(Asurah's POV)
I felt like my head had been bulldozed by an angry mob of dragons, when I woke up. It was as if my head had been flattened by a ship, jostled about, then finally smacked with a hammer. I must have drank too much of the Jehel Wine that was being served. I definitely will not be going near that drink again, even if my life depended on it. Like wow, my head hurt. My body also felt extremely heavy as I stood up and made my way into my bathroom, pausing in realization. I turned back to my room, my brows furrowing as I tried to remember what had happened last night. How the heck did I get home? And in bed? Did...did Joseph help me home?
I blinked in surprise, amazed that he would do something so nice. Why would he help me like that? Was it because I was helping him fix his ship so he could go back to his planet? Or were humans a lot different than I had thought? I had always assumed that humans were selfish, judging by my research. They fought each other over the stupidest of things. They massacred each other over land, butchered those who did not worship a man in the clouds...they even killed each other simply because of whom some people choose to love. It was utterly disgusting, which was why I never associated with them. Why no other inhabitant of the galaxy made themselves known. There were, of course, some species who were violent and killed without remorse, but they never attacked their kind like the humans did.
But, I could be wrong. I could have studied something that had been tampered with, leading to a misunderstanding. I could have been misinformed about the humans. Whatever the case, I was glad that Joseph kindly brought me home instead of letting me embarrass myself further on Hewon. Speaking of embarrassing...I sure hope I didn't do anything that would come back at me in the future. I didn't do anything weird, right? I didn't slur my words? Oh gosh, what did the others think of me, getting drunk so easily? They must think that I'm a lightweight, which I was certainly not. I could take much more than that. Although, this wine must have had a higher alcohol level than normal. I wonder why that was. Maybe it was a new recipe?
Anyway, where were the humans at? Did Joseph go to sleep after he brought me to my room? You idiot, of course he did, I thought, scrunching up my nose as I turned back to my bathroom.
I stripped out of the clothes I had worn to the Hewon Ball, and stepped into the cold water in the tub, sighing as I sat down on one of the seats. I stretched my legs over to the other side, leaning my head back to stare up at the mirror above me. I would never understand why that thing was placed above the tub. Like, who would want to watch themself bathe? It was super weird, and slightly gross. I stared up, my eyes trailing over my pale tired features, to my white eyes and long snow colored hair.
Joseph was much darker than me. Not as dark as Teiken was, but just a few shades lighter than the Volcron's. His eyes were also much darker. They were a warm shade of brown, bronze if the suns hit them just right. He also had hair on his face. Unlike a human, Glacic's couldn't grow hair on their face, other than their lashes and eyebrows. I wonder if the hair felt itchy, or if it was as silky as their hair. Not that Joseph's hair was silky...I wouldn't know. And unlike my overly long, straight white hair, his hair was short and rather curly. It was also as dark as his eyes, with a few reddish-brown strands mixed in.
And it wasn't just him whose looks were so very different than my own. Even Jack and Olivia had darker skin, with silky blonde and black hair. Humans had such difference in colors, compared to my species. Glacic's were so bland, so white. What would it be like to have some color?
"Your Highness?"
My thoughts aside, I glanced up as Enae scurried into the bathroom, her eyes darting everywhere but at me. "Yes? What is it?"
"Um, the human Joseph wishes to speak to you. He is currently in the throne room."
I nodded and stood up, making Enae squeak with embarrassment as she darted out of the room. I rolled my eyes at her shyness and walked over to the dryers, waiting as the tube dried the water on my skin, drying my hair as well. I walked out of the dryer and put on my more...casual clothes, a simplistic one piece with slit sides and a sheer blue cloth-like material around my upper arms, clasped together in the front by a pin. After I was dressed, I quickly brushed my hair and tied my bangs back.
I then left the bathroom in search of Joseph, catching him in the throne room as Enae had claimed, the other man staring at my throne with interest. I never saw the interest in my throne. It was just an uncomfortable chair I sat in rarely, white with blue gems encrusted in it. It wasn't anything all too fancy, although Joseph seemed to think so.
Another thing I unwittingly noticed, was how much buffer he was compared to me. We were the same height, but while I was extremely thin with lean muscles, he was completely ripped, taunt muscles covered by an expanse of dark skin. His lashes were also very long, I noticed, giving him a more boyish appearance. Not that he was a mere boy. No, he was a man. Though, I had absolutely no idea why I kept randomly thinking about his characteristics. Maybe the alcohol messed with my head more than I thought.
Pushing myself out of my thoughts, I greeted Joseph with a smile, watching him incline his head in greeting. "Thank you for getting me home. I...didn't do anything to embarrass myself, did I? Because if I did, I have no idea if I will live through the embarrassment."
Joseph turned so he was fully facing me, crossing his arms over his chest as he cocked his hip to the side. He stared at me with those dark eyes of his, making something in my gut clench. I rubbed my stomach with a frown, assuming it to just be the alcohol from last night.
"No, nothing too bad. You did get really talkative, though. You didn't say anything too bad, though you did say you were going to give Delkele another orifice if he said anything bad to me. Which, he didn't, surprisingly." Joseph replied with a shrug.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and nodded my head, scratching the back of my neck. "So...is there any other reason why you called for my presence?"
Joseph blinked and then nodded, straightening to his full, masculine height. "I wanted to know if you had a cooling unit laying around. Olivia tried turning the ship on and completely blew out ours. Idiot. Shouldn't she, the engineer, know these things? Anyway, you have a spare?"
I furrowed my brows, thinking. I then nodded and gestured for him to follow me, then began walking to my giant hanger where my ships were stored. A couple of my servants looked up and waved, making me wave back as I walked up to my best engineer.
Jox was an intimidating Glacic, with bulging muscles and white hair that was cut close to his scalp. He wore tight white leather pants with no shirt, showing off the blue designs on his chest.
"Your Highness! What can I do you for?" He asked, his voice deep and gravelly.
I gestured towards Joseph, making Jox glance at the human curiously with vivid blue eyes. "He needs a new cooling unit for his ship, and was wondering if we had any laying around."
Jox stared at Joseph with an undistinguished look in his eye before he scratched his chin and looked away in thought. He then snapped his fingers and pointed at me, making my raise my brow as he blushed and awkwardly put down his finger. "We have a cooling unit that's collecting dust in the storage space. I was actually debating whether or not I should throw it away. Glad I didn't."
"Is it functional?" Joseph asked, looking a bit skeptical.
"Let's hope so for your sake." Jox replied, placing his hands on his hips. He then gestured for Joseph to follow him, making the brunet glance at me.
"Go on ahead. I have a call to make."
Joseph nodded and let Jox lead him to the storage room, a giant room with thousands of containers filled with gadgets and things of all kinds. I sure hope they found the piece they were looking for, since I was sure Joseph wanted to go back to his planet. Him, Jack and Olivia. I didn't blame them, even when I was gone from my planet for a few hours, I got homesick and wanted to come back. I could only imagine what they were going through, since they were not only on a different planet with strange creatures, but had been here for a week, just about.
I sat down in my office, swiping at the screen of my computer and typing in a name before Teiken's face showed up. He grinned when he saw me, folding his hands over his desk as he shoved papers aside with his elbow. "It's about time you called me. So, when are you coming to sign those papers? My pa wants to know what's taking you so long."
I leaned back in my chair, sighing in exasperation. "Well, I had a run in with a few humans-"
"Humans? What? And you didn't think of calling me? Spill the details, Asurah!"
I chuckled and began explaining the events that led the humans here, telling him about the humans, and about how I was starting to enjoy their presence. I didn't tell him about my weird admiration for Joseph, if it was even that. I couldn't really explain what was so different about him, what made him stand out from Olivia and Jack. Was it because he spent more time with me than his commerads? Or was it because I enjoyed his presence, even if he was a little irritating at times. I would even dare to call Joseph my friend. Not best friend, like how Teiken was, but a friend nonetheless.
I smiled to myself at the thought, wondering how proud my parents would be, if they were still alive. I had finally made another friend. The thought made me extremely happy as I let Teiken know, making him express to me how proud he was. And when the call finally ended with my promise to be there the next day, I couldn't help but wonder how Joseph felt about me. If he too saw me as a friend.