Chapter 26

Ninniachien couldn’t believe her eyes when her shop was suddenly overrun by a large group of people. Her heart thumped in her throat when she saw Paul was accompanied by Cirincendil. She eyed Cirincendil’s amazingly sculpted body and realized she actually envied how beautiful she looked. She knew Paul was her mate and the rumors he was capable of transforming a Neutaria into a breathtaking woman was an understatement. Deep in her heart she hoped she could become his mate in the future.

“Paul,” she purred as she walked to him. “What on Bisha brings you here?”

“Hey Ninni,” he said a little subdued. “Sorry to barge in like this but let me introduce you to my sister, Sarah, and the Queen’s daughter, Duvainthel.”

She had seen the remarkable black-haired lady entering her shop but only now she recognized the woman was an Earthling. She thought it was slightly unsettling, seeing Duvainthel’s compliant behavior towards Paul’s sister.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ninniachien,” Sarah said with a warm smile, “I love your hair, and it’s so vibrant that it really brings out your lovely skin tone.”

“Thank you,” the shop owner replied, stunned. “Are you here to buy a pair of mountain shoes?”

Sarah’s smile made Ninniachien already know she was in for something completely different. “No, I’m sorry, but I’ll keep that in mind for later. I heard you’re able to scan someone’s feet and create perfectly fitting shoes.”

She nodded slowly because she didn’t like where this was going. “That’s right.”

“Wow! Any kind of shoe?”

Ninniachien stared at the pretty woman and replied, a little sharp, “In principle there is no limitation.”

“Excellent,” gleamed the woman. “How much effort does it take to create a few high heels?”

The shoemaker narrowed her eyes as she briefly glanced at Sarah’s fancy heels, because she knew those were in the price range of a couple thousand credits. “I’m not going to make copies of your shoes.”

“No, of course not,” replied Sarah quickly as she pulled her tablet out of her handbag. She flicked through a few photos until she found what she was looking for.

“This is why I need your expertise,” the Earthling said as she showed her a photo of Queen Bainthaurneth, dressed in a spectacular outfit. The high heeled shoes on the regal woman’s feet were delicate, which emphasized her long legs.

“Oh, by Bisha!” Ninniachien gushed when she saw the next photo where the head of Bishojo was dressed to kill. Her heart started to beat a lot faster when she suddenly realized Queen Bainthaurneth would visit her humble shop.

“Do you like it?”

The shop owner could only nod. “She is coming here, isn’t she?”

Sarah nodded as she showed the nervous woman another striking outfit. “I was hoping you could help me design a few pair of dainty heels after we record the Queen’s measurements.”

“Oh no,” she whimpered, panicking. “My shop is such a mess! How can I ever receive her like this?”

She gasped as Sarah pulled her into a hug. The woman’s voice sounded soothing when she said calmly, “Don’t worry sweetheart. It will be fine. I promise.”

“We’ll keep her distracted,” Paul said with a chuckle, “She won’t have time to look around.”

The door opened and Ninniachien’s jaw dropped to the floor as soon as she saw the radiant woman stepping into her shop. She had seen the Queen’s video messages, but now her staggering beauty was mind blowing. The Queen’s smile reached her smoky gray eyes as she said cheerfully, “Oh, hello all of you!”

The royal woman glided to the stunned shoe shop owner and as she gently took her hand she said warmly, “Nice to finally meet you, Ninniachien. I’ve heard rumors you’re Bishojo’s best shoemaker.”

“Welcome to my humble place, Your Majesty,” she replied demurely, looking down towards the Queen’s flat shoes, “It’s an honor to meet you in person.”

Bainthaurneth sat in the comfortable loveseat enjoying the amazing view of the mountains. The wine tasted fabulous, and she savored the light tannin aftertaste. “This is a wonderful place,” she remarked as she clinked her glass against Paul and Cirincendil’s glasses in salute.

Cirincendil nodded. “My sister Silvynorien always dreamed about opening her own restaurant.”

“As I’ve told you before,” she said as she swirled the wine in her glass, “Mittanyariel always manages to get sired by gifted men.”

She sighed deeply because she knew she was procrastinating. “Right, enough small talk. You wanted to speak with me in private. So, here we are.”

She adored Paul’s lazy smile and was surprised how his voice was stirring up her desire to be with him.

“We know there’s a lot going on right now,” Paul said calmly, “and Cirin and I were happy to help you create the presentation for Charles Cavendish. Perhaps there are other aspects of this erm, adventure we could help you with.”

She laughed briefly. “I’m glad you see it as an adventure.”

“I’m convinced we have a winning position, Bri,” Cirincendil said, “The damning evidence of the Tarakonas, the enormous devastation his son has caused, and the scandalous neglect of Bishojan heritage must be enough to force them out.”

She nodded while she contemplated whether it would wise to share what was going on in the Bishojo system. “I do agree, Cirincendil,” she answered, somewhat diminished. “The Cavendish have overplayed their hand.”

“But there’s more going on, isn’t there?” said Cirin.

The Queen nodded silently as she still had not decided to tell them.

“Oh my god!” Paul exclaimed in shock. “The Tarakonas!”

“By Bisha,” gushed Cirincendil, “They think they still can take over Bishojo.”

Bainthaurneth nodded, in awe of the brilliant minds she was sitting opposite of. “The scouts detected a significant number of Tarakonan warships moving towards us. Luckily, I’ve made many friends who are willing to help Bishojo and I hope I can get enough battle ships together to scare them off.”

She admired Paul’s physique as he stood to pace around the room. “You’re saying the Tarakonas are trying to keep their fleet from detection?”

She nodded. “We have a significant network of scouts to detect ships that are trying to enter our system. We have a small fleet we use to intercept unwanted guests.”

He stopped and smiled as he said, “They are waiting for a signal. They won’t attack without a clear go ahead.”

“From whom?” she asked.

“From the people who promised them a lot of credits.”

“Bri,” Paul said softly, “The meeting at Earth. I’m convinced Charles is going to try to force you into signing a contract that will give the Tarakonas an opportunity to take over Bishojo.”

Her heart skipped a beat when she realized Paul’s ridiculous scenario might be correct. With a trembling hand, she took a sip of her wine, which suddenly tasted sour.

“We need an overview of the information,” he said as he tapped his index finger on his lips, “I’m sorry Bri, but your visit on Earth is going to end up being a risky game of Chess.”

She had heard of the strategy game and understood what he meant when she replied. “In that case, I suggest we go back to the palace.”

Cirincendil stood as well and said, “I’m going to tell the girls.”

“I’m sorry,” she said as soon as Cirincendil left the room, “I know Esgalnordes and Silvynorien are going to miss you.”

His chuckle sounded sad, “I guess I always can sneak out for an hour or two.”

Her new high heels felt comfortable when she stood in front of him. She liked that she could look him straight in the eyes, “You are such a sweet man.”

She gasped when he suddenly pulled her in for a hug. Their noses touched and it was almost a natural move to turn her head slightly to be able to bring her mouth to his lips. The brief kiss was tender, without any sexual tension.

“Once this is over, Paul,” she whispered, “We need to have a serious talk.”

His smile was fragile. “I’m looking forward to that.”

I woke up, still feeling tired. It had been the last evening before Bri had to leave for earth. The last two days had been draining as Cirin and I were involved with almost everything.

It was shocking to find out that the space hub was armed with so many turrets. It took Pac and Cirin most of the three days to find suitable candidates who were good enough to sit behind the powerful weapons.

There was of course some upheaval with the Sirian technicians who were finishing the high voltage conduct in the Alpha section. Bri had asked me to help with the conflict because I had dealt with Sirian engineers on Earth before. In the end the solution was dead simple, as usual. All Gamma sections in the Alpha section had to be powered down. The Sirians were against any violence and therefore refused to work on the conduct as long as the turrets were activated.

I still hadn’t worked out how the hell they knew the turrets in the Alpha section were activated but luckily the lovely head of engineering deactivated the guns with the push of a button.

I could see in her eyes she was totally smitten with me, and for once, I blatantly abused my Bishojan glorification to get what I wanted.

I sighed happily when I remembered Esgal’s bright idea to have fun at the mountain cottage that was halfway to the Dragan monastery. A Talian guard picked me up and brought me to the cottage. To my surprise the three women were there already. After a nice soak in the warm lake opposite the cottage, the sweet sexy sisters pampered me. The knowledge that all three women were pregnant by me was a huge turn on that kept me going until the ladies were satisfied. Esgal was the lucky one who was with me when I finally exploded.

I recalled the trip to the space hub yesterday and I was amazed seeing the massive number of spaceships that had formed into an impressive armada protecting Bishojo. Bri made me aware of the ‘additional costs’ and I thought it was unacceptable, but she explained unfazed it was ‘business as usual’ with men visiting Bishojo.