The Princess and the Human

"What were you thinking?! You can't just press an emergency button without reason!" Silgvani scolded her brother. It was one day later, and she had finally managed to get a hold of Kiyrtin by catching him in his bedroom before he woke up. Kiyrtin sat on his chair leaning back, rocking back and forth on its hind legs.

"Well," he answered grinning, "you said I should stop doing things that could make you look bad."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAAAAAAAN JUST-"

Breathe.

"Also, I didn't say "make me look bad", I said "can reflect negatively on us", with which I meant not just you and me, but the entirety of our world and our people! For the First Ones' sake, you are almost five cycles old! It is really overdue that you start acting both your age and your status!"

"Pff, who cares? You're the one who'll get the throne."

"Maybe, but until then you are still a prince. You represent both Hohmiy and the Vanaery, whether you like it or not."

Judging by his demeanor, he didn't care, as always. Instead, he seemed to get another idea.

"Why are you so sure I pressed the button? Nobody saw me, could've also been a malfunction or an accident."

Silgvani cocked her head.

"You mean besides the fact that you didn't even try to refute it and more or less admitted it twice already? Because everyone in this palace is a mature adult, bar one."

"Hey, at least I'm not punching my bed!"

"I... you... I don't... what does... why would... what? What does that have to do with anything? What is that even supposed to mean, I don't "punch my bed"!"

He rocked forward with his chair and jumped off of it.

"Not you, that weird alien you brought. She's been doing it for two nights now."

"Okay, first, her name is Nadine, and she is a guest from a so-far uncontacted race, and you'll address her accordingly. Second... why do you know what a royal guest does at night in her private chambers?"

"I, uh, I, you see, I was... hungry! Yeah, I wanted to grab some food, and when I passed her room, I heard some weird noises."

"Ah, so you were just concerned," the princess asked sarcastically.

"Yeah!"

"So on your way from your room - which is in the west wing - to the kitchen - which is also in the west wing - you, by chance, passed her room - in the east wing. In two consecutive nights."

"Uh, well... anyway, she was all like this!"

He jumped onto his bed and started rolling left and right on his back, wildly kicking as well as flailing his arms around.

"I can't do it like her, she somehow made the entire bed shake."

Yes, if someone with Nadine's strength would thrash around like that, the bed would definitely shake.

"I first thought it was a side effect of her melt-molting, but she's done it last night again."

"Her kind doesn't molt," Silgvani corrected her brother.

"Of course she does!" he insisted. "I've seen it myself! Her face was all smeared and she kept wiping it, what else was that supposed to be?"

"I don't know, ask the- WAIT, what do you mean you've "seen it yourself"?!"

"Th-that one was really just by chance! I saw her doing it through the window while playing in the garden, right before she went to bed!"

The princess stepped closer.

"Care to explain to me why you were in the garden after nightfall?"

"Well, the maids don't let me in during the day."

"YES, BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! The eastern gardens are meant for guests! If you want to play in a garden, you can do so in the Sun Palace, but not here!"

Silgvani sighed. She couldn't keep her anger up anymore, she was too exhausted. She turned to leave the room, but looked back at her brother one more time.

"You know that it wouldn't kill you to not be a menace on my nerves for five tiggs, right?" she asked tiredly before closing the door behind her.

"She was punching and kicking? In her sleep?" Githaiy repeated as she took notes.

"According to Kiyrtin, yes. I know this is my brother we are talking about, but I think he actually did see that. I think you should talk to her again once her language tutor leaves, this just doesn't seem right. And even if that is somehow normal, we still need to know more, even if it is just to prevent her from accidentally injuring someone."

The doctor leaned back.

"I agree. But she insisted everything was fine. I'm afraid that if I'm too pushy, she'll just lock up more. Maybe if you find a way to naturally bring it up in a conversation..."

"And she definitely said she was alright?"

"Yes, Your Highness, as stated in my report. She said, and I quote: "I am in no need of medical attention"."

The princess seemed to think for a moment.

"This doesn't have to mean she's fine though. It just means you can't help her."

"That... is actually a good point. But what could it be? Why would someone move so much in her sleep? A defense mechanism? No, too exhausting, lashing out to sounds or something like that would make more sense. Maybe an ailment that her people believe to be incurable, that's why she won't talk about it?"

"Could it be age-related?" the princess suggested. "How old is she, anyway?"

The doctor shook her head.

"No, she's twenty-four cycles old, so about the same age as your mother. She still has at least eight cycles before she has to worry about that."

"Oh, they have the same lifespan as us?"

Githaiy looked up from her notes.

"...huh?"

"Her lifespan. You... asked for that, right?"

"...oh, First Ones, what kind of an incompetent doctor am I?! And I call myself Royal Physician, how could I forget to ask something so important?!"

She slumped back into her chair.

"I mean, I know how. I got overly excited by being the first one to examine a new sentient species and then got thrown off by her mathematical prowess. Doesn't excuse it though."

She paused for a moment.

"Of course! She is so small, it is entirely possible her lifespan is significantly shorter than ours! She might already be an elderly! If she thinks of her afflictions as simply a symptom of her age, it would all make sense!"

She stood up.

"Please excuse me, Your Highness, I have to clear this up, right now!"

"But she is with her tutor right now..."

"He'll be able to spare ten tiggs."

With that, Githaiy stormed off and hurried to the east wing. It was quite a bit of a walk, it was literally the other side of the palace after all. As finally she reached her destination - slightly exhausted - she took a few deep breaths, then she knocked.

"Yes?"

She opened the door and poked her head in. Nadine was sitting next to an old man, Baron Jakio of Clan Jakaru, whose shell had already started to lose shape a bit. It was a Clan without much influence that Githaiy knew only the name of, but the Baron had apparently a reputation as a capable teacher among higher-ranking nobles.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the two of you, I just need a moment. Nadine, could you tell me the life expectancy of your people?"

The alien girl thought for a moment.

"Well, if you have a healthy lifestyle, access to good medical care, and a bit of luck, a hundred and ten years is doable, so that would be... uh... hundred and eighty cycles."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Anything else?"

"Ah, n-no, I, uh, no, thank you."

The doctor closed the door and mechanically walked away. She didn't register where exactly she was going, but after a while, she leaned against a wall and slowly slid to the floor. Then, she started laughing.

She didn't want to laugh. First Ones, it wasn't even funny. But what else was she supposed to do, facing the absurdity of the situation? A hundred and eighty cycles. Almost five times the oldest Vanaery ever recorded.

"Doctor?"

And still four times as much as a female Tystrie, who till now had been the longest-living in the entire alliance.

"DOCTOR!"

The princess's call pulled her back into reality.

"Why are you sitting here laughing like you've gone mad? What's going on?!"

"We were off," the doctor said standing up. "We were off, we were completely off!"

"What are you talking about? You sound like-"

"A hundred and eighty! Humans live a hundred and eighty cycles!"

A blank stare from the princess was the answer.

"B-but... that would mean..."

"She is not an elderly!" The doctor was almost shouting at this point. "She is a CHILD!"