400 years ago

  Earth standard year 2257, Earth, the United Kingdom

  “Please, mother.” Jane whispered, sitting across from her mother at the elegant kitchen table overlooking the perfectly manicured garden. She clasped her hands in her lap, trying to keep them from trembling.

  “My dear girl.” Her mother said, taking a delicate sip of wine from her glass. “The man is a politician. You must allow for certain… eccentricities.”

  “He’s a monster. A monster. I’m worried about the children. I will do what I must but mother, please they are your grandchildren. You cannot allow them to remain with him. I’m not asking for myself.”

  “We can only hope that the children were gifted with greater looks and intelligence than you, my dear. They will survive. And perhaps in time, this experience will make them stronger.”

  “Please.” Jane whispered again, helplessly. There was no one else. No one else was going to help. She had no options left.

  “It’s time for you to go, Jane. I know how Ethan likes to have his dinner on time.”

  “Yes, mother.” Jane got up and stood for a long moment, frozen as she looked out at the perfect green garden outside the kitchen window. She had not been invited into the dining room. Reaching out one hand to grab the edge of the table and steady herself, she turned around and walked out.

  ---

  Jane got behind the wheel of the car, her hands trembling, the road blurring, perhaps from the rain, perhaps from the water in her eyes. The self drive feature she had enabled screamed at her, a shrill reminder that the weather conditions may require the intervention of a capable human driver. Jane tried to breathe, her hands gripping the steering wheel with white knuckled force. The tree jumped out of nowhere, smashing into the glass windshield in front of her. The self driving emergency features took over as she took her hands helplessly off the wheel, and screamed.

  Over an hour later, Jane stood before the house that other people thought was hers. Its stately white stucco walls towered high up over her head, higher than any prison she could imagine. Her car was inside the garage. Ethan often left his in the driveway. There was a chance he would not see the damage. She walked into the house, grasping the edge of the round marble table that stood in her foyer as the world around her started spinning once again. There was no escape. Not for her. Not for the children. Perhaps she could get the car repaired tomorrow. But then Ethan would see the expense. Perhaps she could put off the inevitable. Just for a little while. Perhaps…

  “Mama?” The voice of a delicate little girl echoed in the grand foyer as she walked in, followed by her slightly older brother, who placed a protective hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “Ivy.” She kissed the top of her daughters head before taking a breath, doing her best to collect herself. “I’m fine my darling. Everything will be fine. Just fine.” She walked forward, placing a hand on the shoulder of her only son. He was a good boy. “I’ll make you a sandwich.” She said gently. “And then you go on to bed. Let Ethan and I have dinner alone tonight.”

  “Mom.” Her son frowned, his serious, worried gaze following her as she led them into the kitchen.

  “I’ll make your favorite.” Jane offered, her lips trembling. And then she hugged both of her children as tight as she could, holding on for dear life. “I love you both so very much.” She whispered.

  She rushed them through dinner, and less than twenty minutes later, they were on their way upstairs. The rain was still slashing against the windows, lightning illuminating the now dark garden outside in its harsh, silver light. Somewhere out beyond the clouds, it was a full moon. Jane took a deep breath, walked out of the kitchen, and out into the rain. The garden shed was on the other side of the yard, furthest from the house. It occurred to her that she should have brought an umbrella, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter. She walked ahead, the high, sharpened heels of her shoes sinking into the wet soil until she reached the darkened shed. The harsh white light hit her like a hammer, followed by the slicing pain of a migraine that nearly made her fall to her knees. No matter. Jane picked up the poison they used to keep insects off the plants and carried it back to the house. She left the lights off this time, navigating back into the kitchen by the flashes of lightning going off all around her. With reluctance, she switched on the kitchen light, ignoring the pain that smashed into her head as the light hit her eyes. Pain, was irrelevant. She made dinner. Mushroom soup, was Ethan’s favorite. She placed the oversized container of insecticide on the kitchen table, opening the childproof cap and getting ready to pour.

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  “Jane.” Ethan said as he walked in, looking from the opened container of poison on the kitchen counter, to the bowl of his favorite soup standing next to it.

  Jane started, dropping the heavy liquid container of insecticide and looking down as the poison splashed across her mud soaked shoes, washing off clumps of dirt as it came down. “Ethan, I…”

  ---

  They attached electrodes all over her body, all over her face. There were two policemen sitting across from her, but she could barely see them. The migraine was excruciating, her vision blurring from the pain.

  “What were you intending to do with the poison?” One of the policemen asked.

  In the end, there was no trial. By the time Jane walked back out of the interrogation room, she had confessed to everything. Attempted murder. Following the United Kingdom’s recent decision to join the Carda’an empire, her life no longer belonged to her. Someone explained it to her, but her brain could not seem to process what was said. She was vaguely aware of her country’s decision to join the empire. There had been a vote. She had not voted, but it all sounded quite reasonable. They were to be given advanced technology in the field of weapons, medicine, physics, and chemistry. The only cost was their criminals, and the lives of those who voluntarily offered to become slaves of the empire. And the children. Of course, the taking of the children was barbaric. It was why she had abstained from the vote. But then, they were not her children. Only the children of parents who offered. It had nothing to do with her…

  “Do you have any questions?” The woman asked.

  “I…what?” Jane asked.

  “Do you have any questions? You will be going into cryostasis until the transfer is complete. When you wake up, over thirty years will have passed and you will be on the Carda’an homeworld. That is how long the transfer takes.”

  “But… but my children.” Jane whispered. “Can I at least say goodbye?”

  “We will have to check with their legal guardian but if the guardian agrees, it can be arranged.”

  Jane closed her eyes. Ethan was their legal guardian. She never saw her children again. Three days later, she was placed inside the cryostasis chamber that looked like a tomb and the world disappeared.

  ---

  Jane opened her eyes to see a man who was not a man. The scales on his skin brought on an instinctive revulsion. She had never seen one of the aliens in real life. The scales were abhorrent.

  “Snake phobia?” The alien asked calmly, looking down at a tablet he held in his hand. “Don’t worry, that’s one of the things that will get fixed.”

  Jane tried to say something, but no words came out. She was sitting up in a soft, velvet green chair. Gripping the velvet with frantic fingers, she opened her mouth again, letting out a silent scream.

  “It’s the lack of moisture. You’ll be able to speak soon. Drink this.” The man who was not a man handed her a green glass bottle, the top narrowed to prevent her from spilling the water with shaking hands. She took it carefully, trying hard to avoid touching its… his scaly hand.

  “Fixed?” She said finally, as the water soothed her parched throat. The sound of her voice was harsh and shocking to her ears.

  “Yes. You have already been purchased. As a potential life mate, which is good news for you. The alternative… well, you would not want the alternative. But there was little risk of that with you. The modifications are scheduled for later today. You’ll find they help a great deal.”

  “Modifications to…” she took another careful sip of water “to fix me?” Jane whispered. The alien thing looked at her with yellow snake eyes that turned her stomach in revulsion. She wanted to scream but fear clamped around her throat, leaving her to suffocate in silence.

  The alien studied her for one long moment. “It will be easier to explain it once the modifications are complete.” He said shortly.

  ---

  Jane woke up in an empty room. She was wearing what felt like a soft cotton robe, lying in a bed made of the same green velvet as the chair. She ran her hand over the surface. Not velvet, she thought. It feels more like green moss, a soft, living thing. She stroked it with her hand, enjoying the texture. She got up from the bed, the uncharacteristic urge to explore her environment carrying her forward. The room was covered in the same green moss. A glass of water sat on a carved wood table by the side of the bed, along with a plate of what looked like unfamiliar fruit. Jane wandered over to the sink, carved out of dramatic black stone streaked with white. The sink stood underneath a massive mirror and Jane stared at the Jane not Jane that looked back at her. She was beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. The reflection was somehow still vaguely familiar enough for her to see herself, somewhere deep inside the stranger’s cold blue eyes. Just barely.

  The water might be drugged, Jane not Jane thought. She walked towards the door to find it locked. There were no windows. No avenues of escape. There was a blanket on the bed, but it could not be used as a weapon, Jane not Jane thought. She blinked at herself in the mirror, trying to process the unfamiliar thoughts. Thirty years, the woman at the police station had staid. Thirty years. Her children had grown up with her husband, the monster, without any protection at all. She had failed to kill him. Failed to protect her children. Her attempt, had been laughable. Pathetic. Weak. There were a hundred ways she could have killed her husband without getting caught. If she was willing to give up her freedom, she could have simply walked into the nearest Carda’an embassy and asked to make a deal. Her husband’s death and ensuring her children were provided for could have been a condition of her contract. She could have negotiated. Her children would have been set for life. She could have chosen her master. She knew these things. All the relevant information was there, sitting uselessly inside her brain. Stupid. Incompetent. Weak. Jane not Jane’s cold blue eyes looked back at her from the mirror, accusingly. Jane screamed, and screamed, and screamed.