Plutonian

Chapter 16

Lucian's body traps me in place and his head lies on my shoulder. My skin tingles as he exhales softly and I turn to see his face right next to mine.

We are so close, I can see the small white hairs on his jaw, the smooth pale skin that grows dark under his eyes. He looks so peaceful in his slumber it is the first time I see him for what he really is.

A boy. A young man only a few years older than myself, with skin just as penetrable as mine, similar features and the same beating heart.  When I was a slave I never imagined the Plutonians to be a vulnerable species but if I were to puncture his heart with a knife, he would die just like I would.

The thought both frightens and thrills me and blood rushes to my face. I never in a million years could have envisioned this scenario in my head.

Here I am lying underneath an unconscious and very vulnerable Plutonian.

A Plutonian who has been entrusted with the faith of the entire Plutonian army and since the army has been responsible for Pluto's colonization on other planets giving them the rights to their trades and resources, he is technically in charge of Pluto's future.

I gulp at the thought. It has never occurred to me that the magnitude of his responsibility was so large, the shoes he has to fill, so big.

Could that be why he acts out like this at night? Maybe the stress of being the Trinity makes him want to lash out unconsciously.

After a few seconds I realize I am wasting time by staring at his face and that I need to get out from under him before I suffocate.

I struggle to move but it seems I have underestimated his weight due to his long and slender frame.

"Move," I say helplessly but he doesn't even budge.

Feeling annoyed I try again by poking him with the needle tip lightly.

He murmurs something incoherent and shifts slightly but his body remains planted on top of me.

Realizing he needs more stimulation I poke him harder and he jerks in response. I stubbornly poke him again and he shifts to the side.

It is enough for me to crawl out from under him and I quickly get up and take off the suit I am wearing.

I place it back in the drawer in the same position I found it in and then walk back to Lucian who lies on the floor with his back to the ceiling.

He looks so uncomfortable that I feel bad for him.

I bend down and put his arm over my shoulders. I try to get up and bring him with me to the bed but he is absurdly heavy and I barely move an inch.

Giving up, I take a pillow from his bed and force it under his head. Feeling slightly irritated I sit down by the edge of the bed and place a pillow behind me.

I lean back and watch him warily. I cannot believe how lucky I am tonight for being caught by a sleeping Lucian but a small part of me is annoyed with his timing.

Couldn't he have interrupted me after I finished fishing through his book shelf?

I suddenly remember the book about Earth in the library and take it from his study table. I know it is not what I was looking for but it will be nice to read something about my planet, even more so from the view point of its supposed colonizers. I leave the fallen chair as it is and walk back to my pillow on the floor.

Feeling exhausted I sit on the floor facing Lucian and lean against the pillow that's propped against the bed frame.

I don't remember falling asleep but I wake up under soft satin sheets on Lucians bed with the same artificial sun light peeking out from fake clouds.