeing me. So, I was surprised that you would be okay with touching me."
Right, obviously she had hurt his feelings. Who wouldn't be hurt if someone fainted on seeing them?
"Apologies about that. I found out I had been taken from my perfectly good life half-an-hour before that. I was a bit shocked and hungry." Her cheeks flared in embarrassment and he pulled at her curiously.
"Why did you face do that?" He slowly inched his hand forward and pressed it against her cheek. "I've never seen anything like this." The utter fascination on his face mirrored hers with his features.
"It's... a reaction to my embarrassment." She felt her ears become warm, as well. His head tilted to the side and he carefully pressed the lobe between his fingers.
"It's hot!" he exclaimed. "Do you need a doctor?" he asked carefully.
"No need," she waved it off. "It'll go away soon."
He chuckled slowly and ducked his head. "I hope it doesn't. I like it. You smell good."
Ellis mulled over those words in her head. What did those two statements have to do with one another? But after a moment of curiosity, she decided that it was better if he didn't know.
"Don't be embarrassed. I knew I would seem strange to you."
Ellis was about to say something about the other creatures being more stranger but stopped herself. They were Logan's subjects, so she shouldn't be rude.
"I hope I don't seem rude. I just... I'm prickly when I find myself in such situations." Not that she had ever been in such a situation.
"Well, you've been nothing but kind. I haven't seen an abducted human take on the situation so well. You've kept your fainting spells to the minimum and you haven't tried to run or hit everyone near you." Logan seemed fascinated with her.
"I wouldn't say I am kind. I care about the feelings of others because I was brought up in that way. And I don't know enough about this place to try and escape. Moreover, have you seen the people around me? You're all really tall and strong. And Laurel is so tiny that I would never hurt her."
"Kind and intelligent, then," Logan said proudly. "I was delighted to find out that you were studying the law. That means you have strong ideas and an ability to see through bad policies."
Ellis didn't know what to say. "Well, I did study the law, but I specialized in protecting the rights of people on Earth. You could say I was protesting against the government and how they treat people more than following blindly." And that was no good in a monarchy.
"That sounds wonderful!" Logan exclaimed. Ellis didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. It seemed Logan liked everything about her, even the bits that threatened his position in the galaxy. Well, she would have to see if he could stand her opinions as decidedly.
It was often that people found it hard to accept how aggressive and opinionated she was. Maybe she would have to tone it down a bit, slowly make him understand what she was talking about.
She distracted herself from the conversation and asked the question that was plaguing her. "Why aren't there any windows?"She just had to ask."The planet is mostly rocky and cold. While Zotheans are immune to the conditions, other species find it hard to survive in such harsh conditions," he explained. "The city is built inside the mountains so that we are insulated from the cold outside."She tried to picture something from Interstellar and failed. "How cold is it outside?" she asked curiously."It averages from minus fourteen degrees Celcius to minus sixty degrees Celcius."Ellis nodded. So the weather conditions were like Antarctica on Earth. She imaged the Zotheans walking around like penguins and let out a giggle."Is it always so cold or is it winter right now?" she asked. She wanted to see the outside world without freezing to death."It's summer. The current weather report shows clear skies but minus
He stayed silent for as long as she played with his tail. In the end, he started to speak softly."I have waited all my life for you. I wish to ask you something..." he trailed off. "Can I court you?"Like in the Victorian era?She was intrigued by the man but fairly disgruntled about the world she had been brought to. Letting a man court her simply because he reminded her of a loved pet didn't mean she could overcome the circumstance that led her to this planet. Moreover, a traumatic one.But Logan was sweet and earnest. She understood why he cut off his cousin's tail and presented it to her. He wanted to woo her with it like cats bring their owners prey. She realized that she would like to get to know him better before judging him.He had done everything within his custom and beyond to make her feel happy and adored. How could she ignore that?"I don't know about courting, but I would like to get to know
"Ellis," she heard someone call her. In her sleepy state, she hummed and pushed her head deeper into the pillow. When her name was called again, she groaned and covered her head with another pillow. Something tickled er nose and she tried to turn her head to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it followed her.She cracked her eye open and saw the tip of Logan's tail had slipped under the pillow and was teasing her nose. She pulled the pillow away and saw Logan sitting up beside her. His eyes twinkled with mischief; he looked so playful that her morning crankiness melted away in an instant. She smiled at him and wanted to pat his head like she would a cat."Time to wake up already?""Yes!" Laurel said from behind her. Ellis turned around and saw her standing at the edge of the depression. She grinned at Ellis, careful not to show her teeth. "You two look very cozy. I'm almost sorry to tear you apart!" she said. Ellis blinked and let out a giggle of amusemen
"I have a feeling Zotheans don't take baths, so this is a privilege only humans have." She chuckled. Laurel nodded in approval."You really are highly intelligent and adaptable." She had wonder in her voice. "It's rather weird. They take dust baths," Laurel giggled.Logan smelled pretty good, so those must have worked."You let Logan court you." The words were said more as a statement. "Good on you.""Well, he said it was like dating. As a teenager, I always thought if I could date a man who had the soul of a cat, so...""Well. You like cats but usually, women aren't able to resist Zotheans. And Logan... he's a wonderful guy. If you take him as your mate, he'll make sure you get everything you want to make you happy.""I could see that he gets upset when he thinks I am dissatisfied," Ellis told her. "I was a little shocked by the whole slave thing.""Be careful about that," Laurel warned in a low voice. "
"Today, the special market will sit, so it's the best day to take you around," Logan said softly.Ellis peered around at the open market. Stalls littered the road, covered by tarps to protect from the weather. It seemed so much like a flea market that Ellis felt right at home. People flocked the stalls and bargained and she even recognized some of the alien species from the dinners.Ellis tried her best not to stare but did peek at the aliens often.No one recognized them and for that Ellis was thankful. When she looked back, she could see that the Koln had accumulated a lot of paper in his hands. She shrugged and kept looking. Logan took her closer to the stalls so that she could look and read the signs aloud to her and explained what they were."What is that?" she asked, pointing towards an item that Logan had skipped.Logan twitched. "A tail extender," he said, filled with embarrassment. "Guaranteed to extend the length a
"You are cold." Logan frowned when he saw her cheeks flush with the chill. He brushed his finger over her cheek."It's fine," Ellis argued, unwilling to leave the market. She was learning so much about their culture from this trip to the market.Logan grabbed her wrist and led her away from the market. "We will get you inside and warm. Don't worry, you will enjoy it."The buildings they passed were tall but the walls were surrounded by decorative plans and grass, making a vertical wall garden on each building. She remembered her home town and how crowded and polluted it was and had to marvel at this well-planned city. The only litter on the floor were the fallen leaves.They finally reached their destination after walking for a few minutes. "It's one of our libraries," Logan informed her as they went into a set of doors.The man behind the desk didn't look up as he instructed them, "Please leave your Koln outside." Logan glanced t
"We have a council meeting after this. I would like for you to join me," Logan told her when they stopped at their apartment. She was made to change into a more formal looking tunic and Logan matched her. Logan even put a matching tiara on her head.Ellis felt very much like a Disney princess. She looked at herself in the mirror and had to appreciate how good she looked.Through the winding hallways they walked, Logan told her about how the Council representing different ministries came to a decision and then presented it to the Emperor for him to sign or discard."The political framework seems easy but the relationships are difficult. Most of these people have been members since my parents were on the throne, so they consider me a youngling. It's hard to earn their respect.""I understand," Ellis replied. She meant to observe and say nothing. She had no power at the moment, so she couldn't voice her opinions.Nin strode forward a
“Get up,” a female voice called. Ellis swam out of sleep and pushed herself upright, glaring at Laurel. Every morning, Laurel would barge into their room and wake her up for the daily bath. Ellis and Logan usually played a very complex game somewhat like chess late into the night and usually spoke about their childhood and education, all small talk, and went to sleep so late that Ellis was barely functioning any longer.“I hate you,” Ellis muttered. “Why are you so energetic so early in the morning?” She made a face of disgust.The nest was warm and soft and sleeping beside Logan was a novelty. Every morning she would fake sleep for a few more moments to listen to his heartbeat and his body shaking with his purrs before waking up fully and facing the world. Usually, in his sleeping state, he would stroke her back and hair.He was fascinated by her hair for