A Drop of Ink | short stories

Spaceships & Glass Slippers

This piece was originally part of the OH MY! Anthology on OmaimaAkbar's profile

Spaceships & Glass Slippers

Clytemnestra had to be the ugliest planet in all the eight solar systems. Radiant red mist surrounded its surface, that was black as coal. Or at least that was what she imagined coal to look like. Humankind had drained Earth of it almost a millennium ago and gone looking for alternate resources elsewhere - starting the colonisation of space.

Rellaya sighed as she looked out of the large cockpit window, watching the dozens of other spaceships approach the planet before them. They were bright spots in the darkness of the void around them, painted colourfully, with hideous grimaces adorning their fronts, meant to repel the monsters that floated in the vast spaces between galaxies and fed off of human flesh.

Her blue ball gown brushed against her legs and her heels were already squishing her toes together uncomfortably. She should have gotten used to it by now, yet the silky skirts still felt foreign to her. The wig she was wearing felt itchy against her scalp, the contacts were making her eyes dry, but she tried to ignore her discomfort while the captain called out to the crew to initiate their landing sequence.

One more job, she thought. One more ball and she'd finally leave behind her horrid stepmother and stepsisters and get a place of her own. After tonight she'd be free.

The pilots' greyish faces were glued to the screens in front of them, their fingers flying over the softly glowing controls as they typed in commands and adjusted engines. The Jack-O descended towards the planet slowly, upsetting and swirling up the fine fog of iron oxide that gathered in Clytemnestra's atmosphere and could be seen from space like a ghostly glow.

It took them a few minutes to reach the surface and land in one of the hangars owned by the royal family. Rellaya tapped her earpiece and the call was picked up immediately. Without waiting for a greeting, she spoke, "Landing complete, going in now." 

"Copy that," came a voice from the other side of the line. A moment of silence passed. "Remember Rell, in and out. Good luck."

The call disconnected with a soft click and Rell lifted the hem of her dress to climb down the stairs. A mass of people greeted her as hundreds of other guests did the same, crowding in the hangar and pushing towards the entrance to the palace. She looked back over her shoulder at the Jack-O, that sat in its parking spot, waiting for her to return with their prize. Its bright orange colour reminded her of some fruit, or vegetable from Earth, that she only knew from pictures in history books.

***

The ballroom was just as pompous, yet airy as she remembered it. The ceiling was a huge glass dome that gave an unobscured view of the three moons that belonged to Clytemnestra. They were glowing like blood red jewels above the guests' heads.

Rell moved across the room, trying to stay away from the larger crowds and hoping she wouldn't run into her stepmother. Yet as she did so, she could feel the prickling of eyes on her neck. She pretended not to notice and continued her stroll when she sensed a movement to her right. She turned and a tall man dressed in a dark blue suit was standing next to her.

"Good evening, Miss," he said with a bow. "I don't believe we've been acquainted yet."

No, not any man but Adryan Wae-R'en himself, the prince and heir to Clytemnestra.

"I would certainly remember if it were so, your Highness," she replied and curtsied, giving him one of her rare smiles and doing her best to remain calm while her heart started to beat a little faster. "Isley Camran."