Imperial Governess Read online

  She took the fabric and connected it with the necessity of hiding her eyes. She nodded and shook the delicate gold silk out before draping it over her head. “You are safe.”

  He looked at her and inclined his head. “Thank you. We have a number of different factions here, and none of them will judge you for covering the laws of two of our settlements. We do not wish any accidents or conflict.”

  “As I am a governess, it will also keep me from being acknowledged by those around me. Got it. The less I am a public person, the more effective I will be. This is what I have trained for.” She chuckled.

  “Right. Training. I am sorry, but your voice is rather enthralling.”

  She stepped toward him, and he stepped back. “Please, don’t tell me that I have to keep my mouth shut as well because that is a step too far. I don’t think it is possible.”

  He laughed and gestured down the hall toward the red sector. “My name is Trainer Krazz, and I will be helping you to gain your maximum strength, as well as some combat moves.”

  She nodded and walked in step with him. “Is your first name Trainer?”

  He paused, and then, he ran a hand over his hair. “Are you always this witty?”

  “No.” She kept walking. “When I am comfortable, I am far worse. And I swear. A lot.”

  She heard a laugh, and Krazz caught up with her. “Does the commander know about that?”

  “He didn’t ask. Don’t worry. I tend to save it for physical exertions, so we are probably safe.” She grinned. “Well, you aren’t, but then, I am assuming that you did not offer to train me under duress.”

  “It was not my standard assignment, but there was no duress. Here we are.” He pressed his hand to a plate on the wall, and the door opened to show her an empty gym with heavily padded walls.

  “This is where we will meet every morning, and you will train until I tell you otherwise.”

  She looked around and nodded. “Wait. Do I have to work out with the veil on?”

  Krazz shook his head. “I have a faceplate for you.”

  Amber nodded. “Of course. Right. Let’s get that sorted so that I can burn off some of this excess energy.”

  “Yes, Madame.” He went to a box on the wall and removed a golden mask.

  “What is with all the gold?”

  “You are a member of the imperial household. Everything you wear is going to be indicative of that fact.”

  “Right. So, how do I put this on?”

  “Just apply it under the veil, and it will adhere.”

  Amber nodded and took the mask, placing it under the veil and pressing it to her face. It stuck without being annoying. Her mouth and jaw were clear, but there was a film over her eyes. She could see out, but there was a layer there.

  He blinked and laughed. “That suits you.”

  “Thanks, but it feels weird. Now, shall we test to see if I still curse when irritated?”

  He nodded and pulled his hood back. She stared at him, and as he was the first Possitt she had seen without the hood, she memorized him. The mix of golden skin and silvery highlights was striking, as was the vivid violet hair and matching eyes.

  “So, does hiding the eyes help you emotionally or something?”

  Krazz chuckled. “They stop me from falling into your thoughts. Since you are of a less trained species, your mind is wide open. Your implant gives you a certain amount of coverage, but your eyes open your mind to ours, and that is a playground we have not been invited to.”

  She blinked. “Well, shit.”

  He laughed. “Right. Let’s start with push-ups and see how much upper body strength you have.”

  Amber nodded and hit the deck. She was able to move more easily than she had in the last fifteen years. She spread her feet and switched to one hand, and after a dozen, she switched to the other hand.

  Krazz crouched next to her. “Fine. Get up, and let’s check your stamina.”

  She grinned and got up onto the ship’s equivalent of a treadmill. She began to run and kept going until Krazz snorted and waved for her to stop.

  “Fine. Now, let’s check your weight capabilities.”

  “Never ask a lady about her weight.” She smirked.

  He laughed and set her up on the machine, setting her in the proper pose while checking the unit. “Right. Five presses and then pause, and I will increase the weight. First, we do arms, then we do legs.”

  “What is this we stuff?” She settled in and waited for his nod. When he nodded, she started to use the press. It was the beginning of a very long two hours.

  She finished the last leg press, and he nodded. “Enough. Good. Well, I will have to program the sparring program for this as there is no way I am getting in the ring with you.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because during your transformation, you developed enough strength to punch through that wall. The household is going to be so happy.” He chuckled.

  She grimaced and flexed her hands. “Right. I don’t feel different. I just feel like I have more energy, but that is to be expected with close to half the years your body carries falling away.”

  He snorted. “The Avatar of Terra gave you a gift, did she not?”

  “A gift?” Amber thought about it, and she inhaled sharply. “She kissed me, and then I passed out.”

  “Oh, you prefer women?”

  Amber blinked at the mention, and she laughed. “No. Not particularly. But when an avatar kisses you, I don’t think you have much of choice.”

  Understanding crossed his features. “I am seeing your point. Well, we are done here for the day, and I have been told to make sure you get your solar shower before I take you to the common area for your food tasting.”

  “A solar shower?”

  He took her to one end of the gym and showed her the water, the small unit he called a snack dispenser, and the shower and toilet facilities. They were slightly different from Earth, but she figured them out.

  When she had removed the sweat and attended to the other call of nature, and she caught a look at the mask in the mirror, her eyes were obscured, but her hair and skin looked brighter against the gold. It wasn’t a bad look, but she was getting used to her younger face, and to have another one to memorize as belonging to her was going to be tricky.

  She tightened her ponytail, left the lav, and paused. “Trainer Krazz, do I leave the mask here?”

  He chuckled. “Take the veil with you and wear the mask when you come tomorrow. This is your private gym while we travel, and you can come and use it any time. Once we go through the combat simulators, you can burn off the extra energy any time you like.”

  “Good. So, there isn’t a problem with me roaming the halls?”

  He was having something deeply amusing trying to push out. “If they pick a fight with you, I am sure that the good doctor can put them back together. Your strength is under your control, so no one is in danger as long as they don’t interfere with you.”

  She frowned. “I still don’t believe that I am dangerous. I have never been physically dangerous.”

  “You are now. Don’t worry. It is what we wanted. Possitt didn’t just request a governess; it requested a bodyguard that no one would suspect. I am making my report to the imperial household directly. No one here is to be told about your skillset. It is a secret that will rest in the halls of the imperial house.”

  “Oh. So, I am a surprise weapon. Got it.”

  “Good, now take your veil, and I will escort you to the dining area.”

  She grabbed her veil and folded it into the small square she had first received. She tucked it into the base of her ponytail, and Krazz grinned.

  “I had not thought of your hair as carrying cargo.”

  She grinned. “I am getting hungry. Can we go now?”

  He nodded and escorted her out of the gym and down the hall. They headed for a space marked in green.

  A man was arranging a table
away from the crew section. There was a lot of cutlery on the table, and Amber silently groaned. There was going to be a test before she could start eating.

  “Trainer Krazz, thank you for delivering my student.” The man smiled, and his eyes were in shadows along with half his face. It seemed the primary fashion for the men on the ship. Krazz’s hood was up again.

  She waited patiently, and the man finally looked her over.

  “Well, your clothing is unacceptable.”

  “I am dressed for a combat training session. You look like you are dressed to seduce one of the commanding officers. Which one of us has a better chance of carrying out our missions?” She said it all in a super sweet tone.

  He looked furious for a moment, and then, he settled and bowed. “Madame Huffner, I am Specialist Hynin.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” She gave him a slight bow from the waist.

  He frowned. “You are to curtsy.”

  “Not while wearing a bodysuit. When dressed where my lower limbs are exposed, a curtsy is considered unacceptable. Only when my legs are covered is a curtsy appropriate.” She stood straight and looked at him through the mask.

  Hynin paused and grinned. “Correct. Please, be seated, and we will begin your instruction.”

  She nodded and took her seat.

  “You should have waited for me to hold your chair for you.”

  Amber looked at him and said patiently, “I allowed you to hold the chair, you declined, and as I am dressed for military or casual interaction, I sought my own seat.”

  Hynin blinked. “Ah. Right. You are correct and very quick.”

  “My mind sped up as my body slowed down.” She saw his confused look. “Never mind. Terran joke.”

  He nodded and started to walk her through the cutlery and hand positions on the table. When the food arrived, her stomach gurgled loudly. She blushed, and she bit her lip.

  Hynin looked embarrassed. “Pardon me. The instruction got away from me. I have been instructed to start you with soup.”

  She blinked. “Why are you apologizing? My stomach made the sound.”

  “Because I know you haven’t eaten, and I have kept you from your first meal since coming out of the tank.”

  She hadn’t seen the signal, but a staff member brought out a soup that was a puree and smelled like thanksgiving dinner. Her stomach rumbled again, and she pressed her left hand to her ribs, trying to still the angry beast. Since she normally ate regularly, getting this hungry wasn’t something that happened.

  Hynin smiled. “If you pick the right spoon, you can eat.”

  Amber skated her fingers over the five spoons and selected the second largest spoon, and then moved one spoon out from that. She picked it up and held it. “Right?”

  He inclined his head. “I thought you were going to go for the larger soup spoon.”

  “This is a puree, and therefore, there is no need to transport pieces, just the soup itself.”

  She dipped the spoon in the way her grandmother had taught her and put it in her mouth. It actually did taste like thanksgiving dinner. She made her way through the bowl of soup with Hynin correcting her grip on her spoon, but her minimal consumption method was appropriate.

  “It is a good thing for you but a bad thing for your public appearances. Your slow eating will mean a lot of hungry nights.”

  She winced. “Let me guess, if she stops eating, everyone gets their plate taken away?”

  “The same with the imperial regent. When he stops, they all stop.” Hynin chuckled. “That is why we are going to be doing speed-eating under your veil on your last day.”

  She groaned and looked at him, but he seemed to be pleased with her progress. A salad of shredded vegetables arrived, and she picked one of the eight forks and hoped for the best. She got smacked with the back of a butterknife and tried again.

  It was not the weirdest lunch she ever had.

  Chapter Four

  Amber’s days took on a pattern. She fought in the morning, had lunch using the veil as cover, plugged into Possitt archives in the afternoon, and watched local entertainment on vids in the evening. She identified the porn channels immediately, and after watching a few for educational purposes, she didn’t bother with them again.

  Krazz gave her pointers while she was fighting with the projection, but he let her take hits and get flipped around. She had to limp to quite a few lunches.

  Sneaking into the gym the night before their drop to Possitt, she ran into the commander.

  He saw her entering the space and said, “What are you doing?”

  “Um, I am trying to distract myself from not sleeping. I have been told that I won’t be able to do it when I join the imperial household, so I thought I would get one more sparring match in.”

  “Krazz has been pleased with your progress. May I observe?”

  She nodded and went to the wall, hanging up her veil and putting on her mask.

  He leaned against the wall. “How are you adapting to the mask and veil?”

  “I am still not a fan and don’t understand how the Possitt mental skills work, but if folks are banned from rifling around in my mind, I suppose I can just look forward to spending time alone with nothing between me and the world.”

  She went to the projection unit, scanned in her palm print, and then she got on the pad and flexed her shoulders.

  “That makes it sound like you spend time naked.”

  She chuckled but kept her eyes on the incoming enemy. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

  She dove into the melee with her attacker, grunted, and rocked as she dodged the fists.

  She had worked up quite the sweat when the commander stopped the projection. “Enough. Time for you to have a life partner. You have used that program so often you were dancing with him.”

  She blinked. “Krazz said that I am not authorized to spar with people unless I am under direct attack.”

  “I am overriding his authorization. I have training that Krazz doesn’t have.”

  Amber fidgeted. “If you are sure. I will try to hold back. Do you have a scenario for this sparring, or is it just general exercise?”

  “Let’s see if you can figure it out.”

  She squared off at him, and he lunged for her. She deflected his hands, but then, he moved faster and gripped her arm, turning her and pressing her back against his chest. She was surprised enough for him to get a second arm around her, and she had to ignore the erection she had felt, kicked back at his knee, bending forward when he slipped to one side, she pressed her feet tight to the ground, bent her knees and propelled herself up and back, taking him with her.

  She flew with him attached to her and landed on his chest. His grip loosened, and she scrambled free. She was surprised. Aside from the occasional glance thrown her way, she didn’t think that she met the Possitt criteria for attraction.

  She stood straight again, and he rubbed his chest.

  “Well, governess, I must say that that was unexpected. Come here and have a seat.”

  He patted the mat next to him. She kept a few feet away and knelt.

  The commander chuckled. “So, you caught that.”

  “No, I deliberately didn’t get near it. I tried not to injure you.” She smiled slightly.

  “It doesn’t offend your sensibilities?”

  “No, but if you are interested in women who can break you in half, you must have a challenging sex life.”

  He laughed and leaned forward, his eyes seeking hers from the shadow of the hood.

  She cocked her head. “When did the gaze telepathy begin?”

  He smiled. “It isn’t directly gaze related, but it is ocular. We have additional cones in our eyes as well as tiny little muscles that create flicks of light. That light triggers a frequency in prey species, and we can just slip our minds against theirs. As you are in the imperial house, you have to guard your mind so that others don’t discover your lady’s secrets.�
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  “I knew that much. But until I understand the mechanism completely, I can’t properly guard against it. So, the problem isn’t you seeing my eyes; it is me seeing yours.”

  “Yes, but you will be outnumbered, so you have to take the precautions.”

  She nodded. “That I can definitely understand. So, tomorrow, huh?”

  “Later this morning, we will be in orbit, and then, the shuttle will be released to deliver you to Lady Emera. I am delighted that we have found you to be at her side.”

  Amber looked at him. “I think that every time someone says that, they are trying to tell me something about the lady herself.”

  He sighed. “She is shy, she has been kept away from the public for years, and that has led to rumours about her. She needs to be seen, needs confidence, and has to be kept safe. I do believe that you can manage all of those.”

  “So, she is transitioning from her nanny to governess but still needs someone to act in all capacities.”

  “Her nanny has stifled her emotional growth, so I truly believe that having someone like you with her will cause her to make great strides.” He shifted to his knees, and he looked at her; she could tell by the motions of his head.

  He sighed. “I am rather wishing that I had gotten you for myself.”

  She scrambled back. “What?”

  He got to his feet. “So, you will face me in combat but not if I discuss having sex with me.”

  Amber frowned. “You didn’t discuss anything. You made a statement. I know that the Possitt paid for my reset, but becoming a mistress wasn’t in the job description I agreed to. There is nothing regarding sex in my contract.”

  He laughed and stepped toward her. “In that case, I will wait until your contract is up for renewal. Well, except for this.” He leaned in and kissed her.

  She fought the impulse to wrap herself around him, but he didn’t let her go until he was good and ready. Her skin was hot, her pulse was fast, and she began to clue in that menopause had been reset as well. Even watching six hours of Possitt porn had just been an intellectual exercise. This was different. Very different.