Page 31 of The Alien Who Saved Christmas

Good King Hathgarr came from the sky, as they ran out of fuel,

Brightly shone the moon that night, though the octopus was cruel.

From “Good King Hathgarr”

A Christmas Carol for Non-Earthlings by Sadie Malone

Sadie was surrounded by aliens who looked like Xane.

Well, they weren’t as handsome as Xane, but the horns and four-arms were pretty similar. A very large man with braided hair looked the most like Xane. It was no surprise at all when he turned out to be Hathgarr. The turquoise eyes were distinctive.

“Hi!” She beamed up at him, disregarding the odd-shaped skulls dangling from his belt like trophies. She’d woken up from the glint-weapon, feeling great. Now she was ready to meet her new brother. “Thanks so much for the rescue.”

Nothing.

Hathgarr scowled at Sadie, like he was trying to drill through her brain with his eyes.

Sadie kept on grinning back, feeling a little nervous. Her new in-law was scary, even for an in-law. Still, Hathgarr’s eyes were so much like Xane’s, she couldn’t help but like him. And he’d saved them from Corono. That gave him a free pass for life, as far as she was concerned.

His spaceship was nicer than the ones the Lythions had used, too.

Hathgarr’s vessel was way bigger and way shinier.

All kinds of Rtaharions were moving around the bridge, piloting them towards safety.

Looking out the oval-shaped windows, Sadie beheld an endless web of stars.

No other waitress from Toledo had ever seen anything like it, she was pretty sure.

She was flying through outer space!

“Stop trying to intimidate Sadie.” Xane told his brother, sounding exasperated. “You will only embarrass yourself. She cannot be conquered. She is stronger than any of us.”

“But she is smiling at me.” Confused turquoise eyes flicked to Xane. “No one smiles at the King of the Rtaharion. They are too fearful of my wrath.”

“My wife is a very smiling person. Accustom yourself to it. Quickly .”

Hathgarr grunted at that warning, but his ferocious frown lessened a bit.

“Oh wow!” Sadie’s eyebrows soared, her attention still on Hathgarr. “You’re a king? Xane didn’t tell me that. Xane, you didn’t tell me your brother is a king.”

“Why would I tell you that, when we had more interesting things to discuss?” Xane waved aside his sibling’s majestic pedigree. “It’s unimportant.”

Hathgarr glowered at him.

“Doesn’t that make you a prince, though?” Sadie persisted, looking up at Xane. “Because that seems pretty important.”

Xane looked over at Hathgarr, like he had no idea if he was royal or not.

Hathgarr shrugged in a distinctly pouty way. “Only my title matters, really.”

“Because, Xane… if you’re a prince, then I would be a princess.” Sadie spelled out, her head already filled with visions of Disney-movie dresses. “And that’s super important! I could be like Tiana!”

“Who?”

She gasped in horror at the question. “ The Princess and the Frog . It’s a super, super important human story, because it’s my second-favorite cartoon, after Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. ” The Island of Misfit Toys were her people.

“Frog” must have translated to some kind of alien species, because Xane cringed. “A human princess and a slggat? ” He shuddered with great feeling. “This is a horror tale?”

Hathgarr grunted in agreement, but he still considered Sadie’s idea. “We have very few female Rtaharions, so we have never had a princess.” He lifted one huge shoulder in a shrug. “But you can be one, if you wish, Sadie Malone.”

“Thank you!” How cool would it be to fill out official forms and bubble in “Princess” instead of “Ms.” when choosing her preferred title?

Was that a thing in space? She hoped it was a thing!

She grinned over at Xane. “Did you hear that? Your brother says I can be a princess. He’s not bossy, at all. He’s so nice.”

“He’s not nice.” Xane assured her. He took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself for something bad. “And this plan will not work, Sadie. I am sorry.”

Her happiness dimmed a bit. That didn’t sound good. “Huh?”

“You told her I was bossy?” Hathgarr interjected, looking outraged. “Well then, I decree that she will be a princess, but you do not get to be a prince.”

Xane responded with some finger gesture that was probably obscene. His gaze stayed on Sadie. “You cannot be a princess. The plan is impossible.”

“Oh.” She shrugged. “Okay. No big deal. I wouldn’t be great at the ‘waving at people from a carriage’ part, anyway. You guys have carriages in space, right?”

“Of course.” Hathgarr assured her. “We grow many types of bananas.”

Sadie squinted.

“Rtaharion royals must reside on their planet to be recognized.” Xane explained to Sadie, disregarding his brother. “That is the law.”

Sadie’s heart dropped, seeing where this was headed.

“Hathgarr’s crew has charted a course to the Milky Way.” Xane pressed on. “From there, you can help us narrow down which planet is yours, yes?”

“You want me to go back to Earth?” Sadie couldn’t believe it. “After everything we’ve shared?”

“Of course.”

She burst out crying, because she was too angry, and hurt, and shocked, and overwhelmed to do anything else.

She hadn’t cried when Wesley cheated on her with the waterpark girl, but this was a million times worse.

This was Xane! He was her husband! He’d said so.

He couldn’t just change his mind and move to another planet.

“You’re breaking up with me?!” She wailed. “How could you?”

“I would never break any part of you!” Xane sounded aghast at the very idea. “What is happening? Is this leakage from your eyes normal?”

“It does not look normal.” Hathgarr opined. “We have a doctor on board. She may need new eyeballs. Hers are rupturing.”

“My eyeballs are not rupturing!” Sadie sobbed. “Crying is perfectly normal when you’re married to an oblivious idiot.” What was Xane thinking? They belonged together! Did he not feel it?

Xane was horrified by her stream of tears. “Stop. Please. This cannot be healthy.”

“I am upset with you, not dying. Unless it’s from a broken heart.”

“We can change her heart, as well.” Hathgarr assured Xane. “We’ll just remove her old one with a laser.”

“Do not unleash any lasers near my wife.” Xane ordered, reaching for her himself. “Sadie, I have done what you wanted. I have found you a way home.”

Sadie batted him away, furious that he wasn’t getting it. “I am your wife! ”

“I know you are my wife. I just told Hathgarr as much.” Xane held up all four hands in surrender, wary of setting her off. “You are my definitely-wife and I will keep you well. Come, we must go to the doctor to see what’s wrong with your eyes.”

“ You ’re what’s wrong with my eyes, you ass!” She looked around for something to throw at him. She settled on a circular pillow that glowed. It was sitting next to a computer console.

Xane sighed as the puffy thing bounced off his chest. “Sadie…”

“Don’t ‘Sadie’ me, with your sexy alien voice!”

“…that is an umby .” He persisted and gestured towards the circular pillow. “It regulates the ship’s oxygen.”

“I don’t care!” Hang on. Maybe she did. Oxygen was important. “ Fine . I’ll throw something else at your dumb head!”

Hathgarr began looking worried for his brother’s chances at survival. Smart man.

“Why are you upset with me?” Xane asked, like he had no clue.

“You think you’re just going to drop me off on Earth and wave goodbye?” Sadie gave up on finding projectiles, and settled for just jabbing a finger at Xane’s giant torso. “Forget it! You can’t get rid of me that easy!” It wasn’t happening. She wouldn’t let it happen.

“I have no desire to get rid of you.” Xane’s brows compressed like she’d offended him. “Wait… you think I plan to abandon you? Leave you all alone, in that uncivilized galaxy?”

She bobbed her head, sniffing back more tears. “I’m not going to let you get away with it, though. No way. I’m not…”

Xane cut her off, an incredulous look on his face. “Sadie, I will go with you to Earth.”

She paused her rant. “…You’ll go with me?” She repeated blankly, swiping at her eyes.

“Of course.” His gaze stared into hers, intense and honest. “I will follow you anywhere that you wish to go. Gladly. How could you ever think otherwise?”

He wasn’t trying to dump her! She gave a soft cry of relief and threw herself into his arms. All four of them wrapped around her, holding her tight, and she was safe.

Xane bent his head to press his lips to her temple. “It is a ridiculous worry, my wife. For as long as you allow it, I will stay right by your side.” His voice was soft in her ear. “You should know this.”

“I do know it. That’s why I was upset. Because I was so surprised that you didn’t know it.”

“I do know it, too.”

She gave a watery laugh and hugged him as hard as she could. “I’m sorry I threw that oxygen thingy at you. I freaked out. I just don’t ever want you to leave me.”

She felt him smile against her hair. “Ever is a long time.” He said hopefully.

“Marriage is supposed to be ‘til death do us part.”

“Only in your culture.”

“I like my culture. I’m going to stick with what I know.”

His breath whooshed out, like he was finally beginning to understand how very, very permanent their marriage was. “I like your culture, too. ‘Until death’ is an acceptable timeframe for me to belong to you.”

“Good!” She sniffed, still feeling harassed. “Because if you ever do try to leave me, I’m probably going to murder you.”

That made him chuckle. “Being parted from you would surely kill me, anyway. Your eyes can stop leaking. All is well! We will go to Earth together.”

Hathgarr made a disgusted sound. “Oh Xane… Nythtar Omega as a home? Really? ”

Xane ignored his brother’s snobbery. “We have only small details to work out, Sadie. Such as: Will your dwelling be large enough for me? I will need wide doorways.” He pointed to his horns.