I Prefer the Mind Control Chapter 18
Hey there,
Here's Chapter 17 of "I Prefer the Mind Control." I'm trying to make actual chapters now. Enjoy the ridiculousness!
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5(ish), Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
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“Your sister Ayli is sure - sure something. Are you entirely positive she's Zimaran? She would fit in way better on Earth than I ever did,” I said.
Xan laughed. “I'm sure she's from Zimara, though I do understand your doubts. She's never exactly fit in well.”
“I know that fucking feeling. It sucks, like, a lot,” I muttered. And boy did it fucking suck, not to fit in for no reason you could pinpoint.
I looked around the not-actually-a-tea-parlor where Xan and I still sat after Ayli had left. Talking to her? Yup, definitely fucking weird. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no fucking reason to find her opinions so damn mind-boggling. They were, after all, the opinions of your average, everyday Earthling. Did that mean I really wasn't an average fucking Earthling?
With Ayli gone, Xan felt more able to cuddle with me. He had his arm around my waist. I wanted to snuggle up against his chest and just...exist with him. So I fucking did.
“Don't you look happy,” Xan murmured.
“Because I'm with you.” You think that's cheesy? Fine, it's fucking cheesy. Xan inspires cheesy, okay?
“Aren't you sweet?” he said. “Sweet enough I'd like to take a bite out of you.”
I wouldn't mind that one fucking bit.
Xan continued, “Too bad we can't exactly do anything too involved right now.” He checked one of his weird alien techno whatsits. “We have a meeting.”
“We? Meeting? What for? Is this some sort of 'introduce your official lover' deal?” I asked. Obviously such a thing would have to fucking happen at some point, but the idea of being introduced formally to a royal court freaked me out. I didn't know what to do in formal situations of that magnitude.
“Something like that,” he said. “It's a sort of preparation meeting for the official introduction.”
“Introducing me is so damn fancy it requires a fucking preparation meeting?” I wondered. That seemed like a lot to me, but what did I know?
He murmured, “Well, there's a whole ceremony involved, so it would make sense to be prepared, wouldn't it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it's just - a ceremony? Out of my element here, you know.”
Xan smiled. “You're not that out of your element. Dylan, you're really not as awkward or ordinary as you seem to think you are. Besides, I'll be with you. I'm not going to just disappear. After all, it wouldn't do for a Prince to just abandon his partner, and I love you too much not to protect you.”
I couldn't help fucking blushing at that. Xan knew just what to say to induce that particular “warm and fuzzy” feeling. Though, I had to admit, being nervous on top of having the warm-and-fuzzies was fucking strange. I hoped that the warm-and-fuzzies would win the epic battle apparently taking place in my stomach. I liked them a whole lot fucking better. Who wouldn't?
We had to get up and leave the not-actually-a-tea-parlor then. As usual, Xan lead the way. Being the newbie I was, I had no fucking idea where we were going. I wondered if my brain came with the Zimaran equivalent of GPS. That would be fucking useful, as I still had no idea about how this Palace actually worked. It felt a bit like a fucking Möbius strip.
Yeah, I know what a fucking Möbius strip is. What, does that surprise you? I am not completely academically useless, I'll have you know. Fine, I found out about it when browsing WikiSource because I didn't want to do my homework. Still, I fucking know what a Möbius strip is, and you can't take that away from me.
Soon enough, we arrived in front of a particularly official looking door. This part of the Palace seemed to be for offices and shit. It screamed “Important Fucking Stuff Happens Here.” In a way, it reminded me of pictures I had seen of the Coalition of Earth Nations building in Central City.
Xan examined his thingie whatsit. “We're just on time. After we do a retina scan, that door should let us in.”
Damn fuck, they took security seriously in these parts. I couldn't say I minded all that much because if it reduced the chances of another fucking annoying assassination attempt, I was all for it. The machine scanned my retinas, though I did wonder how it could tell I was legitimately Dylan Hathaway through all the cybernetic enhancements in my eyeballs. When I thought about it, the fucking thing was probably used to cyborgs. Xan had invisible cyborg bodyguards, what with being a fucking Prince and all.
Inside - definitely a fucking conference room, like where politicians would squabble over who got what patch of desert. I'd like a patch of hypothetical desert with an oasis, please. What? I don't actually think we're going to argue over deserts. It's not like I'm actual political figure or anything.
Wait, did Zimara even fucking have deserts? I didn't know and probably should ask Xan for a geography lesson at some point. That might be fucking useful, yeah. I didn't want to be clueless about my new planet. That would be kinda embarrassing, you know. Sure, I had never fucking cared about how much I knew about Earth, but here? Zimara was fucking different. I cared about this place.
I recognized two of the people sitting at the shiny black circular conference table. Firi Arco and Xan's sister were there. Ayli wore a black and silver outfit that somehow managed to look a lot more...Zimaran that what she had worn when I first met her. Strangely enough, it didn't fucking suit her at all. Seeing her in a more official capacity? Felt fucking wrong, considering what I knew about her and her opinions on Zimaran customs.
Firi, of course, looked both perfectly at home and like she could kill you just by looking at you funny. The man to her left was a stranger, though. A totally fucking gorgeous stranger, like all Zimarans, with the usual sex appeal, too. Chin-length auburn hair, wiry body, tall as fuck, with slightly tanned skin. His eyes? Fucking gold. He somewhat reminded me of a fox, if foxes grew to be over six feet tall. They didn't, unless Zimara featured such mutant foxes as part of their wildlife. Hey, it was fucking possible.
Fox Man stood up and fucking bowed. Xan gestured for him to get up. Okay, that was a bit odd, but I figured he was bowing to Xan.
“Hello and welcome,” Fox Man said. “I am Keve Melion, Master of Social Affairs here at the Palace.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I replied.
Social affairs? So they had like a fucking Palace event planner guy here on Zimara? I guessed they did have similar things back in the National States, so yeah. And this Keve Melion looked fancy enough to be Master of something socially oriented, just as Firi looked like she would be in charge of security on account of how she seemed like she could easily fucking kill you.
Firi remained in her chair, as did Ayli. I had the feeling the two of them weren't as into shiny protocol as this Keve Melion was.
Melion smiled warmly. “Oh, you don't have to call me 'sir' if you do not wish to. After all, you're going to outrank me. You already do, technically.”
Wait, what?
“Excuse me?” I asked. “I don't understand.” I fucking didn't. How could I outrank any of these major Palace power player types? That didn't seem possible. I was, after all, just Xan's partner. Not fucking like I was actual royalty myself or anything.
“Why don't you have a seat?” Keve Melion suggested.
I did as I was told, hoping I would get some fucking answers about how I, a former peasant or peasant equivalent, could outrank anybody. Xan sat in the seat next to me. He took my hand, an action for which I felt really fucking grateful.
I may have asked this before, but ave you ever had the sense you're missing something very, very fucking obvious? I had that right now, but my stupid brain just wouldn't process what it was I couldn't understand. This particular “whoops, should have figured it out” thing felt like a fucking big one, though.
“So, what's up with this official - thing that's official?” I asked. Very professional, Dylan. Very fucking professional. Act like a total ass in front of these important people, why don't you, self?
Melion said, “It's standard procedure for every Prince to have an official introduction, a coronation of sorts.”
“So this is for Xan? And I'm supposed to participate because I'm his partner?” That made sense.
For some reason, the others laughed, except for Ayli.
Firi gave me a weirdly intense look. “You do like the humor, don't you?”
Now I was fucking confused. “Humor? That wasn't supposed to be a joke.”
“Really?” Melion wondered.
“Really.” Could someone fucking explain please?
“This official introduction - it isn't for Xan. He's already had his,” Ayli murmured. She wouldn't look me in the eye.
“Then who's it for?” I would like to fucking know.
Oh.
Fuck.
No.
Way.
“It's for you,” Melion said.
My lie detector? It told me he wasn't fucking lying. Yeah, I shouldn't have needed the lie detector for this, but I wanted fucking confirmation, okay?
Confirmation didn't exactly help me process, though. “Excuse me?” I asked. “Are you, like, seriously serious and being serious?”
Xan squeezed my hand. “He's being serious.”
“How is that possible?” Fine, that was a stupid fucking question. I still had to ask it, because, well, I was just fucking me. A Prince? Me? That - that did not fucking compute, at all. Sure, it would follow logically because Xan was a Prince and I was his official partner, but - me? A Prince? Fucking seriously?
“Because you're mine,” Xan murmured.
Of course. Damn him and his logic that made sense.
“That's - kind of fucking hard to process,” I muttered. “And, um, excuse the profanity. Sorry about that.”
Keve Melion fucking smiled. “Oh, no worries about that. A little profanity keeps things...spicy.”
Wait, what? Spicy? Okay, sure, whatever. Maybe that was a translator bug.
Ayli muttered, “Hard to process? Yet you seemed perfectly fine with having your very soul mutilated.”
That was totally fucking different, okay, Ayli? And I did have trouble thinking I were worthy of Xan. Still had trouble with that, to be honest. I couldn't believe I were qualified to be a fucking Prince. Didn't seem real, though it was.
Melion chided, “Come now, Ayli, there's no need to use such language.”
“He's allowed to swear, but I'm not allowed to speak my mind? That hardly seems fair!” she said.
As much as I didn't agree with her fucking opinions, she had a point there.
I took a deep breath. “As much as I don't agree with Ayli's opinions about Soulbreaking, she has a right to, like, speak her mind and stuff.”
Wait, did I just fucking say that out loud? Where people could fucking hear me? Oops, I didn't mean to do that. Really didn't mean to do that.
Firi looked at me funny. “I suppose she does, though her opinions are rather backwards.”
Ayli's eyes widened. “You don't even agree with me, and you're defending me?”
Before I had a chance to fucking answer that, Keve Melion spoke. “Let's return to the matter at hand, alright? Dylan's official introduction is soon and he needs to be prepared.”
Judging by the way my stomach flopped around, I needed a whole fucking lot of preparation. How could I do this? I was just me.
I said, “I'm only me. How am I supposed to prepare myself for something like this? I'm not sure I can even be good enough.” I couldn't just keep my mouth shut.
Xan scooted his chair over to me and put his arm around my waist. “You already are good enough. How you are now, you'll make a fine Prince. There's no need to worry so much, though I do understand how nerve-wracking this must all be. You've had so little time to process everything.”
That was for sure! I didn't even know how much time had passed since I fucking met Xan, but it wasn't very much considering the average human lifespan. Hearing his words helped, though. With them, I thought I might actually be able to get through this. Xan was my support, the one who fucking looked out for me. I was his, and I knew I was in good hands. Literally and figuratively, as Xan's hand was squeezing my side and sending shivers through my body. Damn fuck, that felt good. Though my stomach still tried to twist with nerves, I felt optimistic about this official introduction. I could do this.
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written for writerverse Challenge #04: Postsecret
Here's Chapter 17 of "I Prefer the Mind Control." I'm trying to make actual chapters now. Enjoy the ridiculousness!
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5(ish), Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
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“Your sister Ayli is sure - sure something. Are you entirely positive she's Zimaran? She would fit in way better on Earth than I ever did,” I said.
Xan laughed. “I'm sure she's from Zimara, though I do understand your doubts. She's never exactly fit in well.”
“I know that fucking feeling. It sucks, like, a lot,” I muttered. And boy did it fucking suck, not to fit in for no reason you could pinpoint.
I looked around the not-actually-a-tea-parlor where Xan and I still sat after Ayli had left. Talking to her? Yup, definitely fucking weird. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no fucking reason to find her opinions so damn mind-boggling. They were, after all, the opinions of your average, everyday Earthling. Did that mean I really wasn't an average fucking Earthling?
With Ayli gone, Xan felt more able to cuddle with me. He had his arm around my waist. I wanted to snuggle up against his chest and just...exist with him. So I fucking did.
“Don't you look happy,” Xan murmured.
“Because I'm with you.” You think that's cheesy? Fine, it's fucking cheesy. Xan inspires cheesy, okay?
“Aren't you sweet?” he said. “Sweet enough I'd like to take a bite out of you.”
I wouldn't mind that one fucking bit.
Xan continued, “Too bad we can't exactly do anything too involved right now.” He checked one of his weird alien techno whatsits. “We have a meeting.”
“We? Meeting? What for? Is this some sort of 'introduce your official lover' deal?” I asked. Obviously such a thing would have to fucking happen at some point, but the idea of being introduced formally to a royal court freaked me out. I didn't know what to do in formal situations of that magnitude.
“Something like that,” he said. “It's a sort of preparation meeting for the official introduction.”
“Introducing me is so damn fancy it requires a fucking preparation meeting?” I wondered. That seemed like a lot to me, but what did I know?
He murmured, “Well, there's a whole ceremony involved, so it would make sense to be prepared, wouldn't it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it's just - a ceremony? Out of my element here, you know.”
Xan smiled. “You're not that out of your element. Dylan, you're really not as awkward or ordinary as you seem to think you are. Besides, I'll be with you. I'm not going to just disappear. After all, it wouldn't do for a Prince to just abandon his partner, and I love you too much not to protect you.”
I couldn't help fucking blushing at that. Xan knew just what to say to induce that particular “warm and fuzzy” feeling. Though, I had to admit, being nervous on top of having the warm-and-fuzzies was fucking strange. I hoped that the warm-and-fuzzies would win the epic battle apparently taking place in my stomach. I liked them a whole lot fucking better. Who wouldn't?
We had to get up and leave the not-actually-a-tea-parlor then. As usual, Xan lead the way. Being the newbie I was, I had no fucking idea where we were going. I wondered if my brain came with the Zimaran equivalent of GPS. That would be fucking useful, as I still had no idea about how this Palace actually worked. It felt a bit like a fucking Möbius strip.
Yeah, I know what a fucking Möbius strip is. What, does that surprise you? I am not completely academically useless, I'll have you know. Fine, I found out about it when browsing WikiSource because I didn't want to do my homework. Still, I fucking know what a Möbius strip is, and you can't take that away from me.
Soon enough, we arrived in front of a particularly official looking door. This part of the Palace seemed to be for offices and shit. It screamed “Important Fucking Stuff Happens Here.” In a way, it reminded me of pictures I had seen of the Coalition of Earth Nations building in Central City.
Xan examined his thingie whatsit. “We're just on time. After we do a retina scan, that door should let us in.”
Damn fuck, they took security seriously in these parts. I couldn't say I minded all that much because if it reduced the chances of another fucking annoying assassination attempt, I was all for it. The machine scanned my retinas, though I did wonder how it could tell I was legitimately Dylan Hathaway through all the cybernetic enhancements in my eyeballs. When I thought about it, the fucking thing was probably used to cyborgs. Xan had invisible cyborg bodyguards, what with being a fucking Prince and all.
Inside - definitely a fucking conference room, like where politicians would squabble over who got what patch of desert. I'd like a patch of hypothetical desert with an oasis, please. What? I don't actually think we're going to argue over deserts. It's not like I'm actual political figure or anything.
Wait, did Zimara even fucking have deserts? I didn't know and probably should ask Xan for a geography lesson at some point. That might be fucking useful, yeah. I didn't want to be clueless about my new planet. That would be kinda embarrassing, you know. Sure, I had never fucking cared about how much I knew about Earth, but here? Zimara was fucking different. I cared about this place.
I recognized two of the people sitting at the shiny black circular conference table. Firi Arco and Xan's sister were there. Ayli wore a black and silver outfit that somehow managed to look a lot more...Zimaran that what she had worn when I first met her. Strangely enough, it didn't fucking suit her at all. Seeing her in a more official capacity? Felt fucking wrong, considering what I knew about her and her opinions on Zimaran customs.
Firi, of course, looked both perfectly at home and like she could kill you just by looking at you funny. The man to her left was a stranger, though. A totally fucking gorgeous stranger, like all Zimarans, with the usual sex appeal, too. Chin-length auburn hair, wiry body, tall as fuck, with slightly tanned skin. His eyes? Fucking gold. He somewhat reminded me of a fox, if foxes grew to be over six feet tall. They didn't, unless Zimara featured such mutant foxes as part of their wildlife. Hey, it was fucking possible.
Fox Man stood up and fucking bowed. Xan gestured for him to get up. Okay, that was a bit odd, but I figured he was bowing to Xan.
“Hello and welcome,” Fox Man said. “I am Keve Melion, Master of Social Affairs here at the Palace.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” I replied.
Social affairs? So they had like a fucking Palace event planner guy here on Zimara? I guessed they did have similar things back in the National States, so yeah. And this Keve Melion looked fancy enough to be Master of something socially oriented, just as Firi looked like she would be in charge of security on account of how she seemed like she could easily fucking kill you.
Firi remained in her chair, as did Ayli. I had the feeling the two of them weren't as into shiny protocol as this Keve Melion was.
Melion smiled warmly. “Oh, you don't have to call me 'sir' if you do not wish to. After all, you're going to outrank me. You already do, technically.”
Wait, what?
“Excuse me?” I asked. “I don't understand.” I fucking didn't. How could I outrank any of these major Palace power player types? That didn't seem possible. I was, after all, just Xan's partner. Not fucking like I was actual royalty myself or anything.
“Why don't you have a seat?” Keve Melion suggested.
I did as I was told, hoping I would get some fucking answers about how I, a former peasant or peasant equivalent, could outrank anybody. Xan sat in the seat next to me. He took my hand, an action for which I felt really fucking grateful.
I may have asked this before, but ave you ever had the sense you're missing something very, very fucking obvious? I had that right now, but my stupid brain just wouldn't process what it was I couldn't understand. This particular “whoops, should have figured it out” thing felt like a fucking big one, though.
“So, what's up with this official - thing that's official?” I asked. Very professional, Dylan. Very fucking professional. Act like a total ass in front of these important people, why don't you, self?
Melion said, “It's standard procedure for every Prince to have an official introduction, a coronation of sorts.”
“So this is for Xan? And I'm supposed to participate because I'm his partner?” That made sense.
For some reason, the others laughed, except for Ayli.
Firi gave me a weirdly intense look. “You do like the humor, don't you?”
Now I was fucking confused. “Humor? That wasn't supposed to be a joke.”
“Really?” Melion wondered.
“Really.” Could someone fucking explain please?
“This official introduction - it isn't for Xan. He's already had his,” Ayli murmured. She wouldn't look me in the eye.
“Then who's it for?” I would like to fucking know.
Oh.
Fuck.
No.
Way.
“It's for you,” Melion said.
My lie detector? It told me he wasn't fucking lying. Yeah, I shouldn't have needed the lie detector for this, but I wanted fucking confirmation, okay?
Confirmation didn't exactly help me process, though. “Excuse me?” I asked. “Are you, like, seriously serious and being serious?”
Xan squeezed my hand. “He's being serious.”
“How is that possible?” Fine, that was a stupid fucking question. I still had to ask it, because, well, I was just fucking me. A Prince? Me? That - that did not fucking compute, at all. Sure, it would follow logically because Xan was a Prince and I was his official partner, but - me? A Prince? Fucking seriously?
“Because you're mine,” Xan murmured.
Of course. Damn him and his logic that made sense.
“That's - kind of fucking hard to process,” I muttered. “And, um, excuse the profanity. Sorry about that.”
Keve Melion fucking smiled. “Oh, no worries about that. A little profanity keeps things...spicy.”
Wait, what? Spicy? Okay, sure, whatever. Maybe that was a translator bug.
Ayli muttered, “Hard to process? Yet you seemed perfectly fine with having your very soul mutilated.”
That was totally fucking different, okay, Ayli? And I did have trouble thinking I were worthy of Xan. Still had trouble with that, to be honest. I couldn't believe I were qualified to be a fucking Prince. Didn't seem real, though it was.
Melion chided, “Come now, Ayli, there's no need to use such language.”
“He's allowed to swear, but I'm not allowed to speak my mind? That hardly seems fair!” she said.
As much as I didn't agree with her fucking opinions, she had a point there.
I took a deep breath. “As much as I don't agree with Ayli's opinions about Soulbreaking, she has a right to, like, speak her mind and stuff.”
Wait, did I just fucking say that out loud? Where people could fucking hear me? Oops, I didn't mean to do that. Really didn't mean to do that.
Firi looked at me funny. “I suppose she does, though her opinions are rather backwards.”
Ayli's eyes widened. “You don't even agree with me, and you're defending me?”
Before I had a chance to fucking answer that, Keve Melion spoke. “Let's return to the matter at hand, alright? Dylan's official introduction is soon and he needs to be prepared.”
Judging by the way my stomach flopped around, I needed a whole fucking lot of preparation. How could I do this? I was just me.
I said, “I'm only me. How am I supposed to prepare myself for something like this? I'm not sure I can even be good enough.” I couldn't just keep my mouth shut.
Xan scooted his chair over to me and put his arm around my waist. “You already are good enough. How you are now, you'll make a fine Prince. There's no need to worry so much, though I do understand how nerve-wracking this must all be. You've had so little time to process everything.”
That was for sure! I didn't even know how much time had passed since I fucking met Xan, but it wasn't very much considering the average human lifespan. Hearing his words helped, though. With them, I thought I might actually be able to get through this. Xan was my support, the one who fucking looked out for me. I was his, and I knew I was in good hands. Literally and figuratively, as Xan's hand was squeezing my side and sending shivers through my body. Damn fuck, that felt good. Though my stomach still tried to twist with nerves, I felt optimistic about this official introduction. I could do this.
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written for writerverse Challenge #04: Postsecret