That night, safely ensconced in their room, Sunny and Kilnor lay on the bed, quietly talking. Sunny lay next to Kilnor, her head rising on his chest. Every time he spoke, she could feel the vibrations through his body.
"How long will it take to reach your planet?" Sunny asked. Her previous experience with inter-planet travel had not been pleasant.
"Not too long," Kilnor thought for a moment. "Maybe a few time-periods?"
Sunny knew from earlier conversations with Kilnor that his people measured their time differently from humans. The closest equivalent she had found was that a cycle was a day, and instead of seven day weeks, they had ten cycle time-periods. So a few time-periods was roughly a month.
"That long?" she asked. "What will we do with our time?"
Kilnor's answering grin was suggestive. "I can think of a few things," he teased.
Sunny smiled back, her lips curving against his chest. "I'm sure you can," she agreed.
They lay quiet for a few moments, and then Kilnor spoke, his tone noticeably more somber.
"Rianhar," he said. "If anything should go wrong, and we are separated-"
"That's not likely, is it?" Sunny interjected, voice worried. "That something will go wrong or that we'll be separated?"
"No," Kilnor replied patiently. "It is not likely. But just in case, I want you to promise me something."
Sunny lifted her head to look Kilnor in the eye.
"Anything," she pledged.
"I want you to find a way to get to Miotal," he said. "And find a way to contact my team - they will take you in and look after you."
"They don't know me," Sunny protested. "Why would they take me in?"
"I will teach you something to tell them in Miotal," Kilnor promised. "They will take you in, but first, I want you to know some basic words."
Sunny didn't see the point in learning this, seeing as they had booked passage on a ship to leave this godforsaken planet the next day, but from the look on Kilnor's face, it was important to him, and so she conceded.
"Okay," she said. "What's first?"
"Very basic," Kilnor started. "Yes, in Miotalan, is fach."
"Fach," Sunny dutiful repeated. "Easy enough."
Kilnor smiled. "This is just the basics," he told her. "You will have a lot more to learn when we arrive in Miotal."
Sunny tilted her head questioningly. "You mean," she started. "I'll have to learn an entire language? Why can't I just get my translator updated with the language, the way you speak English?"
Kilnor shook his head. "Learning a language is always better," he told her. "Nuances are understood better, and your knowledge is not dependant upon technology. It would be different if you only had to use the language sparingly, but Miotalan will be the only language you use."
Wasn't that a terrifying thought. Sunny had never been particularly good at French, and she couldn't see Miotalan being much better. It could be years before she was able to communicate with anyone but Kilnor. This wasn't the time to protest, however, so Sunny turned her attention back to the impromptu lesson.
"Fach is yes," she said. "Go on, what's next?"
A corner of Kilnor's mouth twisted up at her enthusiasm.
"Dach is no," he informed her.
Again, Sunny repeated the word as instructed. They ran through basic words and phrases, such as please, thank you, you're welcome and hello, and when Kilnor was finally satisfied that Sunny could remember and repeat them to his satisfaction, his expression grew somber again.
YOU ARE READING
Heart of Gold
Romance"Two moons, she thought wondrously. Scientists and astronomers alike would kill to see such a sight, and all it had taken was being kidnapped by aliens and dragged halfway across the universe to be sold at a slave market." "I have never heard of a...
