Earth Mars Love (The Marsikons)

Chapter 43

The Ceremonial Hall was enormous. The high cavernous ceiling was so far away that Regina was wondering, how it was holding above them, not collapsing without supports. And then she remembered. They were underground. It was difficult to remember this when being on the base, or as the Marsikons called it the Underground City, or the City.

When they arrived yesterday, Marcus somehow managed to slip past all the people unnoticed and get them a sleek silver electro-car in which they arrived at his suit. On her way, she was ogling everything around.

Halls were called streets, and it was spacious enough, that two electro cars could drive through, along with pedestrians. Artificial lighting, indicated the time of the day, changing from bright in the day hours and turning darker when it was evening and night. She noticed that everything was made in calm pastel tones. Streets, rooms, Hall, and even people's clothes around her. She scrunched her nose a bit, looking discreetly around and thought, that she would've added some bright colors here. Everything was too...calm.

They left the car right by the door to his rooms. Marcus told her, that they had people, who were driving around the streets in pairs, and moving standing cars from the streets to the parking. And if you needed a car, you just called, and they brought the car to your door.

Marcus' suite consisted of three rooms and a large bathroom. Everywhere were carpets matching the color tones of room walls. The first one was the spacious living room done in sandy tones. In the center of it was a large pale brown sofa with huge flat TV in front of it. There weren't any trinkets or any art on the walls. Total minimalism.

In the alcove was the full kitchen with supplies. Marcus told her, that he often was preparing meals for himself when he ended his work late at night and skipped family dinners.

Next to the kitchen was a round pale grey table for six persons with matching soft chairs.

Regina looked in horror at it, and whispered, "What's that?"

In the middle of it stood a large intricate copper plate with strewn rocks of different colors and sizes. Red, yellow, blue, green things resembled...little human brains.

Marcus laughed at her reaction, describing that it was a plant, Lithops. He liked them because of their colors, it added some vibrancy to his brownish living room, and they were easy to handle.

Later she confirmed this through the internet (yes, he was right about the connection in the beginning), and her heart settled. It would be super weird to watch brains on the dining table while eating, but if that was a plant, she could deal with it. In time.

Then there was Marcus' office, with off-white walls and grey carpet. The simple white table and a grey comfy-looking chair were on one side of the room. But what caught her eye, was the drum set. The black lacquered drums with silver adorning and silver cymbals filled the bigger part of the room. She was eager to hear him play. Maybe he would teach her too, she hoped.

And then there was a bedroom, done in different shades of pale blue, with thick dark blue carpet. The enormous wooden bed was in the center of it, and on either side were wooden side tables. Marcus told her, this furniture belonged to princes of the time, when the atmosphere on Mars was still intact and it was made from the wood from Mars' forests. With their technologies, Marsikons were able to preserve the wood from aging and that's why it looked like new. It even smelled like wood.

Regina liked the feel of Marcus' suite. It felt like home. But, as Marcus had said, after the coronation they'll need to move to the Royal Suite, and his parents would move to another suite, saved for them, while this suite would be saved for the future child of Marcus and Regina. That was how they rotated their accommodation.