I need to think of something – anything – else.
I look at Sarah. “You said you had… a toy?”
“Yes,” Sarah’s eyes flash mischievously. “I put it on your bed. I call it a toy, but it’s more than that. I suppose it’s a toy in the same way that little French Maid’s outfit they had you in was a toy…” Then she giggles suspiciously. “Only, this one is on another level. You’ll understand when you put it on.”
“Put it on?”
Oh, great. Another sadistic, humiliating costume designed by the Aurelians.
Humiliation. Just the concept sends shivers down my spine.
I groan outwardly, though. “I should never have put that maid’s outfit on in the first place.”
…although do I truly regret that encounter in the library? Gods, I was so turned on…
Sarah shrugs.
“Listen, Mia – you want my advice? Do whatever you like. You’re not constrained by anybody. If you’re enjoying the attention those Aurelians give you? Well, you aren’t going to make too many friends in the harem by drawing this out – keeping them waiting, so they lavish more and more on you...”
It sounds so wickedly selfish when she explains it like that. It’s like Kendra complained, when the beautiful redhead hissed: “Just fuck them already.”
“…but if you’re not comfortable doing anything with them, don’t force it.”
I look up at Sarah. Gods, she’s such a sweetheart. She could have been as jealous and frustrated as the other girls in the harem, and yet she’s willing to ignore her own emotions and focus on me. She’s amazing.
Oblivious to my thoughts, Sarah reaches over and grabs my hand.
“You have your whole life ahead of you, Mia. There’s no rush to do anything.”
No rush.
If only it were that simple. The clock is ticking, and each day comes closer to the one-week mark, at which point I’m supposed to have located those watches and reported back to Darr.
But her words mean more than she could know.
I smile at her, squeezing her hand.
"You're right, Sarah. Thank you. It's good to have a friend here."
She stands from the stool and turns to leave – looking back one last time to say: "Tomorrow, let’s get out of here for a bit. Let's go to the market together. The Aurelians let us go to the Sector 1 market without guards. It's quite safe there."
The Sector 1 market – the upscale equivalent of the Sector 4 marketplace I used to prowl for wallets and coin purses. The wallets will be thicker, and the coin purses fatter here.
In comparison to that grimy, bustling cheap marketplace that had as many stolen goods as legitimate, the Sector 1 marketplace is safe. I know that well - because I’ve never been to it before. There are too many guards on the lookout for men and women who don't fit in – men and women who are there to prey on the upper crust of Deemak society…
Men and women like I’d been just days earlier.
And yet, suddenly, I’ve been vaulted into those ranks.
What’s more, it's the perfect chance to escape. I could take those watches tomorrow morning, plus a few extra valuables for myself, and smuggle them all out when I leave with Sarah. Once I’m there, I can escape easily enough from the marketplace.
I'll activate the transponder in my mouth, which will then allow Darr to track me for around half an hour – until the battery is drained.
He can meet me and get me out undetected, with my valuable prizes.
Gods, this is really happening.
I smile at Sarah, although I know there’s a reptilian coldness to it.
“I’ll be there! Let’s leave in the evening tomorrow, after the sun has lost its fire.”
“Perfect,” Sarah beams. “They have everything you need in this manor, but sometimes even a caged bird needs to spread her wings.” She laughs, raising her hand in goodbye and stepping out of the bathroom.
I wait until the door clicks shut, and then sink back down into the scalding water.
My mind is racing – planning, and plotting.
I’m suddenly resolute. I now have a plan. I’m not going to be just another conquest for those Aurelians after all. I’ll find my opportunity to take the watches tomorrow – perhaps when those three towering aliens are busy obsessing over the huge business deal that they’ll have closed tonight – or failed at…
Do they ever fail?
…but it will be the opportunity I need.
In the meantime, tonight, I’ll search this manor for the other valuable little baubles I can easily swipe and conceal. Darr will get what he wants – but I’ll start building my little start-a-new-life fund at the same time; all at the Aurelian’s expense.
Then, I’ll be out of their lives – like a barely remembered shadow.
Darr will keep me safe from the authorities. I know the Aurelians have nothing to go on when they set out to find me – and I know they will.
They’ll try to find me if I leave – their pretty little plaything – but I wonder if they’ll even notice what I took from them when I left. I have a feeling their obsession with me will cloud their judgement. Besides, to those three – who are so mind-bogglingly rich – even the life-altering fortune I intend to steal amounts to barely more than pocket change.
I pull myself from the hot bath water, letting it sluice off me. It’s worth enjoying the sensation - perhaps one of the last luxuries I’ll be able to indulge in while I’m here.
Oasis – so named because of the huge freshwater lakes that dominate the planet’s geography – will grant me my next taste of peace and beauty. That’s when I can start living my life.
There is nothing left for me on Deemak.
I dry off, and start looking around the bathroom.
Now – where is this toy Sarah said she’d brought me?
I enter my bedroom – and gasp.
The most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen before
