Page 20 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Twenty

DAR

I was so upset I had to leave the house immediately.

I was scared if I stayed, I would rush back into her room and beg her not to leave me.

There must be a way to fix this. The Lord of Light would not do this to me twice in one lifetime.

I have already lost my father to an untimely death; I will never recover if I lose Kira the same way.

How did I allow myself to become so attached to her?

I sit at the helm, coordinating the warships surrounding Darverius . My mind drifts back to the feeling of holding her in my arms during last night’s rest cycle.

Tordan seems to have taken a personal interest in Earth after seeing Kira . He began scanning their solar system this rising and we were both shocked when he started getting a signal back; one of our own signals is returning from Earth’s solar system.

“ Commander , the signal is weak, but the ping is familiar. Unfortunately , the moment I capture it, it stops. I think it is on a rotation of some sort. I may call SoL in and see if he can help pinpoint it.”

“ Contact him immediately because we need to know if it is a false reading or not. And run a systems analysis to see if we have any ships missing in that quadrant that we have not been notified of. Tordan , I will take my leave now, comm me if needed.”

I fly back toward the dwelling, barely seeing my surroundings.

I am piloting like an untrained youth, and my training has taught me better.

I catch a glimpse of the Selin running in the dark woods at the edge of my dwelling’s clearing.

The large canines always run in packs. I thank the Lord of the Light once again for allowing Kira to pass through the dark woods untouched when she ran from me.

I know they caught her scent, because I could track their path easily as they ran next to her, but I do not understand why they let her pass.

What is it about that human female that makes men and animals act out of character?

I start to lower the craft behind the main dwelling when I realize the landing beacon has been moved from this side. I rise back up and take a moment to circle around, making sure that I did not mistakenly miss it, but no, it has been moved .

“ SAGE , why has my landing beacon been moved?”

“ Mistress Kira has rearranged some things, Sir . We are looking forward to your arrival so once you disembark from the shuttle, please head toward the side entrance. It will now lead straight to your sleeping chamber where you can change before your evening meal.”

I enter my sleeping chamber and notice it is extremely smaller than it was. The adjoining room’s walls have been pushed into mine. “ SAGE , what is the meaning of this?” I point toward the wall.

“ Master DaR , I will fix everything while you are dining.

I do apologize for not noticing this before you arrived home.

I mean, to your dwelling, Sir . Mistress Kira calls it a home …

that is the name of a place of your own making in her world.

Everyone always wants to be in their own home, where all the comforts and preferred choices are stored.

That is what she said, and I like this ‘home’ name.

Speaking of home Sir , are there any preferences you would like to incorporate into your sleeping chamber? Maybe change the color of the walls or add some personal effects?”

“ No ! Tell Kira I will join her shortly.”

“ Yes , Master DaR .”

I could have sworn SAGE acted like I hurt her feelings. What is happening to my world? I walk into the main part of the dwelling moments later and almost walk back into my own sleeping chamber again, just to make sure I am in the right place.

There is color everywhere. At first glance, I think it is overpowering, but the longer I stand here looking around, the more I notice it is just little things here and there. It only looks so extreme because the home, I assume I am supposed to call it thus, was so plain before.

I know she is in the room watching me. I can feel her eyes on me as I look around. I am not sure how I am supposed to react, until I feel her small hand on my arm.

“ Do you like it? If it’s too much too quickly, we can put things back the way they were.”

I look down into those beautiful brown eyes and I cannot say anything. What I want to do is wrap her up in my arms and never let her go. I also have enough sense to know that this is a big step toward her adjusting, so I change the subject.

“ Lead the way my lady, I am famished.” I can tell she wants my approval, but I am not sure what to say. I am a warrior, not a dwelling decorator. I do notice though, as she walks in front of me, that she finally has an appropriate dress on.

“ I see the clothing designer came today and you look lovely in your new garment.”

“ Thank you,” she whispers as her cheeks turn pink. She points for me to sit down at this strange square in the middle of the floor.

I pull a small, uncomfortable seat out from underneath its edge and sit down carefully.

I wait for it to collapse from my weight, but instead as soon as I am settled, a back forms and the seat becomes softer beneath me, and it even swivels from side to side.

Of course, the first thing that crosses my mind is this chair would put me at the perfect height to stretch her across this table and feast upon all that beautiful, pale flesh of hers.

I shake my head and try to focus as I watch her balance some plates, carefully setting them on the table.

“ I hope you like these dishes. I let SAGE pick yours out because I had no idea what you liked. I’m just learning how to use this food replicator.”

I wait until she sits down. “ Let us eat, and you can tell me how your day was.”

“ You weren’t gone long this morning when the clothing designer showed up.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but let me tell you, I believe the first thing I need to learn is to quit expecting anything familiar.

Anyway , this robot thing with six arms comes into the house full of attitude.

I would’ve never thought that computers could become sentient, but that thing …

It came in barking orders like I was wasting its time, yelling out demands quicker than I could even react.

I swear, if it hadn’t been for SAGE putting it in its place, I would have hit it over the head with something !

Finally , SAGE had me stand on some type of turntable and the thing poked and prodded me like I was a science project.

Then pictures and colors started appearing above its head.

I didn’t know I was supposed to approve anything, so once again it was getting all fussy.

When I asked it if I could have some material and maybe a needle and thread to make my own clothing, I thought it was going to malfunction right here in the living room.

And let’s not even talk about what it did when I asked for some pants.

Anyway , it really made me miss the shopping malls on Earth at that point.

But finally, SAGE managed to get me some appropriate clothing.

There are even a few things I feel comfortable in.

She also got a sewing program installed while it was here so she could make me the other things I may need or want.

Which I thanked her dearly for; she needs a raise, by the way.

Without SAGE , I’d be walking in circles right now still in your shirt.

Another machine stopped a little while ago and SAGE told it to leave the device, that she would have you administer it? ”

“ SAGE ?”

“ Master DaR , they came to mark Mistress Kira , but her day had been eventful enough, so I thought maybe she would accept it better from you?”

Kira looks at me with troubled eyes. “ It is nothing to worry about, Kira , we will discuss it after we eat. Do you want me to file a complaint with the owner of the Clothing Designer ? ”

“ Lord no, don’t waste your time. SAGE said I won’t have to deal with it again unless it’s a clothing emergency or something she can’t design for me.

I also want to talk to you about working off the expense of the clothes and food you provide for me, DaR .

I don’t want to be a burden to you. I know I’ve already cost you enough. ”

I almost choke on the food in my mouth. “ Whatever gave you the idea I wanted to be paid? The moment I held you in my arms on Sybrus One , you were mine to take care of, not the other way around!”

I watch her put her head down and push the contents of her plate back and forth.

“ Frack . Kira , I did not mean to snap at you, so please be at ease. We are both learning our roles in this new relationship we have. We need to be patient with each other. I do not take hints, so if you need or want something, you must say so or ask for it. It is my job to make sure you are cared for and that is not open for discussion. As for the dwelling, I told you to make yourself a familiar place, and if it makes you more comfortable, please change whatever you want. All I ask is if you are going to change my landing beacon again, please notify me before I get here, so that I am not flying in circles over my own dwelling.”

“ It’s my fault you weren’t notified sooner, and I’m sorry about that.

SAGE wanted to notify you the moment the designer upset me, but I wouldn’t let her.

I know you’ve got important work to do and I need to learn to do some things on my own.

No man, woman, human or other being wants to be bugged nonstop.

The only way she’d compromise was if I promised to tell you when you got home. ”

“ No harm done. When we get done eating, you can show me the changes that have been made to the dwelling. And Kira , I am always available to you.”

“ Home DaR , this is your home.”

“ SAGE was explaining that to me as I entered my sleeping chamber.”