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Page 12 of The Royal’s Bumblebee (Operation Colonise #2)

I...hug him.

Billie.

It has been a very productive week since Izule brought me to his nest.

My bedroom and office are now set up on the right-hand side of the bottom tier.

The level of his nest Izule has given me complete autonomy over.

He keeps suggesting I should make the main living room area comfortable for me, but what’s the point? I’m never in there.

I don’t socialise or entertain people.

Now I’ve settled in and all my belongings are here, I’ve returned to my usual routine.

I’ve had to adapt it slightly to living in an Ucfeni nest rather than my old apartment, but I think I'm managing that really well.

Hannah would be proud of me.

7am- I wake up via an alarm on my computer and stumble out of bed to turn it off in the adjacent office.

Without opening my eyes, I walk through my bedroom which consists of one wardrobe and one bed, to the empty living room.

In the middle of his nest Izule has had installed a very narrow spiral staircase so I can hold onto a railing and traverse the levels independently.

Apparently, it’s normal to install some sort of pulley system with a swing seat.

Izule foresaw that I would not be using pieces of ropes and pulleys to move up and down the levels, and opted for the more expensive option.

He was right.

I wouldn’t have used it.

The staircase was installed while I slept and it took a good 24 hours to get used to using them on my own.

The metal it was made out of was cold to the touch. The patter of my feet on them echoed quite a bit. When I became level with an open window the breeze would slice across my sensitive skin.

New sensations always took time to get used to. I needed more than 24 hours to get used to the stairs, but it was only the following day that I didn’t make Izule escort me up and down for fear of either falling off or shutting down.

The spiral staircase was designed that he could coil around it, as it had short metal poles spiralling around it to allow for him to grip as he wound up and down the length of it.

Like the Ucfeni access spirals mounted outside of the nest.

7:30am- I finish making use of the hygiene tier of the nest, and go back downstairs to walk into the kitchen.

Breakfast for me consists of a variety of fruit.

The established human colony has been very busy, as we are supplied with fresh tropical fruit like watermelon, grapes, citrus fruits, and even pineapples.

I have a fruit salad for breakfast, extra grapes, and a glass of orange juice.

I don’t like to risk anything wet, sticky or crumbly near my precious computer, so I have my breakfast in the kitchen.

8am- Time for work.

I sit at my computer, log in, and do a systems check on the coding and new programming I implemented the night before.

I look for any errors in the code and correct any I find.

8:30am- Requests and projects arrive in my inbox from Allico Inc and time flies, as does my fingers on the keyboard.

I ping the satellites orbiting Thelia as part of my systems check.

It’s fascinating work.

Thelia was the closest planet we spotted from Earth that had the right conditions to support life and therefore a colonisation expedition.

It turns out there are other planets in this system we couldn’t see from Earth, that have very similar conditions to Thelia.

Allico wants to set up global communications on this planet, and start sending probes to other planets too.

None had any sign of being spacefaring, or any existing satellites of their own.

They may not house any sentient life of any kind, but there’s no way to know for sure until Allico sends probes and exploration officers to find out.

10am- I hear the sound of smooth scales sliding over metal as Izule slithers down the spiral staircase. He always lingers for a few minutes at the entrance to my bedroom for some reason before calling out to me.

He usually asks me if I need anything, and the answer is always no. I’m working and I’m busy. I don’t want to be disturbed.

2pm. Izule calls out from the entrance to my bedroom again. He asks me if I’ve eaten, and I tell him the truth.

If anything I’m annoyed, as now I’ve stopped being consumed only by work, my body realises I haven’t been for a pee all day and I’m hungry.

I grumble under my breath at him about this, and on the first day, Izule thought he’d genuinely upset me. A week later he huffs and waits in the living room as I hurry up the stairs to the hygiene level with my eyes shut to get there faster. Next, I head back down to the kitchen to eat some cheese sandwiches, which Izule comments each time how odd cheese smells, before heading back to work.

5pm- I clock out. That’s the end of my shift. Anything that isn’t done by now, goes onto tomorrow’s list. I only know it’s 5pm because I have an alarm on my computer telling me so.

Hannah taught me to do that when we lived together and she realised I was working 12 hours a day because I lost track of time.

Hannah.

I swallow thickly as I shuffle out of my office sadly. Once again I bring up my anxious worry about my sister. My thumb and middle finger on my left hand start tapping and I sit on the end of my bed with my mind dwelling once again on Hannah.

It had been four days since I spoke to her on my com-gem, and I know I upset her. I didn’t mean to. But she upset me first.

“Anyway, I’m going to be an officer and Tumva is going to train me himself. At the end of the sponsorship program, I’ll have a job too. A real career.”

I was happy when she told me that. Hannah has never had a career before. She’s had plenty of jobs, usually more than one at a time, to support me. Then I wondered if this was her choice at all. She said her sponsor was a peacekeeper. Does that mean he’s made her choose his profession?

“Is that…what you want?”

“Yes Bumblebee. That’s what I want. I need to be able to support us once this is all over, and this way I can.”

It felt like a slap in the face.

That’s not why I said yes to Alaric.

That’s not why I brought her here.

I wanted her to have adventure and freedom.

Not to once again have to worry about supporting me. I’m going to be the one to support her for once. I’m being paid a lot of money, and I’m really important now. Alaric said so. No, no this isn’t right.

“No, you don’t need to support me.

I don’t need you to do that anymore.

I-I have Izule now.

He’s taking care of me, and I earn a lot of money from Allico Inc.

I don’t need you to support me anymore.”

I felt myself falling and at the time I was already clenching my eyes and rocking back and forth.

A few minutes later and I was huddled in the nearest corner and hiding behind my knees.

“B-but Billie I-”

“No. No, it’s not your turn anymore. It’s mine. I-I-I no I-”

I didn’t want Hannah to worry about providing for me again. To work herself to the bone again. Things were supposed to be different now.

She’s supposed to be looking forward to a life of luxury in the human colony once her sponsorship is over. Not anticipating gruelling as a police officer to make ends meet. Because of me. Again.

“Billie, you’re hyperventilating. You need to steady your breathing. You are my sunshine, my only sunsh-”

“Billie, I am here.”

Izule came slithering in like his tail was on fire and coaxed me out of the corner and inside of his coiled tail. I sat there, in the dark, holding my legs and hiding behind my knees. I shut down. My eyes shut, my hands clenched, my forehead pressed to my knees, and my threshold long behind me.

“Billie? Are you alright?”

My sister begged me to answer her. But I couldn’t. I wanted to. I wanted to tell her that I was crying and shutting down because the last thing I want is for her to worry about me. But look at me?

Who wouldn’t worry when your sister is defective…of course she thinks she still has to look after me.

“I have her.”

Izule’s voice was deep but soft, wary of startling me. “She needs some time in my coil right now, and can’t talk to you.”

I was surprised and touched. He’s learning so fast what my needs are. I tried to tell Hannah that I have Izule now, so she doesn’t need to worry about me.

But she wouldn’t listen. Or maybe she didn’t understand? I don’t always explain myself very well.

“She will call you back when she’s ready. Don’t worry. I have her.”

Izule’s tail tip quickly hooked at my necklace to slide the com-gem green. He pressed it with the same tail tip to end the call.

“But—”

Looking back now, thinking about it for the hundredth time since it happened, I don’t think Hannah could tell she’d upset me first.

I lower onto my dull brown bed and curl up on my side.

My thumb and middle fingers are still tapping and my eyes water behind my glasses.

I think about calling her and telling her, but then I’m afraid I’ll get upset and shut down again.

Talking over the phone has always been hard, and com-gems are the same thing.

If Hannah was right in front of me, she would have understood like she always does.

She would have watched my face and read my cues like the expert she is.

This wouldn’t have happened.

This has only happened because we’re apart.

We’re not meant to be apart.

I’ll make it worse if I call her again and say the wrong thing.

I want her back.

I want my Hannah.

I want my rock.

My knees come up to my chest and I close my eyes.

I cry and hug my legs, miserable and wanting nothing more than my sister to sing to me. In person.

It doesn’t sound the same over a call. It lacks her softness and warmth. Her presence is part of the song, not just the words or the notes of her voice. I want my sister.

“Billie?”

Izule fills the doorway to my bedroom and his yellow eyes widen as he sees what state I’m in. “I’m here.”

He announces like that will ease all my worries and he moves in a blur of brown and cream. He doesn’t touch me, but coils on and around my bed to be close to me. “Would you like my coil?”

I sniffle and surprise us both.

“Hold me?”

My voice inclines insecurely at the end and I curl up tighter, bracing myself for what I expect will be a ‘no’. Or for him to coil around me anyway.

“Of course.”

He rumbles and I whimper at the sudden sensation of being jostled from the bed and into his muscular arms.

He tips me, making me flinch and yelp, but it’s only to nestle me against his chest. My right cheek presses to his right peck and I curl up tightly as he moves us. “Hold on.”

My eyes are still shut tight, but the sensation of spinning can only mean we’re spiralling up the staircase at speed. I start to feel dizzy, but it’s over quickly as he charges forward.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to nest down for as long as you want to. I’m going to lower you to the cushions.”

I say nothing. I can’t speak now. At some point during the journey, my arms went around the bottom of his hood and around his neck. Probably a reflex reaction to moving so quickly.

Even so, I can’t let go, and Izule doesn’t try to free himself.

He’s so gentle as he lowers us into his bed. It’s basically a wide shallow metal bowl full of cushions to wriggle into. I slept here when I first arrived, and it’s misleadingly comfortable.

His tail slides up and around my limbs as he holds me against him. Izule ululates so I’m surrounded by that deep purring noise he makes when he’s trying to soothe me.

It vibrates pleasantly through my cheek and chest where I’m cradled to him. The warm comfort of his touch helps me to relax. It takes time, but eventually, I feel calm enough to open my eyes. “There is no rush.”

He speaks through the rumbling inhale and exhale of his ululation. “I am here Billie. Take your time.”

I smile through my tears and adjust my glasses on my nose. I do what he says and I take my time.

My arms are aching in this position so I slowly lower them to hook around his waist instead. It’s more comfortable for my arms in this position as we cuddle on our sides like this.

I…hug him.

Izule hasn’t asked me what is wrong.

Normally Hannah, or whoever else is trying to interact with me when I’m shutting down, assumes something is wrong.

Either with me, or something has happened to me.

That’s not always the case.

Like now, I’ve recalled and fixated on something that happened previously and the rawness of it still makes me shut down like it did when it first happened.

Sometimes my coping mechanisms are enough to move through or on from it, but sometimes I shut down anyway.

The fact Izule hasn’t made that assumption makes me smile.

I was right.

I don’t need Hannah to work herself to the bone to worry about me and provide for me.

Izule is taking care of me.

He’s a prince, so he doesn’t need to work hard to provide for me.

He only has to work hard to understand me, and I’d give him five stars right now.

I don’t think anyone else on Thelia, or Earth for that matter, would be able to take care of me like he can.

Aside from Hannah, of course.

Not that I can tell him that. Not with words. Instead, I hug him. I cry and I hug him and I hold him more tightly than I’ve ever held onto anything or anyone in my life. “Billie.”

He grunts my name and his tail presses and wraps around me more tightly than before. His breathing is getting choppy and his ululations are getting even deeper in tone. “I am here.”

His mouth pressed to my forehead with his lips parted. He nuzzles through my fringe and I feel his forked tongue flick at my brow. I’m still holding him tightly when his lower torso wriggles against me.

I feel a bulge beneath his skirt pressing between my thighs. One of his hands cups the back of my head and then…he kisses me.