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Sarah went to investigate the sound and found the Captain exiting his chambers and carrying what looked like a long and heavy duffle bag. She yelled down the hallway at him when he didn’t notice her standing there.
“Kael!” she said, cupping her hands.
He turned gruffly, his prickly manner having returned in full force.
“What?”
“Where are you going? What do you want me to do?”
He rolled his tongue along his teeth, his pointed ears twitching. It wasn’t a particularly sexy gesture, but nevertheless, Sarah found it rather hot.
“She will be awake at half day. Have breakfast with her. Take her outside if she will let you. I have a mission to tend to.”
Then, without another word, he vaulted back down the stairs and disappeared into the midday sunlight.
“Fuck,” Sarah said, stomping her foot in frustration.
Having been a nanny for some time, Sarah wasn’t unsure or unconfident about how to take care of a nine-year-old. She had taken care of children for most of her adult life, from newborns to teenagers. She had a way with people, especially the downtrodden.
But she had never had to face not only an alien with foreign values but a child who was basically a mirror of her own suffering. She had gone through therapy and tried to look at the loss as closely as she felt she was able to. But she felt a lot like Kael … the hurt was far too profound to look directly at, like trying to avoid eye contact with Medusa.
However, she had a job to do. So she decided to take the bull by the horns and plunge head-first into what she saw as her destiny. Sarah had lost her mother to a long illness, while Suki had lost hers to a sudden accident. Their stories were different, but their pain, immeasurable and infinite, was indistinguishable in its cruelty.
She carried the meal Allan had made up to the drafty wing. Kael had left the key with her so she fished it out of her pocket and walked in quietly so as to not wake her. But Suki was very much awake.
“Is he gone?”
Her voice was horse and gritty. Like she had been crying.
“He is. On some secret mission, apparently.”
Sarah went to the window Suki was peering out of. She appeared entranced, her long-black hair an identical shade to her father’s. Sarah sat next to the girl with folded legs, holding the plate of mashed food in one hand.
“I’m not entirely sure what this is, but it certainly smells good,” Sarah said, keeping her voice low and sweet.
“I’m not very hungry,” Suki said, pulling her knees to her face to sit in the fetal position. “Allan knows that. So does Dad.”
Sarah placed the plate in front of Suki, just below the window. It was nearly half day, which apparently was what the Drakonians meant for noon.
Suki looked thin and a bit gaunt. The tracings along her body were similar to her father’s, a bold, deep crimson shade. But there were some along the sides of her face and chin that were bright neon red like strawberry fields.
Sarah thought those markings came from her mother.
“I don't know what they’ve told you because they didn’t really tell me much either,” Sarah said, turning her head to share the view out the window. “But I’m here to take care of you. I’m here to help if you’ll let me.”
When there was no reaction, Sarah went on. “I’m not here to replace your mother. No one ever will. So think of me more as your friend. We can have fun together since your dad doesn’t really seem like the over-jovial type.”
A miracle happened. Suki cracked a smile. She finally turned her head to look at Sarah.
“You noticed already,” Suki said, still smirking. “Did he yell at you yet?”
Sarah rolled her eyes, which made Suki giggle. She was ecstatic and relieved by the sound.
“Oh, you know it. It’s like his first greeting, isn’t it?”
Suki laughed more, forming wrinkles along the sides of her forehead. It was clear that she hadn’t laughed so hard in a very long time.
“Now, tell me about this mush you are about to eat,” Sarah said, picking up the plate. “The colors are really something else. But I’m quite hungry. Maybe you can tell me about it, and then we can go down to the kitchen and get Allan to make us a real breakfast?”
