Page 10 of Summer

The sister will not.

The craft slows, and I crane my neck to peer out the window. The planet looms before us, and I search my memory for any identifying markers. The planet is small, with great bodies of water broken up by smaller purple and gray swaths of land. The ship passes into the atmosphere and the windows fog. I reach out to trace my name in the condensation, but the inside of the ship remains dry and cool.

The ship continues across the planet, lowering by increments until it descends amidst a sea of purple grass. It’s not until the door opens and the attendant leads us out that I’m fully aware of how fucked I am.

We are in the middle of nowhere.

All around me the purple grass stretches, sloping along hills that stretch far beyond what I can see. A few small buildings dot the hills – likely storage buildings for the equipment to farm the property.

Behind me the house looms, dwarfing Protegre. It’s what Protegre thought it was – wished it was. Nothing is out of order or out of place. No ivy crumbles the edges of the castle – because that’s what it is. It’s no home, it’s a castle complete with at least 6 stories, four turrets, an expansive garden, and stars only knows what else.

“Welcome home!” the duke says, pleased by my reaction. I don’t need to feign amazement – this is the largest, most impressive home I’ve ever seen. It reminds me of the castles of Earth before they were destroyed, where royalty used to live.

“This is our main estate – we also have properties on several other continents and planets,” the duke continues. “But we remain under the rule of the King of Hothin.”

Hothin. Part of Triangulum II, a dwarf galaxy not too far from the Milky Way. The nearest escape planet would be Tatin, which makes sense as to why they spoke Tatinnish. If I could make it to Tatin, then I could find a pirate crew to take me. Before I was captured, Tatin was popular for piracy due to the tariffs. The only way to get goods off the planet without paying a large fee was to hire a ghost ship. What’s the difference between a human woman and some contraband? I’m sure I could find something of value to trade for passage in this house. If the outside was this impressive, I couldn’t imagine the inside.

“Gennelle, show Summer to her rooms,” the duke says.

Gennelle, that’s the sisters name. She doesn’t speak to me, instead turns and walks toward the house. I hurry to catch her, wiping the condensation from my brow. This planet is more humid than Gagos, and the thick air makes it harder to breathe.

I have six months to rebuild my stamina and muscles. Three years of forced complacency, of no exertion, have ruined me. If I tried to run now, I wouldn’t make it more than a few feet before I collapsed. If I’m given my own room, I’ll be free to exercise without fear of being caught and reprimanded. I can walk the grounds until my strength improves.

I just need to bide my time and find the right moment to escape. I’ll only have one chance.

“Your home is beautiful,” I offer. If I’m going to be chaperoned by her, I need her to trust me. If she suspects I’m going to run, she’ll turn me over to her father or alert her brother.

She gives me a sideways glance. “Yes, I’m sure you’re not used to wealth,” she says dismissively.

I resist the urge to tell her that I’ve been on ships filled with riches from all over the galaxy and beyond. That her silly little planet means nothing in the vast expanse of space, and her king is a joke.

“It’s overwhelming,” I agree.

“Get used to it,” she snaps. “They’ll expect you to run the household. They taught you to count in that school, did they not?”

That school. More like a fucking prison.

“At least up to ten, yes,” I say before I remember myself.

She stops suddenly and whirls around to face me. I wonder what she’d look like if she smiled? She’s already disarmingly beautiful, with those bright eyes and her strong features.

“If you think running an estate like this is a joke,” she drags the word joke out for an extra few syllables. “You are in for a surprise. This estate has been in our family for centuries – well before your pathetic planet developed speech. I suggest you keep your mouth shut and your ears open.”

I suddenly wonder if she’d still be pretty if I punched her in the face.

“Of course, my lady,” I say with a curtsy. “I only meant to say that I’ve been trained in the skills required of a wife.”

And before that, I’d been trained to be a pirate. I’ll be out of here in no time.

So much for trying to befriend her. I need to pretend this is what I want, that I have no desire in life but to marry her brother and run this ridiculous castle. If I act the perfect little wife-in-training, she’ll have no reason to watch me as closely as she has.

“Good,” she said and turns to the house once more.

Her tour is a blur – staircase after staircase leaves me winded, and her pace is impossible to keep up with. How am I to remember every room, every square inch of this ridiculous place? It’s mostly empty anyway, the multiple bedrooms sitting vacant and forlorn. She breezes by the servants’ quarters, but I have plans to investigate those later. Using the excuse of getting lost suddenly doesn’t seem like an excuse, but an inevitability.

She pauses at the top of the stairs, looking down at me critically as I hike up the last few steps. My legs are lead, not used to this much movement.

“Is the house too large for your constitution?” she asks.