Kringl (Rescued by the Alien)

Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

K ringl paced silently in Joy's small house, the snow squirrel perched on his shoulder as if he were a permanent fixture. The house was dark and quiet, with all lights off and the fireplace cold. Kringl had been instructed to avoid the windows to evade detection and to stay quiet while Joy ventured out to gather information about the ship's departure. That left Kringl with a knot in his stomach and the inability to sit still. Would she be safe in the village or would her probing rouse suspicion?

As he paced, Kringl found himself whispering to Snowball. "I don't know why I feel so protective of her. She's not my mate or even a lover, and she can never be. And yet..."

Snowball chattered as if both agreeing and sympathizing. Maybe the fluffy white creature did understand what he said.

Kringl sighed. "I know she's brave and beautiful, but I have to pick a Valorian as a mate. It doesn't matter that Joy makes me feel more alive than I ever have—at least it wouldn't matter to my father."

The snow squirrel responded more insistently, and Kringl couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you scolding me, little one? Don't worry. I would never do anything to hurt her. She'll never know how I feel. It's better that way."

When the squirrel chittered back, Kringl shushed him, remembering his promise to stay quiet. With Joy in the village, her house was supposed to be empty.

Snowball shook a tiny fist at him before leaping off his shoulder in apparent frustration. Kringl watched him scamper across the room and settle in the corner of an overstuffed chair.

Maybe the squirrel was right. Maybe he should tell Joy how he felt, but what was the point? She didn't feel the same way. All she wanted was to escape this frozen prison. She’d made that very clear.

Deciding to distract himself from pacing and fretting, Kringl walked to the kitchen area. "Let's see if we can make something for lunch. I’m sure Joy will be hungry when she returns.”

As he searched through the small kitchen for ingredients and cookware, Kringl found himself talking aloud again. "I never expected to feel so at home in such a simple dwelling. The palace on Valoria is so large you could lose yourself in it. This cozy house feels more like a home.”

Snowball glanced over his furry shoulder at these words, his pinched expression softening, and he hopped from the chair to the table to the counter to watch Kringl.

Snowball's presence was oddly comforting. He'd never had a pet before, aside from the exotic creatures in the palace menagerie on his home world, and he’d never been allowed to touch them. Watching the beautiful creatures in their cages had only ever made him sad, so he’d always assumed he was not fond of animals. It surprised him how quickly he'd taken to the little snow squirrel, and he secretly delighted in the way Snowball rode on his shoulder and curled around his neck to nap.

Kringl wasn’t too surprised that the supplies in Joy’s kitchen were limited, and the ingredients he had to work with were few. He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the options he’d set on the counter.

“Bread, cheese, some type of green spread, noodles, slightly wilted leaves, oil.” He cut a look at Snowball. “Are the leaves for you?”

Snowball wrinkled his nose.

“That’s a no.” Kringl laughed at the creature’s response and then he picked up the loaf of crusty bread and ball of white cheese. “I think I can make something close to Valorian fried sandwiches.”

Snowball tilted his head and watched, as Kringl poured oil in a pan and placed it over one of the stove’s two burners. While the oil heated, the prince crumbled a hunk of the bread into crumbs and sliced the cheese. He might be royalty, but he had spent enough time on spaceships that he’d learned the importance of being able to whip up a late-night snack.

As he dusted the cheese with breadcrumbs and slid the slices into the oil, he found himself offering small bites of the bread and cheese to Snowball, who accepted them eagerly. The more the animal nibbled, the less noise he made, which seemed like a fair tradeoff to Kringl.

The aroma of melting cheese tickled his nose as Kringl flipped the slices covered in breadcrumbs. He sliced the bread and quickly fried it next to the cheese, letting both sides get golden brown before putting them on plates. The cheese oozed and bubbled, forming elastic strings that stretched long when he transferred the breaded slices from the pan to the bread. The yeasty scent of the bread mingled with the sharp tang of the cheese as he pressed one crisp slice on top, the crackle as satisfying as the sight of the melted cheese sagging from between the browned bread.

As he plated the sandwiches, hoping Joy would return soon, the back doorknob suddenly rattled. Kringl froze as he heard someone call out Joy's name—a voice that definitely didn't belong to her. Not that she would call out her own name.

Heart pounding, Kringl quickly positioned himself behind the door, frying pan still in hand and hot oil sliding from the surface and dripping onto the floor. Snowball leapt to his shoulder as if sensing danger. Who would be coming into Joy’s home uninvited? Was he about to do battle with an elf? As the door swung open, Kringl prepared to strike.

Then a small figure stepped inside, and he instantly recognized her. It was the girl who had snatched the guard's hat and created the distraction that allowed his escape from the ice jail. The girl Joy had called Tami. Kringl lowered the pan as he released a breath.

The girl whirled around at Kringl’s sigh and Snowball's excited chirp, her eyes popping wide. Her gaze went from him to Snowball, and Kringl feared she might scream, but instead, she simply asked, "Where's Joy?"

Kringl blinked, surprised by her relatively calm reaction to finding a large blue alien in her friend's house. But as he studied her, he noticed the girl's rapid breathing, as if she'd run a race. She was not as calm as she first appeared even if she wasn’t scared of him.

Before he could answer, she closed the door and dropped her voice. “I need to warn her—and you."