Hybrid

Paris for a Day

My head is killing me. I roll over and look out the window and I remember where we are. I sit up quickly. Everything comes flooding back me. The soldiers. Defying my father. Kidnapping Emma. Commandeering an expensive hotel suite.

And making our queen sleep on a little settee. Emma is contorted beyond belief on the tiny couch. I run over to her and gently wake her up.

"Emma," I say.

She moans and slowly comes to. In a groggy voice, she mumbles, "Good morning." She wraps her arms around me and nods off again. 

"Emma," I whisper in her ear. I notice she's wearing the hotel robe. Her clothes have been washed and so have mine. I look down. I'm in my underwear. How did that happen?

I pick her up and move her to the bed. She puts her arms around my neck and won't let go. What I wouldn't give to lie down next to her and put my arms around her. I know that's impossible. I'm here on a mission to protect her and bring her back to our planet. I don't want us to do anything we'll both regret. I run my hands along her arms and reluctantly pull them away from my neck. I rest her arms by her side and pull the covers up over her.

I can at least game plan what's next while she rests. Only I have no clue. I'm certain it won't take long for my father and his army to find us. As soon as they do, I won't be able to protect her. They will only care about defeating her brother. They won't care that she didn't ask for this new life. I don't want her to ever fear us.

My biggest concern at this point is that teleporting leaves behind a footprint. We'll need to change up how we travel, make sure to walk or fly and take public transportation. Try to lose our scent. For now, they'll probably get as far as the Eiffel Tower from Emma's house but since we flew to the hotel, they will have a harder time tracking us from there.

Having seen Emma's life for a brief afternoon, I already know that bringing her to our planet before she's ready will be too overwhelming. The elections aren't for another week. I have some time to prepare her for our planet.

I take a shower and put on my clean clothes. I run outside to grab some breakfast - two croissants and two double espressos. I bring them back inside, careful to appear like I belong with the rest of the hotel guests.

Juggling the food, I knock on the door. Since I don't have a key, it's either teleport into the room or see if Emma can open the door. I chose the latter as teleporting with drinks is always a messy business. 

It takes a while but Emma finally gets to the door. She looks through the peephole. I hold up the food. She opens the door - just as the elevator opens with the hotel cleaning crew. I scurry inside quickly.

"We don't have much time. The cleaning crew may decide to check on our room."

Emma takes one of the espressos and the croissant and sits at the dining table. "It's our room until they catch us right? Let's enjoy the view."

Emma whips open the balcony doors and steps out into the heat of mid-morning Paris. The wind ships back her hair. She turns around to face me. "Come here. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's such a romantic city. I've always wanted to come to Paris. I can't believe we're actually here."

I join her on the balcony. We look out over the Seine and at all of the people walking along the sidewalks that border the river. She's right. It's gorgeous. And so is she. I see the resemblance to her father and brother. Only she has an angelic and joyful way about her. The villainous ways of her brother have hardened his features. I can't believe they are related. They couldn't be more opposite. She puts her arm through mine and leans her head on my shoulder.

We hear a rattle at the door. "Oh shit," we say in unison. We scramble for our belongings. Emma quickly disrobes and pulls on her clothes. Her naked body takes my breath away as I avert my gaze.