I Prefer the Mind Control Chapter 17
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
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“So we're going to meet your sister now? She's not going to try and kill me, is she? Pardon me if I'm less than enthusiastic about meeting one of your siblings, considering that your brother has tried to assassinate me more than once,” I muttered.
“I don't think you have to worry about that,” Xan said. “My sister Ayli is nothing like Krun. She hasn't got the slightest interest in the throne competition and would have no reason for killing you.”
Did she need a fucking reason? I mean, are you one of those sadistic authors than just like to torture their characters for no good reason? Okay, fine, as far as characters go, I have it really fucking good. I get that. I suppose that means you're not pointlessly sadistic, then? That's good to know.
I looked at Xan. “You're sure she won't try to kill me? I'm a little bit paranoid over here.”
He laughed. “Nothing is ever one hundred percent, I suppose, but I'm sure.”
“Okay, good.” I may have sighed with relief. Because, yeah, I had no desire to be killed. While Krun seemed to suck at actually killing me, I didn't feel like ending up in the hospital for the seven billionth time. At least royalty had better health insurance than regular middle class Earthlings?
We walked through the hallways, holding hands. If I weren't fucking imagining things, the weird alien sculptures of doom looked less...full of doom. They weren't as visually jarring as before, somehow. I still didn't dare walk too close to any of them because last time I had bumped into a sculpture, I had fallen through the fucking wall. Of course, if Xan wanted anything, I would happily oblige, even if that meant falling through a wall. Xan? Totally fucking worth falling through weirdly permeable architecture.
“Where are we going, exactly?” I asked.
“You'll see.”
Oh, going to be mysterious, were you, Xan? That was nice of you.
Soon enough, we entered what looked like a small...tea parlor? Did aliens even fucking drink tea? I knew the food here was bizarrely human-compatible, but tea seemed like an awfully human-specific sort of thing. Lazy writing, if you ask me. Hey, I'm just speaking my mind here. Fine, fine, I'll admit that to be as funny as I allegedly am requires writing that isn't so lazy, but alien tea? Seriously?
Xan and I sat down at a shiny round table and waited for Ayli to arrive. Damn, these chairs were fucking squishy. I was glad Zimarans appreciated comfort as much as humans did. This place was kinda funny. It screamed “drink tea here!” yet looked so very sci-fi.
A few minutes later, and someone entered. She had long, slightly wavy golden blonde hair, worn down and deeply tanned skin about as dark as Xan's. Her metallic eyes were bright blue. She was short, maybe five foot two, and overall petite. Her black dress looked oddly enough like something you would find on an Earthling. That wasn't the oddest thing about her. While she was as physically gorgeous as any other Zimaran, she didn't radiate the same fucking ridiculous sex appeal as the rest of them.
That had to be Ayli.
Xan said, “Hey, Ayli, nice of you to come.” He didn't get out of his seat. Was I supposed to get out of my seat? I was still deficient in royal protocol over here.
“Of course! I had to meet your partner, especially with all the wild rumors that you're Soulbonded. That's not actually true, is it?” She gave me an odd look.
Her eyes widened when they fell upon my Soulbreaking Symbol necklace. I didn't have to answer for her. Ayli could tell the truth just from seeing me, as I was sure she knew what the Symbol meant. Xan grabbed my hand and squeezed. I was glad of the support, because the vibes in the room had gotten really fucking weird.
“You - you are!” Ayli sounded like she couldn't believe it. Again, I had to wonder why it were so unbelievable. I loved Xan; why wouldn't I want to bond with him in such a way?
Xan squeezed my hand again. “Yes, we are.”
Ayli breathed, “You're - you're human.”
Thanks for pointing out my species, Ayli. I was pretty sure I knew my fucking heritage already.
I said, “Yep, I'm one hundred percent human being. Made on Planet Earth, like all the other human beings. Your planet, however, was too fucking awesome to resist, just like your brother here.”
Oops, should I have cursed in front of an actual Princess?
She still looked at me oddly. It disconcerted me. “I must admit, that's surprising. Oh, I know all about the turmoil after Earth cut off contact, but to see you? I hope you don't mind if I say I'm more than a little shocked.”
Xan tensed. I could feel it from his hand. “Ayli, come on now. Don't be rude to Dylan.”
“I'm sorry. It's just...he's from Earth. The actual Planet Earth,” she murmured.
The actual Planet Earth? As opposed to what other Earth? There was only one, as far as I fucking knew. It's not like humans had a secret fucking colony somewhere out in space. Our technology? Nowhere near advanced enough for that. Never mind all those weird as fuck rumors of “ultra advanced technology” that scientists were trying to get working again.
I said, “Yeah, Earth my home planet. What's so shocking about it?” I did fucking wonder.
“That you wanted to leave at all!” she exclaimed.
Wait, what?
“Excuse me?” I asked. That did not compute. Not at all.
Ayli sat down at the table, still looking at me with that odd fucking expression, like I were a puzzle she couldn't figure out. For that matter, Ayli was a puzzle I couldn't figure out. Would you like to tell me what's up with her? After all, you did create her. Nope, I'm on my own again? Okay then.
“It's Earth,” she said.
And? I fucking knew that. What about Earth would make me want to stay on it? Certainly not my fucking high school experience, that was for sure.
Xan looked concerned. “What do you mean?”
I wanted to know what she meant, too.
Her body language suggested I, at least, should already know what she meant. But why the fuck should I? I sucked at life, back on Earth. My college grades were mediocre at best, and high school was several flavors of clusterfuck, none of them tasty. Middle school sucked for anybody with a pulse. Earlier than that, I supposed things were fucking okay, but I never, ever felt like I fit in perfectly. So why the fuck should I miss Earth?
Ayli looked directly at me, right into my fucking eyes, even. No sexy mind control in her gaze. “You don't know what I mean?”
I shook my head. “I really don't know, Ayli.” Oops, was I allowed to call her that? I felt my cheeks heat up at my possible error. “Sorry, may I call you Ayli?”
She nodded. “You may. That's fine, but you really don't know?”
“Really, I don't.” Could she fucking explain it already? That would be nice.
Ayli sighed. “Earth is - well, if you don't immediately get it because you're human, this might be hard to explain.” She looked sad now.
Xan said, “Dylan isn't an average human, you know.” He smiled at me, and my heart skipped a fucking beat. Yeah, the Soulbreaking had most certainly given him extra power over me.
“I figured that much out!” she huffed. “After all, he's a cyborg who's Soulbonded to you. Obviously he isn't average, but I would think Dylan would at least get what I'm saying because of his heritage.”
Well, Ayli, you would be wrong about that one. So please fucking explain already. I would appreciate it.
Ayli muttered, “People on Earth, they - they have choices.”
I almost burst into laughter. Choices? There weren't as many as the propaganda would have you think.
I said, “Not as many as you would think, Ayli.” I wasn't gonna lie about that.
Xan squeezed my hand yet again. I was surprised he wasn't doing more, to be honest. Usually in a social situation like this one, he would be all over me. He fucking wasn't.
He muttered, “Maybe you think so, but Dylan found a better choice here.”
She appeared to be struggling with all her thoughts. “And I just don't understand. He could be free back on Earth! They're into freedom there, aren't they?”
I said, “People do like to talk about it an awful lot.” That was the fucking truth. The “Land of Freedom” rhetoric in the National States made me want to smack my forehead with my palm, or else bang my head into a desk repeatedly.
“Freedom is not talked about so much here on Zimara. Not when having a lasting relationship on this planet means being in captivity for the rest of your life,” she whispered. “Here, all truly long-term relationships involve slavery.”
I didn't see that as a bad thing, but Ayli obviously did. This whole conversation? It was fucking weird. I, a human being from Planet Earth, had no issues with how Zimarans did relationships. Honestly? I liked it a whole lot fucking better than your average human relationship model. Ayli? She came from Zimara and clearly thought the place was fucked up. Okay, maybe that wasn't so weird because, after all, I thought my birth planet's approach to plenty of things made no fucking sense.
Ayli continued, “I want to keep my soul intact. Nobody is going to break my soul, and I certainly won't break anybody else's.”
“Soulbreaking isn't as terrible as you think it is,” Xan said.
It fucking wasn't. I should know.
“I don't know about that,” she muttered. “It sounds terrible enough. Which is why - why I don't get why Dylan would do it. I'm sorry, I just don't understand that at all.” She looked right at me. Her eyes, were they filling with tears? Shit, I didn't want her to start crying.
She continued, “You had the opportunity to pursue a relationship with actual equality, and you - didn't. I would kill for such an opportunity, and you threw it away.”
Sure, I had the fucking opportunity, but that didn't mean I wanted it or was obligated to pursue it.
“I found something better.” I squeezed Xan's hand.
Randomly, I realized then that though this place looked like a fucking tea parlor, nobody was serving us any actual tea. Or any anything, for that matter. Damn, now I wanted a cup of tea. Thanks, brain.
“Better?” Ayli asked.
“Better to me,” I said.
“Even though you could have had what I wanted,” she whispered.
Her eyes still fucking shone. Xan looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. This was not a situation I knew how to handle, and I don't expect you to give me any tips. It's not like you ever do. Is it more entertaining to watch me blunder through various social interactions? It is, isn't it?
Xan looked at Ayli as he squeezed my hand. “My Dylan could have had what you wanted, Ayli, but he didn't want that.”
I certainly fucking didn't.
She breathed, “A relationship of equals, no twisted captivity, a union where intimacy wasn't so disturbingly close to being ravished...hard to imagine someone who wouldn't want that, but there's this whole planet full of people who don't want that equality, isn't there? Still, I would give my life for a year on somewhere like Earth.”
As melodramatic as that statement was, my internal lie detector said she was telling the fucking truth.
Talking to Ayli? It fucking freaked me out, if I were honest with myself. She idolized Earth, when it had mostly sucked for me. Ayli wanted stuff I never did, and the fact that I didn't want it seemed almost to hurt her. As bizarre as her opinions were, in way, I kind of got it. I loved being on Zimara with Xan more than anything. It was fucking hard for me to understand how a native would hate this place so much, but I did get not liking where you were born. If only there were some way for Ayli to go to Earth. Maybe then she would have a chance at the happiness I was so fucking lucky to have.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Captivity"
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
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“So we're going to meet your sister now? She's not going to try and kill me, is she? Pardon me if I'm less than enthusiastic about meeting one of your siblings, considering that your brother has tried to assassinate me more than once,” I muttered.
“I don't think you have to worry about that,” Xan said. “My sister Ayli is nothing like Krun. She hasn't got the slightest interest in the throne competition and would have no reason for killing you.”
Did she need a fucking reason? I mean, are you one of those sadistic authors than just like to torture their characters for no good reason? Okay, fine, as far as characters go, I have it really fucking good. I get that. I suppose that means you're not pointlessly sadistic, then? That's good to know.
I looked at Xan. “You're sure she won't try to kill me? I'm a little bit paranoid over here.”
He laughed. “Nothing is ever one hundred percent, I suppose, but I'm sure.”
“Okay, good.” I may have sighed with relief. Because, yeah, I had no desire to be killed. While Krun seemed to suck at actually killing me, I didn't feel like ending up in the hospital for the seven billionth time. At least royalty had better health insurance than regular middle class Earthlings?
We walked through the hallways, holding hands. If I weren't fucking imagining things, the weird alien sculptures of doom looked less...full of doom. They weren't as visually jarring as before, somehow. I still didn't dare walk too close to any of them because last time I had bumped into a sculpture, I had fallen through the fucking wall. Of course, if Xan wanted anything, I would happily oblige, even if that meant falling through a wall. Xan? Totally fucking worth falling through weirdly permeable architecture.
“Where are we going, exactly?” I asked.
“You'll see.”
Oh, going to be mysterious, were you, Xan? That was nice of you.
Soon enough, we entered what looked like a small...tea parlor? Did aliens even fucking drink tea? I knew the food here was bizarrely human-compatible, but tea seemed like an awfully human-specific sort of thing. Lazy writing, if you ask me. Hey, I'm just speaking my mind here. Fine, fine, I'll admit that to be as funny as I allegedly am requires writing that isn't so lazy, but alien tea? Seriously?
Xan and I sat down at a shiny round table and waited for Ayli to arrive. Damn, these chairs were fucking squishy. I was glad Zimarans appreciated comfort as much as humans did. This place was kinda funny. It screamed “drink tea here!” yet looked so very sci-fi.
A few minutes later, and someone entered. She had long, slightly wavy golden blonde hair, worn down and deeply tanned skin about as dark as Xan's. Her metallic eyes were bright blue. She was short, maybe five foot two, and overall petite. Her black dress looked oddly enough like something you would find on an Earthling. That wasn't the oddest thing about her. While she was as physically gorgeous as any other Zimaran, she didn't radiate the same fucking ridiculous sex appeal as the rest of them.
That had to be Ayli.
Xan said, “Hey, Ayli, nice of you to come.” He didn't get out of his seat. Was I supposed to get out of my seat? I was still deficient in royal protocol over here.
“Of course! I had to meet your partner, especially with all the wild rumors that you're Soulbonded. That's not actually true, is it?” She gave me an odd look.
Her eyes widened when they fell upon my Soulbreaking Symbol necklace. I didn't have to answer for her. Ayli could tell the truth just from seeing me, as I was sure she knew what the Symbol meant. Xan grabbed my hand and squeezed. I was glad of the support, because the vibes in the room had gotten really fucking weird.
“You - you are!” Ayli sounded like she couldn't believe it. Again, I had to wonder why it were so unbelievable. I loved Xan; why wouldn't I want to bond with him in such a way?
Xan squeezed my hand again. “Yes, we are.”
Ayli breathed, “You're - you're human.”
Thanks for pointing out my species, Ayli. I was pretty sure I knew my fucking heritage already.
I said, “Yep, I'm one hundred percent human being. Made on Planet Earth, like all the other human beings. Your planet, however, was too fucking awesome to resist, just like your brother here.”
Oops, should I have cursed in front of an actual Princess?
She still looked at me oddly. It disconcerted me. “I must admit, that's surprising. Oh, I know all about the turmoil after Earth cut off contact, but to see you? I hope you don't mind if I say I'm more than a little shocked.”
Xan tensed. I could feel it from his hand. “Ayli, come on now. Don't be rude to Dylan.”
“I'm sorry. It's just...he's from Earth. The actual Planet Earth,” she murmured.
The actual Planet Earth? As opposed to what other Earth? There was only one, as far as I fucking knew. It's not like humans had a secret fucking colony somewhere out in space. Our technology? Nowhere near advanced enough for that. Never mind all those weird as fuck rumors of “ultra advanced technology” that scientists were trying to get working again.
I said, “Yeah, Earth my home planet. What's so shocking about it?” I did fucking wonder.
“That you wanted to leave at all!” she exclaimed.
Wait, what?
“Excuse me?” I asked. That did not compute. Not at all.
Ayli sat down at the table, still looking at me with that odd fucking expression, like I were a puzzle she couldn't figure out. For that matter, Ayli was a puzzle I couldn't figure out. Would you like to tell me what's up with her? After all, you did create her. Nope, I'm on my own again? Okay then.
“It's Earth,” she said.
And? I fucking knew that. What about Earth would make me want to stay on it? Certainly not my fucking high school experience, that was for sure.
Xan looked concerned. “What do you mean?”
I wanted to know what she meant, too.
Her body language suggested I, at least, should already know what she meant. But why the fuck should I? I sucked at life, back on Earth. My college grades were mediocre at best, and high school was several flavors of clusterfuck, none of them tasty. Middle school sucked for anybody with a pulse. Earlier than that, I supposed things were fucking okay, but I never, ever felt like I fit in perfectly. So why the fuck should I miss Earth?
Ayli looked directly at me, right into my fucking eyes, even. No sexy mind control in her gaze. “You don't know what I mean?”
I shook my head. “I really don't know, Ayli.” Oops, was I allowed to call her that? I felt my cheeks heat up at my possible error. “Sorry, may I call you Ayli?”
She nodded. “You may. That's fine, but you really don't know?”
“Really, I don't.” Could she fucking explain it already? That would be nice.
Ayli sighed. “Earth is - well, if you don't immediately get it because you're human, this might be hard to explain.” She looked sad now.
Xan said, “Dylan isn't an average human, you know.” He smiled at me, and my heart skipped a fucking beat. Yeah, the Soulbreaking had most certainly given him extra power over me.
“I figured that much out!” she huffed. “After all, he's a cyborg who's Soulbonded to you. Obviously he isn't average, but I would think Dylan would at least get what I'm saying because of his heritage.”
Well, Ayli, you would be wrong about that one. So please fucking explain already. I would appreciate it.
Ayli muttered, “People on Earth, they - they have choices.”
I almost burst into laughter. Choices? There weren't as many as the propaganda would have you think.
I said, “Not as many as you would think, Ayli.” I wasn't gonna lie about that.
Xan squeezed my hand yet again. I was surprised he wasn't doing more, to be honest. Usually in a social situation like this one, he would be all over me. He fucking wasn't.
He muttered, “Maybe you think so, but Dylan found a better choice here.”
She appeared to be struggling with all her thoughts. “And I just don't understand. He could be free back on Earth! They're into freedom there, aren't they?”
I said, “People do like to talk about it an awful lot.” That was the fucking truth. The “Land of Freedom” rhetoric in the National States made me want to smack my forehead with my palm, or else bang my head into a desk repeatedly.
“Freedom is not talked about so much here on Zimara. Not when having a lasting relationship on this planet means being in captivity for the rest of your life,” she whispered. “Here, all truly long-term relationships involve slavery.”
I didn't see that as a bad thing, but Ayli obviously did. This whole conversation? It was fucking weird. I, a human being from Planet Earth, had no issues with how Zimarans did relationships. Honestly? I liked it a whole lot fucking better than your average human relationship model. Ayli? She came from Zimara and clearly thought the place was fucked up. Okay, maybe that wasn't so weird because, after all, I thought my birth planet's approach to plenty of things made no fucking sense.
Ayli continued, “I want to keep my soul intact. Nobody is going to break my soul, and I certainly won't break anybody else's.”
“Soulbreaking isn't as terrible as you think it is,” Xan said.
It fucking wasn't. I should know.
“I don't know about that,” she muttered. “It sounds terrible enough. Which is why - why I don't get why Dylan would do it. I'm sorry, I just don't understand that at all.” She looked right at me. Her eyes, were they filling with tears? Shit, I didn't want her to start crying.
She continued, “You had the opportunity to pursue a relationship with actual equality, and you - didn't. I would kill for such an opportunity, and you threw it away.”
Sure, I had the fucking opportunity, but that didn't mean I wanted it or was obligated to pursue it.
“I found something better.” I squeezed Xan's hand.
Randomly, I realized then that though this place looked like a fucking tea parlor, nobody was serving us any actual tea. Or any anything, for that matter. Damn, now I wanted a cup of tea. Thanks, brain.
“Better?” Ayli asked.
“Better to me,” I said.
“Even though you could have had what I wanted,” she whispered.
Her eyes still fucking shone. Xan looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. This was not a situation I knew how to handle, and I don't expect you to give me any tips. It's not like you ever do. Is it more entertaining to watch me blunder through various social interactions? It is, isn't it?
Xan looked at Ayli as he squeezed my hand. “My Dylan could have had what you wanted, Ayli, but he didn't want that.”
I certainly fucking didn't.
She breathed, “A relationship of equals, no twisted captivity, a union where intimacy wasn't so disturbingly close to being ravished...hard to imagine someone who wouldn't want that, but there's this whole planet full of people who don't want that equality, isn't there? Still, I would give my life for a year on somewhere like Earth.”
As melodramatic as that statement was, my internal lie detector said she was telling the fucking truth.
Talking to Ayli? It fucking freaked me out, if I were honest with myself. She idolized Earth, when it had mostly sucked for me. Ayli wanted stuff I never did, and the fact that I didn't want it seemed almost to hurt her. As bizarre as her opinions were, in way, I kind of got it. I loved being on Zimara with Xan more than anything. It was fucking hard for me to understand how a native would hate this place so much, but I did get not liking where you were born. If only there were some way for Ayli to go to Earth. Maybe then she would have a chance at the happiness I was so fucking lucky to have.
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written for the hc_bingo prompt "Captivity"