today and I need them to be at least a seven before I go all Lizzie Borden.”
Adrix just stared at me and Inara laughed and said, “She’s joking, Adrix. We’ll be fine with her.”
“I will wait in the hallway while you visit,” he said.
He closed the door and I walked over and stuck my hand out to the pink-haired girl. “Hi, Candala, I’m Ellis.”
She shook my hand. “Hi there. You can call me Candy.”
“So are you guys here to, like, clean or something?” I said.
“No,” Inara wandered over to the loveseat and sat down. “Sabrina asked Candy to stop by and work her sewing magic for you, and I decided to join her just for a visit. I imagine you must be bored out of your mind.”
“A little,” I said. “What do you mean sewing magic?”
Candy laughed. “I’m a pretty good seamstress. None of the women who work here have clothes that will fit you, you’re too small, but if you let me take your measurements, I’ll make you some clothes.”
“Seriously?” I said. “That would be amazing.”
Candy had a small bag with her, and I watched as she brought out a tablet. “I won’t be able to make a bra or underwear for you, but I can at least make you a few shirts and some pants, maybe even a couple pairs of shorts.”
“Whatever you can do would be awesome,” I said.
“Great, let’s get you measured.”
Fifteen minutes later, Candy had all of my measurements entered into her tablet and the three of us were sitting in my small living room with bottles of gallberry juice. I’d dragged a kitchen chair over to sit in and I shifted on the hard seat. “So, do you guys have the day off today?”
Inara nodded. “Yes, thank God. I had to clean the sparring room yesterday and that’s always a nightmare. I swear it took me three hours alone just to scrub the blood off the floor.”
“Blood?” I said.
“The Draax often spar with real swords and sometimes they get cut so, you know… blood splatter,” Inara said.
“Holy shit. That sounds like a good way to lose a limb,” I said.
Candy laughed. “The Draax are pretty tough. And with this stuff,” she pointed to the bottle of juice she held, “any damage they get from sparring is pretty much healed by the next day.”
“Speaking of which,” Inara said, “I heard they healed you from your cancer. That’s pretty awesome.”
“It is,” I said.
“Adrix told me that you would be going to prison on Earth as soon as the war between the Emirans and the Cillades ended,” Inara said. “I’m really sorry, Ellis.”
“Well, I’m innocent,” I said, “so I expect a lawyer will get any charges dropped once I tell him my side of the story.”
“Right, it was a woman named Cheryl who made you steal the juice,” Inara said.
“Boy, word gets around fast in the palace,” I said.
“No,” Candy said, “word gets around fast to Inara, especially when it’s something that Adrix knows.”
“He does seem to have a thing for you,” I said to Inara.
She blushed prettily. “No more of a thing than he has for any of the other women working in the palace. He’s just a flirt.”
“Bullshit,” Candy said. “I guarantee the second the clock strikes midnight tomorrow night and this three month waiting period is over, he’ll be knocking on your door and asking if you want to mate with him.”
“And when I say no, he’ll move on to the next woman and ask her,” Inara said.
“Doubt it,” Candy said.
“Are you saying no because of your sister?” I said.
“Yeah. I’m not staying here a minute longer past the year I agreed to,” Inara said. “I can’t. Wendy needs me.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t bang Adrix for fun,” Candy said. “The Draax will be fine with that. Trust me.”
“I wouldn’t feel right about it, at least not with Adrix. Sigan told me Adrix is looking for a mate, not just sex. I don’t want to lead him on.”
“Technically, aren’t they all looking for a mate?” I said.
“They are,” Candy said. “But some of them are more eager to be mated than others. My experience has been that there are plenty of Draax just looking for sex and not a wife.”
“How do you know that?” I said.
“I banged a lot of Draax back on Earth,” Candy said.
Her matter of fact tone made me giggle. “Oh, well, um, good for you.”
Candy grinned at me. “I didn’t do it just because. My son, Roden, was really sick and