unclear
She was giving Adrian twenty more minutes, then they were out of here. She knew how important it was to find the next New Ruler, but tonight she had a hot date. There were legs to shave and a dress to find.
"Dame, you think there's any dress shops in this town?"
He wasn't being very talkative, but she wasn't letting it ruin her day. If she had her way, she was so getting lucky tonight.
She needed everything. Perfume. Makeup. She'd even wrestle her way into some spanks. Not that she needed them anymore, but she was going all out. Flowers. Wine. Dinner.
"Think there's a jewelry shop? I'll be honest, I've never done any of this before. Usually, all the courting a boy needs is a smile and a wink."
Seeing that she was waiting for an answer this time, Dame shook his head. "I am not an expert, my Queen."
"That's clear enough." Sighing, she looked for a place to sit. Seeing an old truck, she went to it and let the tailgate down. "Sit."
"They should have been back by now, my Queen. We should have never split up."
"So, you've told me. Numerous times and they aren't that late. They said they had one more place to check. It makes sense to split up, and wrong subject. Tell me how things are going with you and Julian."
He frowned.
"That's how I figured it was going. Have the both of you tried my approach?"
"Mostly, we do not know what to say to each other, my Queen. We have spent two days trying to not talk when we are around each other."
"That's not going to get you anywhere."
"Where should I be trying to get, my Queen? It is supposed to be easy. You wait for your mate. You meet your mate. The end."
Her chuckle died off at his unhappy look. "Dame, is it a problem for you that he isn't what you were expecting?"
"My Queen, we do not expect anything. It is as simple as I said. Wait. Meet. End."
"Here we have an idea of what we are looking for. Sometimes we're right, sometimes we're about as far from right as we can be. I think Julian is worried that deep down you won't accept him. Here we understand that love comes in all colors, shapes, and sizes. In your world you had to be expecting a blond, blue eye, woman."
"My Queen, I was seven when I was told that I had no matches. I was twelve when I was told that there would be no chance for a mate because no more children were being conceived. I was only one of many, so I knew if a child was ever conceived the chances of them being my mate was slim."
"And you never wanted to just date someone for the hell of it?"
His look was answer enough.
"You had to be lonely. Why did dating never cross your mind if you had given up hope on finding your mate?"
"I never gave up hope."
"What about not being able to have children? That has to bother you."
"I was infected. Even if my mate was immune and we had high numbers, my odds of having children would be low. My Queen, we need children, but they do not have to be my children. Already, your planet has more children than we ever thought to see. Nearly half of our people have found their mates. That is more than we could have ever hoped for."
