A Little Wish Upon a Star Read online

"Iron and copper? I don't see any oxidation. There's no rust or patina. Why?"

  "I'll tell you in a moment. Kick off your shoes and walk along the shoreline. It's a short distance to our destination and you can experience the water for yourself. Hand me your shoes and socks," Seth said. She carefully picked her way over the chilly silver ground until she reached the water's edge. Cautiously, she stuck her toe in the water and then stepped in to her ankles.

  "Oh, my!" she gasped, wiggling her toes in the 'sand'. "It feels like a million fish nibbling on my feet!"

  "A magnetic reaction occurs between the iron on the land and our hemoglobin. The copper acts as a conductor and causes the molecules to bounce back and forth, giving that warm prickling sensation. As you walk, it exfoliates and depilates the flesh," Seth explained.

  "Walk a bit. If you stay in one place for any amount of time, it can become uncomfortable," Kalavan instructed. "Most people don't go under the water for long, unless they want the hair on their faces and heads removed."

  "Okay, but now explain to me why nothing is rusting or turning green."

  "The mammals that live in this ocean secrete an oil into the water that prevents the effects of oxidation. There is a second benefit to these secretions. Step out of the water for a moment and feel your skin."

  "It like there's been lotion massaged into it," she mused, trailing her fingers across her sole. "Nice. The perfect pedicure, huh?" Tabitha put her foot back down and walked back into the water to continue the trek down the beach. She tucked her dress skirt down to prevent the wind from blowing it into the air and exposing her pantiless state. "Can you really swim in this?"

  "Our people do all the time. The friction against the skin leaves our bodies completely smooth and unbelievably soft. If you would like, I'll permit you to go swimming after we dine," Kalavan announced.

  "Awesome!"

  "Father…" Seth began.

  "Allow the child to enjoy a few hours at the beach, son. The moon is close, the air is warm, and she's been through quite an ordeal."

  "Yeah, Daddy, let me have a few hours." Tabitha tugged Seth's fingers and presented her best 'puppy dog' face. "Puleeessee."

  Seth rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable. Grandpa would yield to that facial expression, but I do not. We will come at another time."

  She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "You're mean."

  "Yeah, you're mean," Kalavan mimicked her and then winked at the girl.

  She bit back the urge to laugh and redirected her gaze to the beautiful alien man.

  "Then I'm mean. Father, you are not helping me," Seth grumbled.

  "Nor do I intend to," Kalavan said and laughed, taking Tabby's hand and leading her down the strip, with Seth following right behind them.

  People, all larger than life, cheerfully greeted their ruler without appearing overly curious at the human's presence. When Tabitha, Seth and Kalavan reached the eatery, the clientele all stood and bowed as the royal family walked past the tables, and did not return to their seats until their king and crown prince had settled.

  "What was all that about?" Tabby asked, wrinkling her nose as she sat perched in a Lotopian child's high chair. "Why would people treat you normally outside, but like royalty indoors?"

  "It's tradition. People who genuflected in view of the enemy gave away the location of the ruler, so they learned to save their honor for under the protection of a roof."

  "That makes sense. I need to wash my hands. Is there a bathroom around here?"

  "Hand preparation takes place at the table," Kalavan said after speaking to the attendant.

  "What's that?" she asked as a small plate was laid before her. Upon it was an enormous flower.

  "It is called a Moon Blossom. Place your hands inside the petals," Seth said. The thick, white petals closed around her hands and began a series of light, pulsating vibrations. "This flower can only be used during the Third Moon Phase of the day. It prepares the hands for dining."

  "It feels weird. What kind of preparation?"

  "We do not use eating utensils in authentic Lotopian restaurants. The Moon Blossom seasons our hands with certain spices that enhance our dining experience. See those tubes?" He pointed to the high ceiling. "They are designed to pull our attractants out of the air so that everyone can focus on enjoying the meal."

  "A planet that makes you eat with your hands, offers a painless Brazilian hair removal, and has a beach that gives the best foot massage ever is a pretty awesome place. Am I done?" she asked, lifting her hands out of the opened flower.

  "Smell your hands."

  "I don't smell anything." It was disappointing.

  "This is a vegetable we use frequently in our food. What does it smell like?" He lifted the bowl to her nose.

  "Not really much of anything. Is something wrong with me?" she asked.

  "Not at all. Pick up a piece of that vegetable and take a bite."

  Tabby's nose and mouth were suddenly filled with the rich, aromatic aromas that resembled Moroccan spice. "That is so good! It tastes like candied yams!"

  "Now smell my hands. Anything?"

  "No. That's weird, huh?"

  "It's the Moon Blossom's work. Open," Seth ordered.

  Her lips closed over the fingers that placed the bite of food in her mouth and she closed her eyes with a groan. She began to suck on his finger, then bit him gently.

  "Ow! Watch those teeth. You're aroused," Seth said, pulling his hand away.

  "You just fed me pure ambrosia. Wow," Tabby said. "Grandpa? Would yours taste the same?"

  "Here," Kalavan said, feeding her with his fingers.

  "It's yummy, but I don't have that weird need to bite you. What does that mean?"

  "That means that you two might be quite compatible. It is difficult for a hybrid to find a partner to balance with, due to concerns about attraction and safety."

  "Safety?"

  "Yes." Kalavan laughed. "A larger hybrid with that need to devour could seriously hurt his mate. What are your feelings about this, Mesethius?"

  "This is not the time or place to discuss my sexual preferences, Father."

  Kalavan's eyes twinkled as he sipped the iced beverage placed before him. "Nonsense. It is always the time and place to discuss our sexual preferences. Since when are you shy in discussing the topic?"

  "Yeah, Daddy, since when are you shy?" Tabitha poked him, feeling her mind slip back into a younger and freer place.

  "Hush up, you," Seth told her. "Father? If you don't stop instigating trouble, I will not allow you to play with our new toy."

  "That's not fair!" both Kalavan and Tabby said in chorus.

  "You heard me. Ah, here's our meal. I'd like you to try everything, baby."

  She shuddered. "That looks like fried bugs."

  "Insects? No, that is a type of grain. The spicules add flavor. We do not slaughter our food, and the animal products we use are limited to Bombat eggs, milk and cheese, butter and different types of fish."

  "I don't like fish," she grumbled.

  "You need to taste it before you say you don't like it. If you don't try everything, you will not get dessert."

  "You really are mean."

  "Thank you."

  ***

  Several rotations later, Tabitha leaned back in her chair with her hands on her stomach and groaned. "I ate too much. That was amazing."

  "We did overindulge a bit," Kalavan agreed. "Let's take a walk and burn off some of this food."

  "No dessert?" Tabby asked.

  Seth and his father looked at each other and then broke into loud laughter. "I thought you ate too much, little one," the king stated, lifting her from the tall chair.

  "There is always some room left for dessert, dude."

  "We'll get you something special before we leave the shore," Seth promised, taking her hand. "I want to show you the Singing Forest."

  More wonders met her eyes and ears on the tip of the peninsula. Trees with long, rubbery dark blue trucks and canopies of oran
ge leaves swayed rhythmically to the gentle gust of wind. Kalavan elbowed Tabitha, winked, and then slapped his palm against one of the trunks.

  "That sounds like a pan flute," the girl said, awed by the music that filled the forest. "How do the trees do that?"

  "Earth has an instrument called a pipe organ. The forest works much the same way, with each tree being one of the channels. The plants are very sensitive to ecological changes and will lift a warning in the event of a bad storm or major environmental disturbance. If we are ever invaded from the sky, the Singing Forest will give an alarm as well. It is Ceres's way of protecting her planet and people."

  "Amazing. It is all so beautiful." She suddenly yawned. "There's so much to take in and my brain feels full. Daddy? I'm tired. Carry me!"

  "We need to get her back. She isn't used to our routine yet and I'm afraid we might have pushed her limits today, especially after the treatment," Seth said, lifting her in his arms and pressing her sleepy head against his shoulder.

  "Get your hands off my ass," she whispered in his ear. "I'm not in the mood."

  "I can tell. Close your eyes and rest a bit."

  "What about my dessert?"

  "I'll pick it up before we launch."

  Tabby grinned, snuggling her cheeks against his shoulder. Once again, she was intrigued by the ease with which she was able—and willing—to be so childlike when she was with these men. It was almost as though being in this dimension of existence was returning some lost youth to her spirit.

  "I have a question," she asked. "Is Ceres strong enough to reverse the aging process in humans?"

  "I don't know. We've never had one with us before. Why do you ask?"

  "I just feel different. Freer, maybe? It's an effort to not react to things to which I would ordinarily show no response, for example."

  "I think that is more likely due to the imprinting with us when we first retrieved you. Our natural scents may have embedded into your system. Nature provides a means of protection for the young and, in our case, a young human. You are like a baby Bombat who was hatched with an adult Perskat. The Bombat imprints instantly and begins to behave in the manner the Perskat desires, which is nothing like its origin."

  "But I can't seem to stop it."

  "Can you cease from breathing? Or eating? Or talking?" Kalavan asked, tweaking her nose. "It is just part of you now. Enjoy it."

  "I don't want to be a little girl forever, though." She yawned again.

  "Don't worry, you won't be. I have a feeling that when I shift from being Daddy to being your caretaker, your needs will follow mine. If not, I will wait until they do. This place of innocence must be protected at all times, even from me," Seth said.

  She slept through the entire journey home and awakened to the sound of a voice that resembled brittle iron spikes scratching across a chalkboard. It made her instantly irritable and feeling 'normal', neither a mood that she particularly cared to be in for the moment. She was also grateful that she could not understand the words being thrown in her direction by the hideous, slug-like female that resembled a 300 pound cross between a troll and a dwarf.

  Its head was small in comparison to the rest of its anatomy, with a huge under-bite, a pug nose, and tiny, beady black eyes. The three sagging, unbound breasts rested on top of rolls after roll of paper white flesh that was supported by short, bowed legs. Long spikes of white hair stuck out sporadically over the wrinkled sac of the skin folds.

  "Is that your mother? She reeks!" Tabby whispered in Seth's ear as he held her protectively against him after they'd disembarked the ship.

  "Incidentally, she is saying the same thing about you as well. The people call her H'annaot. It is translated as deplorable toad in Lotopian," he said and chuckled. "She is very angry with Father for sneaking away."

  "I can tell. Why does he allow her to yell at him like that?"

  "The Helminthe have no endurance. This screeching will knock her out for at least twelve rotations. Let's get out of here."

  Chapter Nine

  "I'm suddenly not feeling very young anymore," she muttered as they entered his quarters.

  "I'm not feeling much like a daddy either." Seth grinned and produced a white box. "I brought you dessert."

  "What is it?"

  "Lotopia's version of hot chocolate sauce and sprinkles."

  "To be honest, food is not on my mind right now," she admitted with a slight blush.

  "I know. I've been fighting against your arousal since I play spanked you this evening. It has taken a lot of effort to keep you from giving into it."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I wasn't completely truthful when I told you that it was the imprinting that was making you feel childlike, or implying that it was due to the after-effects of the treatment. I've altered my scent to keep you maintained, and know that Father would not have approved. I'm still altering it right now," Seth admitted.

  "Why would you do that?" A sense of hurt struck her. It had been the only time in her life in which she really remembered what feeling young was like—and it had all been a lie.

  "Because once I go back to my natural pheromones, your desire for me will be uncontrollable. Why are you upset?"

  "I think you're an egotistical son of a bitch," she snapped, stomping away from him and looking out the window with tear-blurred eyes. Being young and free had felt so good, and so real. But it had been nothing more than him manipulating her senses.

  "Tabitha, your language is—"

  "Fuck my language!" She stamped her foot and clenched her fists, tears streaming down her face. "You are a selfish, useless, pathetic excuse for a sentient being! How could you do that to me?" She began to sob, staring at him through the flowing tears. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "How could you? It was so real…"

  "I am so sorry," Seth choked out, sweeping her into his arms and tucking her tightly against his chest with her head tucked under his chin. "Please forgive me. I did not mean to hurt you. I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you. I just wanted you to have some time without worrying about anything, and give you the opportunity to be childlike without any obstacles. Please forgive me for being an idiot."

  "You're not an idiot—you're just a dude." She sniffed. "Do you even know why it hurt me so much?"

  "If I correctly understand an old Earth tradition, then I essentially just told you that there is no Santa Claus."

  "So, you do understand. I'm impressed."

  "I do. I truthfully didn't think I was putting out so much, but I should have asked you first. This is my responsibility and I truly apologize."

  She sniffled again as her anger drifted away. "I never thought I would see the day when I would hear a guy not only own up to doing something dumb, but then apologizing for it without being asked."

  "I'll also ask for directions if I need them. If I understand that correctly, it is something Earth males avoid doing," he said with a grin.

  "I've only met a few, and they were trying to find a party."

  "Will you forgive me?"

  "I can't stay mad at you. You're forgiven, but please don't do the aromatherapy thing on me anymore. I need you to promise me that you won't," she pleaded.

  "I can't make that promise, honey. It's not because I do not wish to, but that it is just not physically possible. The attractants are always present, and I can only consciously increase or decrease them."

  "I don't understand."

  "Remember how I told you that we can adjust the scent to either extreme? Even in the lowest register, the scent is still attractive to you." He noticed her confusion. "I'm not explaining this well, am I?"

  "No, you're not. Are you trying to say that some type of connection would have had to exist in the first place? And that what you manipulated was something I already sensed?" Tabby asked.

  "Exactly. Otherwise everyone on this planet would be best friends, not just friendly."

  "Would I have been able to go into that happy, free state of mind if that place did not alr
eady exist in me?"

  "I doubt it. It would have felt forced and unnatural."

  "So you just boosted what was already there in me," she stated quietly to clarify.

  "Yes. I found it very easy to do and did not even think about it once we arrived on Cuprum."

  "How close do I have to be to you for those pheromones to affect me?"

  "It depends how acute your sense of smell is. Why all these questions?" Seth gently stroked her arm. The very tips of his fingers brushed against her left nipple and she immediately clenched her thighs together. What was that?

  "How long do the effects last?" Her voice felt strained as her breast tingled from the simple touch.

  "Usually not more than a rotation or two."

  "How long were we in that restaurant?"

  "About three rotations," he said.

  "Those fans pulled all the attractants away, right? And after that, we were on the open beach and then in the forest. I didn't smell you once during the entire seven hours or so that we were out. In fact, it wasn't until you picked me up and carried me that I could breathe you in again, and felt nothing different. Explain that."

  He lifted her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them. His hot breath on her skin made her tremble. "That means that what you felt for most of the day was purely from you."

  "I guess it does. Wow. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

  "I deserved it. You like it when my fingers touch your breasts, don't you?"

  She shifted her arm to protect herself. "Not really."

  "Liar. You need to know that my system also works in your favor. If you are in a high sexual state it activates my pheromones to respond."

  "Like a neuroendocrine hard-on. Can't you control yourself?"

  "Not well," he said sheepishly.

  "Of course you can't. Men act the same way about sex no matter what galaxy they come from, don't they? It's good that I'm quite capable of controlling my urges. I'm not an animal."

  "You've already bitten me out of need."

  "And you said that your body adjusted to that reaction to find balance," she told him.

  "It did, but your desire for me has also adjusted to compensate for it."

  "Bring it on, Romeo. I'll prove to you that my self-control can outrun, outlast and outwit your hormonal bullshit," Tabby said as he set her down.