The princess's dating diaries (Part 4)

Jaisyl was glad her plan for a walk had been acceptable to the medic. Honestly, she still couldn’t get a read on Bleu’s thoughts, but given Meli’a had rather pointedly told her that if any of the dates went badly enough they wouldn’t waste anyone’s time by continuing, she could only assume she’d at worst managed neutrality so far. Which meant just the one woman left to appeal to… and the most daunting.

Meli’a was Dustin’s first - his first alien partner, his first wife, mother to his first children… Jaisyl paced her room as she debated how to get an agreement out of the Velcan woman. Pausing at the sight of her worried expression in the mirror, she giggled. She was a princess of the Tho’unn empire, and by rights should have been first wife to a noble of high station - maybe even married off to a king or emperor to secure an alliance. And now she was giddy at the thought of being not even second but depending on how you counted it anywhere between third and sixth spouse to Dustin.

Sixth! That was the position usually occupied by daughters of minor nobles who had large breasts and little in the way of land or prospects, in order to secure their family a connection to the powerful. And yet… she’d happily take hundredth place, if it meant she could get him to look at her the way he looked at the others. Not that she loved him of course. This was purely a practical acceptance of the situation her father had put her in, that was all. She slapped her cheeks. “Focus, Jaisyl! You have a date to prepare for in…” she glanced at the clock and winced “…two hours. And nothing planned…”

What did she know about Meli’a? The woman was Velcan, which meant she liked science. She was a mother to Dustin’s children. She loved human culture and showed emotions in a very human way after years of practice, even if she defaulted to the ear-wiggling of her ancestors when stressed. But what would she like to do for a date? Jaisyl dropped to the bed and began ticking off her options as she discarded them. “Dinner? No. Spending time with her sons? No, Dustin said he was watching them tonight. We’re out of the weave, so stargazing maybe? Or the garden? Or…” In the end, Jaisyl opted for something different. Sending Meli’a a message to meet her in one of the botanical labs, she hoped it would be enough.

Meli was unsure of what to expect when she arrived at the location of her date with the formerly haughty princess. Judging by everything the others had told her, Jaisyl was really trying her hardest to impress everyone. That spoke volumes to the improvement in the Tho’unn woman’s character and her seriousness about becoming part of their relationship. Of course, there would need to be a final vote, and Dustin would need his own date with Jaisyl before that… She sighed as she paused outside the lab. Why here of all places?

Opening the door, she found the princess standing nervously by one of the benches, a set of microscopes and scanners on the table next to her. “I… umm, I thought we could maybe look at some things together? I selected some samples of flowers from the gardens based on ones you’ve had in the nursery, and figured they might be a good starting point to look at under some magnification, if that’s okay Meli’a?”

Meli paused, then nodded. “That sounds lovely. Let’s get to work.” As she spoke, the Velcan retrieved a set of tablets from their holders on the wall, opening up the note-taking application before setting one next to Jaisyl. “This is very thoughtful, but won’t you be bored? Science isn’t everyone’s idea of a fun date, I am aware of that.”

Jaisyl shrugged. “I figured that I already sew patterns with a lot of leaves and flowers and stuff, but I’ve never really paid attention to how the natural ones are made up, you know? It’s kind of like my whole issue - not paying enough attention. So I thought we could do this, you’d have a fun time, and I’d get some inspiration for the future.” In response, Meli nodded thoughtfully before both women turned to the task at hand, their discussion moving to the structure of the veins running through leaves and the makeup of the flower petals.

Dustin waited patiently for Jaisyl outside her quarters. Their date was to be the last before the vote; he’d suggested the women hold a preliminary show of hands to see if it was worth him taking up the princess’s time, but had been shot down by the others. If she failed on any one of the dates, she was out - but his lovers were holding their cards close to their chest as to how she’d done.

The door slid open and the Tho’unn woman emerged, clad in a delicately embroidered dress. “I hope I’m not overdressed for dinner,” she said demurely, before taking his offered arm and following him down to the ambassadorial suite.

Inside, Naera was waiting, the plant woman dressed in a smart black suit as she guided the pair to their seats at the table, lifted the covers on the starters for their meal and departed through to the kitchen. “So, how have you found the last week or so?” Dustin asked, hoping to get any awkwardness out of the way as quickly as possible.

Jaisyl paused, a delicately pâté-coated cracker halfway to her mouth. Setting the morsel back down, she smiled. “It has been exciting, interesting, eye-opening and exhausting. Your wives and companions are all such interesting women. I’ve spent time with them before, but never like this. I can see why you care for them all so deeply, ambassador.”

Dustin raised an eyebrow at the use of his title rather than his name, but chalked it down to Jaisyl defaulting to court etiquette given they were having a formal dinner. With that in mind, he move the topic on to other matters. “Have you given any more thought to what I suggested you do on the ship? The embroidery store?” He asked, leaning across to top up her glass with juice from the jug that Naera had left.

As he refilled his own, the princess finished her starter and sat back with a sigh. “I have. I must admit, the idea is definitely interesting, but I would need space to do my work. I cannot run a business from my quarters, even if I am successful in joining your relationship and…” she glanced to the open arch to the ambassadorial bedchamber and blushed before continuing “…in any case, I can’t work that way. I also do not think it would be advisable for me to work in a public space like the observation deck - some people might want to make their purchases in secret, for gifts and so on. I can’t do that if I can’t control who sees me and my work.”

Nodding thoughtfully, Dustin drummed his fingers on the table before pushing his own empty plate to one side. Before he could fire up the screen mounted beneath it to look for a suitable room however, Naera returned with the main course. As the Caenii set plates of delicately spiced meat and vividly coloured vegetables down in front of them, he gave the Tho’unn woman an apologetic smile. “I’m pretty sure we can find you a space, somewhere. There’s bound to be a meeting room we can repurpose - just need to find one that Rye can subdivide to give you privacy, a customer area for taking orders and somewhere to store unfinished work. I’ll look at it in the morning and see what options we have.”

Jaisyl inclined her head. “My thanks, ambassador. I’ll make do with whatever you find, no need to put yourself out to offer me a choice… this whole business is in order to make me feel less of a dead weight after all, and I don’t want to be a drag on the rest of the ship.”

Dustin tried not to wince as she again used his title, before shaking his head. “It won’t be a drag. All the important meetings happen in here anyhow, and you know how we use this place when there’s not visiting dignitaries aboard.” As he finished speaking, the pair took bites of their food - and any further conversation died as they relished in the delights of Naera’s fine cooking.