Juliet's Surrender [Juliet's Tryst #2]

Chapter 12: Kulning

A scream from far away can be ignored. A scream nearby splits the skull in half. The human mind is not equipped to comprehend the infinite. Or half of the infinite. Or even, say, six billion people and one million Kyrion, and their intricate dependencies. A human girl fell in love with that which sought to destroy her, a lion and a lamb, a tale as old as time. Power is fickle and flows only where it chooses. A lion ruling over the world just might forget its teeth. The lamb might learn to bite. 

The ethical soul does not care if you're trying to have a baby with a sexually non-viable alien species. It screams. First, softly, accepting the balm of luxury and sexual attention. Once the human body is satiated, there is suddenly more to think about. Those with terrible souls might turn away from the scream, the warning of changing times. After all, wine is sweetest in the silence. Juliet could no longer turn away. If the power to rule the world fell into your lap... would you let it pass you by? Sacrifice for the greater good is only possible if you are comfortable with sacrifice at all. 

Juliet knew sacrifice. Her innocence, her childhood to a deranged adopted father. She was a child then. Letting Dee go was inevitable. Still, she held on. She cuddled up in bed and pushed away the cold harshness of the world. The truth was a simple. All humans would die by Kyrion hands if they could not find a way to work together. As it stood, there was no space for both species. And somehow, Juliet was the only one who could do anything meaningful about it.

The medicines no longer worked. She stopped sleeping, each night a tossing frenzy. A big and terrible monster placed two palms against her chest and started to press. Dr.Zigg, sensing immediately the root of the problem, told her to relax. To forget about it. To focus on what mattered. What mattered was preventing the end of humanity. What mattered was safety and peace. Why bring children into the world if you could not trust it to keep them safe?

Let's start at the beginning. An alien species has invaded Earth. Powerful beyond belief, humankind was at their mercy. But they're just like us. Cosmic caveman given the weapons of gods. Cavemen with automatic rifles would still be cavemen, solve their territorial squabbles with other proto-humans just the same. The evolution of the dominant species would be accelerated, but it would be the same. It's what Kyria would want. It's what Dee wants. 

Respect no other human but you, because I love you. Was that truly love? Was that truly respect? It was so clear that Kyria used her as a pawn, but Dee? Dee just loved her.

Right? 

Find a gullible young lonely woman and love her. Then you'll be able to make her do anything you want. Including infect the planet with an alien parasite. Including allowing your power to grow to the point where you can kill all humans in a snap. 

For what reason? Love.

Dee clearly sensed a shift in her wife, but Juliet nimbly brushed off any attempt at conversation, throwing a veil of baby woes over the cavernous abyss of her soul. It was the medicine. It was another sleepless night due to worry. "Worry," Dee asked once. "What do you have to worry about? Give it to me and I will make sure it dies." They decided together that she, in fact, did not have any worries and that she was solely focused on the task of making babies. They both were. 

Juliet ordered all of the Kulon be taken out of the palace, a surprisingly easy feat once she mentioned that Kyria's will. Anything Kyria wanted, was promptly done. Without, even, alerting Dee. A token to keep in her back pocket. She slept soundly for the first time, knowing that all the stores of Kulon were gone. If Kyria objected, she could say so herself. The silence continued. 

She tracked down Leona. Bonirrain rested at the palace for a short stint before contuining his cursed diplomatic ploy. What was the point of diplomacy in a dictatorship? To show a pretty face to those that needed to see one, and those whose support is needed. Those catlike eyes narrowed, seeing who stood at the door of her bedchamber. 

"Don't fucking look at me like that," Juliet snarled. "I'm in. Whatever it is I need to do, to do the right thing, I'm in." Leona jumped up from her bed, closing the door behind Juliet. "I'm not an alien, and I'm tired of everyone treating me like I am." She realized that there was even a chance that was nothing to do, and Leona had only been angry. The diplomat jumped up and closed her curtains. She opened a some sort of panel on the castle wall, and the walls went gray. 

"I didn't know you could turn it off." The room did not listen, did not breathe.

"Only for a short time," Leona patted a spot on the bed to sit. Her pj's had pink fuzz on the end of the sleeves. A sliver of disgust ran down her spine, but she didn't know why. The picture of two blessed people deciding the fate of the rest of the world. "The system feels the limb has died and respawns a new one. Entirely organic, as far as we can tell. But also, entirely programmed by the Kyrion. You have to get to Tokyo." 

"Why Tokyo?" The walls were already buzzing strangely, a million tiny sensors announcing their deaths. 

"In about one month, it will be the last place standing. Every other city, village, town, country in the world has either been overrun with Kyrion, or supports them." Spit and venom, support. The uncomfortable dissonance of cozying up to a species that openly abhorred you, guaranteed you no mercy or survival. Even Dee was constantly surprised by her own ability to love a human. A skill bestowed upon her by the mysterious daeestra. Otherwise, Dee may have murdered her on the street on the way home from the bookstore. Or, even worse, simply sniffed at her like a bug. 

"And what can I do?" 

Leona crossed her arms and stood back. "What can you do, Juliet?"

First, she had to stop any "advance", though it was unclear to her exactly what that was. Once she disappeared, all of Dee's energy would be re-routed to finding her. Would that be enough? She was wed to the de-facto ruler of the world. Didn't that make her a Ruler? Didn't that give her divine right to actually rule? What sort of authority would it give her over other humans? She had assumed none, but that was clearly wrong. There was something to be leveraged. Kyrions might be even easier- As long as Kyria was silent, her shadow would be enough to convince some Kyrion to help the human cause. It had to be. Silence was the same as agreement. It always worked that way for the gods. 

She relayed her ideas to Leona, keeping out the part about how the relationship with Kyria had long soured. The room's ambient glow turned on again. The diplomat's shoulder's relaxed, muscle melting off bone. 

"Thank god," Leona whispered. "We'll help you get to Tokyo, just look out. We've got about a month. Maybe we'll die trying to be free after all." She squeezed Juliet's hand. Something kicked her ribcage. She would have to talk to Zigg about treating hallucinations next. 

Since you guys have no way of reading to end right away- I will re-iterate that I write romance first and foremost, so no matter how dark the night...etc, etc. I don't believe in a straight line to a happy ending 

What are guys reading outside of Wattpad? I'm currently reading "A Scanner Darkly" by PKD.