Taking a risk

He remembered how angry he had been. He had refused to stay the night and had headed straight for his ship and made his way out of Trenox after his meeting with Dione that night, refusing the governor's hospitality to stay the night. He hadn't wanted to upset the good natured man, but he had been very angry.

"No, Atlas- I mean Emperor," Dione said, sighing. "It's not just that."

Atlas did not ask her to call him by name. She hadn't earned the right to call him by name, so he did not correct her. He was still emperor and he was still annoyed with her somewhat.  It hit on his ego that she probably hadn't really had a change of heart but had been forced to come make peace with him.

"It's not just that," Dione repeated. "When my father gave me a piece of his mind, I had some time for thought and I realized that I was being childish. My father had said he would pay you an apology visit to apologize for my conduct but he never asked me to marry you. He knew I wouldn't except I really wanted to- he dotes on me too much."

"So why did you come to the conclusion to marry me?" He asked.  

"I'm taking a risk," Dione said. "I want to see where it goes. Maybe love is not so far off. Maybe I will grow to love you. I like you already."

Atlas seemed convinced of her intentions then. He knew she wouldn't have changed in the blink of an eye. Seeing traces of her pragmatic side did some of the work. He knew she never took a decision without some goal in sight. Her goal was still love at this point, but perhaps, the target had now changed. The target must have changed to him.

Atlas let out a sigh. "Why don't we talk about our plans for the marriage over our dinner after the trip to the Gladiators' Arena?" He said.

Dione smiled. "Of course, your majesty."

Two hours later, they were walking leisurely down a stretch of land.  They were at a natural reserve on Boo-10 that had a wide array of species from across the planet. Atlas had brought Diane there after their trip to the Gladiators' Arena. 

Their time there had been fun and Atlas was determined to spend some more time with her. He wanted to know more about her. She seemed to be moving from the one-dimensional, spoilt, immature princess brat idea he had of her to something more complex and interesting. To an extent, he could understand her; why she had had her earlier reservations. 

Atlas shook his head. Her charms were really working on him, if he was suddenly considering her earlier stance one that was justifiable. Surely he should know better. 

Surely he knew better than to have her roll him in her fingers. Maybe this love thing could work, he thought. How long before people began to develop feelings? A month,  a day, an hour? Clearly, he had no idea how any of that worked. 

Born with an orientation that whatever he wanted was his, he hadn't even had to do any wooing or chasing.  He only had to make his request known and it was his. He had never had to chase a woman and they were all temporary- the moderate amount that he had indeed had.

He wanted to ask Dione a question: 'When do you know you've fallen in love?' But he chickened out and squashed the question. He couldn't let her know his ignorance on the subject. 

They passed by an enclosed field of bright green grass. Huge, bird-like creatures with long trunks and red-coloured fur on their bodies turned from whatever preoccupation they'd been involved in and watched Atlas and Dione lazily. 

"Red Flutterbacks," Atlas said. "They are a predominantly wild breed. You can only find them on Planet Grenala...and here. We moved a family of three here a few years ago to create more biodiversity on Boo-10. We moved them and a lot of other species and sub species from some of the other planets."

Dione stopped then and watched the creatures. They were about a dozen and they stared back at her, bored. 

"Don't be fooled by their innocent looks," Atlas told Dione. "They are apex predators. They actually give out a shrill scream when they've spotted prey."

"Why?" Dione asked. "To warn their prey?" 

"I don't know. Some creatures are just naturally dramatic," Atlas said. 

Dione laughed- actually laughed, Atlas thought. Her features seemed to light up even more and Atlas felt happy that he had caused that.

"How do you know when you're in love?" Atlas asked her then.

Dione turned to him, surprised. But then she said: "You want to be around your romantic interest more. You want to spend time with them. You care so- too- much about them. You want to protect them and keep them safe. You can't stop thinking about them. They dominate your thoughts. You obsess over them."

Personally, Atlas could not see himself obsessing over a woman. He did not see one person meaning so much to him despite all he had. 

Love was not meant for him after all, he thought. 

"Oh," Atlas said. He turned to a stretch of land up ahead that had some quadrupeds chewing on the fresh grass. Their heads were hairy and their bellies smooth. Some of them ran along the open field. They looked like they were having a nice time having an evening snack. "Quite ironic that despite your knowledge on the subject you were still unable to find someone."

Dione did not miss the sarcasm. "I did, dear emperor," she returned. "It just didn't last. I fell in love with him, but he didn't, with me."

"He has to be in love with you too?" Atlas asked, mock-surprised.

Dione rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said aggravatedly. "That's how it works. You both have to love each other. Else, it's uncomfortable."