Rose of Stars

I ran my fingers over Mira's hard back. Mira had been the last gift my parents had ever given me. She marked me as nobility. As more than the common people. I laughed looking up at the stars. Her kind didn't give a fuck as long as you treated them right they would protect you. As long as you weren't a ficking asshole you could get their loyalty. Once a Maned Griffen gave their loyalty it was life long.

Mira was actually a hybrid breed the first of her kind. A cross between the Mane Griffen and the Plated Griffen. She looked more like a Maned until someone did something that proved otherwise. I was drinking. Heavily. She had followed me outside just to make sure I didn't throw myself over the balcony by way of intoxication.

In front of me was a screen showing the three boys happily married. The only three men who could truly understand her were now married because she had made the choice. I was happy and enraged all at the same time. My brothers not by blood but in every other sense of the word. I cried looking at the three. They were up there among the stars on the very first star cruise that had launched in honor of their marriages.

I wore my signature red color that had given me the name Rose of the Palace. It should have been an honor to have such a name but my Palace was bare. I should have been with them. Would have been with them but a royal child had to stay behind. Even if the Royal child deemed defective. The once no one actually saw as a royal. A royal sure but it was questionable who had sired me. Venus the a bastard or so the planet believed. Shared equally between the three families no one knew which of the three kings had cheated on their wife. I was the defective Royal.

No one corrected them. Rumors were tossed around that I was genetic experiment. As all three Kings and Queens doted on me in excess. Even now that I was an adult. The three crown Princes treated me as all brothers would. My two older brothers came when I called them, stopped whatever had their attention, and gave everything to me. The youngest prince even younger than me was bullied by all three of us but that was nothing unexpected for siblings.

The title The Four Siblings was given to us when a teenage me had yelled from the gardens one night. It was proven that night that anyone who dared cross me would be at the mercy of my brothers. A young noble had take sweet Venus to the gardens. I had been so stupid back then. He had started with kissing me and like any hot blooded teen I found a handsome man kissing me innocent enough. He hadn't wanted to stop at a kiss. I had apparently yelled loud enough to travel not only into Theo's Palace but to be heard over the music. Needless to say it hadn't ended well for the boy.

Ever since I haven't been able to use my abilities and as such I was labeled defective. Further proof to everyone I wasn't a royal. Not really. There hadn't been a female royal born in over a thousand years. I opened the next bottle of vodka and started drinking. Fucking metabolism. I watched them begin the first dances. Beside me, Mira grabbed my case that was never far from me and curled herself around me. Well fuck. At least I was dressed up for the occasion. My eyes turned towards the double doors but felt myself get yanked from behind.

I drew my elbow back and up. I hit something hard and broad. That did not feel like a head! It sure as hell wasn't a neck. My face spun to face my attack and saw something extremely inhuman. For one this thing it was at least seven and a half feet tall. It's head was gleaming grey and completely hairless. I yelled. I had never talked much since there was power in my voice.

Whatever it was dropped me. I caught sounds from my few servants in the house go on high alert. The creature has segmented arms and what I really hoped was a suit of armor on. If not I was looking at an exoskeleton. My scream pitched higher. I wasn't without power. I just never used it. Bad stuff happens when a Bast used their power. Even worse if the Bast Royal was female. Where was Mira? Ew! One of its... Hand? Slapped over my mouth and grabbed me again. It hurled me up and I felt something pinch at my neck.

My body burned but my screaming stopped. I tried to fight. To move. Each second my body listened to me less. I was tossed over a shoulder. I couldn't feel it over the burning along my nerves but I knew from sound alone I would have a bruise on my stomach. My arms dangled down the creatures back. I heard my bedroom door swing open as I saw a gleaming ramp appear blow his feet. My dangling arms swayed side to side as the beast ran over it.

"Princess!" was the last thing I heard as the floor underneath changed and I felt the wind shift. I was tossed unceremoniously onto the floor. Two other gleaming grey creatures came forward. They tied my hands and feet before shoving something between me teeth. They had put a bit in my mouth! I was outraged. Motherfuckers! They did not just shove a bit in my mouth like I was errant pet! Oh but they had. I felt Mira on my leg. When she had rejoined my flesh I didn't know but she had. She seemed to be suffering right along with me.

The fact that she hid instead of fought with me told me all I needed to know. We were severely outmatched. Fuck! As all three stepped back and grunted at eachother along with clicks I was able to get a better look at them and where they had brought me. These were some ugly ass mofos. I mean seriously did a Xenomorph have a love children with a cockroach? At least they didn't have wings. Where the hell was I? Better question what were they planning to do with me?

Segmented tails that looked like spine ligaments. Their black eyes were compounded like a Fly's although more beady and small. All of them hand four finger hands tipped with small claws that only seemed sharp at the point. I would bet twenty bucks I was bleeding from where those hands had touched me. I decided they were male based on their chest layout. Females of any species didn't come that broad chested.

Let's do a checklist shall we? Broad chest? Check. Flat chest? Check. Nipples? Negative. Exoskeleton stomach that looked like abs? Yep. They were the kind of abs a girl would enjoy though. At least I didn't. They were somehow wrong. Even on such an alien form they didn't look right. Like the armor the Ancient people would were that was made to look like abs. Those metal abs served as a way to direct an enemy's attack but they never looked quite right on a shoulders body I'm sure. Something about the depth of the lining? Or the way those same abs were so sunken in that it was clear unnatural for them to be on these creatures. With a chest so large the much thinner waist and stomach on them was hideous. Their legs were segmented like a bug's yet somehow depicted the same abnormal amount of muscle mass. Those thighs looked like they only did leg days.

I turned my focus away from them. Mira was pacing in her capture den. For the first time I wondered if I should have gotten her a few friends to form a clan with. If I had she might have found a mate and maybe even had younglings by now. Maybe I would have been able to fight. The capture den was a space anyone could get implanted. Made taking our pets everywhere so much easier. The device was I'm planted under the skin. Some of the less costly ones could simply be worn. The size of the space as well as what kind was also a huge factor in cost. Mira had mine all to herself and as such had been custom fit to her natural desires.

Unless someone major happened I needed to stay put and await help. I needed to observe and find out the best way to get out on my own if no help came. All that training I was forced to do as a child was paying off it seemed. I looked the room with my eyes as much as I could. My head was still frozen in place by whatever I had been injected with. I caught sight of a window and felt my blood run cold... Was that Mars?! Did we just zip passed Mars?! As in a planet?