I wake up to a roar of men yelling something. I squint my eyes open, still feeling like I'm hobbling on a roller coaster. 

I can hardly believe it, but I fell asleep on the way back through the forest.

Though I'm pretty sure I didn't exactly fall asleep, more like I passed out with the constant hammering my brains got from sliding up and down with the bumpy ride.

I'm seated on the ground with a Zohra crouched right in front of me.

I stare at him in confusion, and he does the same.

"She's awake," he says suddenly and lifts me up from my pits. 

I wobble on my feet and look around, realising I'm surrounded by the big aliens. I widen my eyes and bat my lashes as I scan through the crowd. 

"Is she ready to fly?" The Zohra holding me up asks. 

I take a moment and a couple more to remember what he's talking about, but as soon as my memory catches up, I'm wide awake.

I haven't passed out this many times in my fucking life. I really need to get a grip, I have my beautiful princess to save.

"Did I pass out for long?" I ask and get out of his hold to rub off shit from my eyes. "Why didn't you wake me—"

Suddenly a horde of Zohra yell; "Karshok" and I literally jump an inch. What the fuck? General? 

I remember Finn mentioning them, saying that they're basically their Emperor's guard. 

A big Zohra waltzes towards me with some golden bells jingling with every step. The sound hurts my ears and my almost-gone-migraine is definitely getting fucked by the clear sound.

I squint at a Zohra with big antlers coming my way, then as if it were a bad album cover, two more Zohra with the same bells stroll next to him.

I pluck my ears and scowl and the three, their bells are making some horrible racket. As they stop I release my ears.

They all stare at me silently and I'm waiting for them to make some tacky backstreet boys pose for their album. 

They do nothing, so I ask, "Are you done? Can we go now?"

"This Karshok doesn't trust this human," the one with baby blue eyes says.

"This Karshok doesn't think we have a choice," another says, he looks a bit older than the other two with his heavy eyebags and wrinkly forehead.

Then the last one, the antler-man, says, "the Shurak is our priority. We need to keep watch as she flies, but let us not judge before we know who she is."

The first of the Karshoks who spoke grunts, eyeing me up and down. "She would be foolish to do anything."

"Hey, I'm right here," I say and snap my fingers on their faces. "You gotta pay if you're gonna keep staring, but we don't have time for sightseeing, do we? Let's get a move on, yeah?"

They all nod in creepy unison and they make a line towards a huge spaceship.

Keeping an eye on me does absolutely nothing if they don't know squat about spaceships, but they can pretend. 

They should be glad I'm not a scammer trying to take their shit.

They really don't think, do they? I could just fly it wherever I wanted and get them killed or captured.

I walk next to the three jingling beasts and whistle in awe, admiring the sleek ship.

It looks so much better than the stack of plates I'm flying. I could get a sweet payout for flying it to the smugglers. 

I might be an asshole, but I'm not a scumbag. I have standards. Something more precious and shinier is waiting for my rescue. 

But I really hope I can actually fly this. I didn't realise there are different types of ships. I've only seen the same trashcan of a ship as I fly on other aliens. This looks like it's a billion credits more worthy than mine.

Man, I could get so rich — no, think about Aladdin's pretty face. I wince at the sight I remember, the bloodied face of Aladdin and speed up my steps.

None of that matters if I can't fly this baby. I might even get my neck snapped if I can't.

We ascend the ramp with the Karshoks and a couple more Zohra come up after us. I'm led to the command centre and I plop down on the captain's seat, I stare at the buttons intently. 

One of the guys tries to talk to me, so I lift my hand up. "Shush! I'm trying to figure this baby out."

I try the button that's a comms button on my ship and the announcement stereos crackle. Nice, the buttons have different colours and shapes, but I think they're the same. 

How awful would it be that they're concretely different? Hah, we'd all be smashing to the ground.

I lift my feet on the seat and hunch toward the buttons. My "gremlin" pose, as my girls call it. 

I look back at my three huge prison guards and ask, "all ready to go?"

The left one nods, and the others join in on it. Their bells make me mad, but I drown the noise with the sweet, smooth humm of the engine. I draw in the boarding ramp and pluck on all the engines, this has four more than my ship. Four!

"I can show you the world," I sing quietly as we lift off. Sweet Jesus, the aircraft is much more responsive than my own. I can even see clearly outside despite the pitch black darkness of the night.

"A whole new…" my voice fades with my mood, 'cause singing a song from Aladdin without one feels wrong. 

I pout and zip through the sky, keeping it low, so I can make sure we're going the right way. And bam. Five. Fucking. Minutes. The power in this baby is amazing. 

Just remembering the stupid fucking trip I had to suffer on Red-eye's shoulder and back makes me furious. They could've just told me they have this.

I land on the sand and lower the boarding ramp. I'm about to get up to see my Aladdin, but one Karshok presses a hand down on my shoulder. It's the one who said he doesn't trust me. Baby-blue-eye-man.

I pout harder and make a show about sulking, so the moment he turns his back I spin my chair around and peer from behind him. 

Aladdin, the Shurak, is still unconscious and carried by his brother, they're all hovering over him like he's some kind of newborn baby.

It would be funny, but he's really precious to them as the Emperor.

I resent that, he was my precious baby for a time, too, and I'm not allowed to see them treat him. Do they even have a med-pod here?

I feel like shit now that I see his lifeless body. Even the new ship isn't that great anymore.

I scratch the leather on the chair and bite my lip. I'd really like to go and check if he's alright, but I'm not allowed to move.

Wait. What if they decide to kill me? I was 'keeping' their ruler in the woods. I saved him, but how would they know? Will they trust me? Hell, do I trust them?

I check on the Karshoks and turn back to the command panel sneakily. I send my location to my girls with an encrypted message. 

These Zohra don't know how to use the ship, but I still encrypt it in case someone figures out I sent something. 

I tell my girl to park west a bit further away from the city they'd see. If shit goes down, I have my escape plan. 

Everyone knows they shouldn't mess with the Shurak of Zohra, that's the only thing they get their balls on a noose from.

The dude who kidnapped him in the first place must've been a gigantic idiot, a suicidal one. If these guys don't believe me I'll just yeet out and disappear with my ship.

I spin on the chair and smile sweetly as the baby-blue Karshok scowls at me. "Ready for lift-off?"

He shakes his head and I peek from behind him again, they're strapping their Emperor into a fucking stretcher. 

A stretcher.

"Don't you guys have a med—"

The Karshok turns to me with narrowed eyes and I hold my hands up in surrender. 

"Look, I'm just asking if—"

He grunts and snaps my jaw shut with his finger. "Be quiet."

Okay, that's it. He's using Aladdin's famous only words. 

I grab his finger and twist. "Listen to me you fucking numbnuts; I'm asking if you have a med-pod or not, you know, to save your Shurak."

Well I got everyone's attention. I let go of the man's finger, that I obviously didn't hurt, and cross my arms. 

I want to help Aladdin as much as they should the med-pod is amazing and he could be healed in a matter of hours.

"Don't tell me you don't even know what a med-pod is; you're the aliens, not me."

Judging from the continuous eye-beams of confusion, they don't have a clue. "Oh my god," I groan and drag a hand over my face. 

"Take us back home," the bossy Karshok says.

I turn to the command table and shake my head in disbelief. 

"Yes, sir," I say sarcastically and lift the ramp back up and ascend again, zooming to their city.

They have this high-tech ship and it doesn't have a med-pod? Or is there one and they don't know how to use it? 

We land and I'm forced to sit on the commander's chair to look at the happenings through the fat ass of the bully Karshok. 

"You know it wouldn't take long in A. Med. Pod," I yell after them as they go down with their shitty stretcher. 

"Might even fix up the horn—"

The Karshok turns to me so fast I don't even realise my mouth is stuffed with his hand until I'm unable to speak.

"This Karshok is the eyes of the Shurak," he says, letting my mouth go. "She is under investigation. We need to know everything that happened."

Two more Zohra come from the shadows just as I'm about to ask who is "we", nice that they answered it themselves.

The ninja squad. That doesn't ever get un-funny. Big Zohras who don't stomp around. Hilarious.

"I suppose I can't get a change of clothes and a shower first?" I ask with a chuckle. 

"She can have that, but it needs to be done on the ship, she cannot go outside or come into the commanding pit."

"I can seriously shower?" I ask, kind of shocked. He was being such a cunt just a moment ago.

"Yes," he says, tilting his head. "Does she not need to?" 

He asks that, but the look he scans me over tells me everything I need to know. I'm dirty as fuck.

"I would love a shower," I say and jump up from my seat. "Clothes too. Preferably underwear included, the non-string kind. This is not comfortable."

I adjust my leaf bra and it cracks down the middle, almost making my breasts pop out to say hello. It's a good thing I managed to cup them.

"Do you need to search me or are we waiting for something? My clothes are literally tearing apart, as you obviously see, so want to lead the way?"

"This Karshok needs to request a female to supervise the shower," he says, unblinking.

"I don't really care who's watching, I just want a shower now that im allowed to," I say and raise my eyebrows at him. "If you're the eyes of the Shurak then there is nothing you can't see that he hasn't yeah?"

"This Karshok does not understand," he says, tilting his head.

"I mean if the Shurak has seen me naked, it's whatever if you see me too, right? Come on man, I want a shower."

Suddenly they're all eerily quiet and looking at me with wide eyes. I almost raise my hands in surrender, but that will release the krakens. 

"Oh, don't worry, I protected his chastity, if that's what you're worried about?"

I actually don't remember much of the things Finn said about the Shurak or the Karshok's. So pardon me if I outed you for being a virgin, Aladdin.

The Karshok frowns slightly and lowers his voice to ask, "does that mean she hasn't fucked with the Shurak?"

I nod wide-eyed and whisper back, "it was a vow I made for him. I protected it." I try to give him a fist-bump, but he obviously doesn't get it, instead he stares at the fist on my boob.

"I mean I didn't ride his cock," I say loudly to snap him out of his daze. "No fiddling or dicking. Can I have a shower now? You can all come and watch for all I care." 

I'm lying about the fiddling part, if we count the tiny bit in the cell, but that was just business.

The Karshok clears his throat and he beckons me to follow him, we go down one set of stairs and head into a comfortable looking bedroom with a nice, big bathroom. With a jacuzzi. 

"No way!" I run to the tub and slam my hands on its railing, letting my pathetic leaf fall now, I'm in the bathroom anyway. "Why don't I have a jacuzzi?" 

"Please don't take long. This is as uncomfortable for this Karshok as it is for her."

I turn to him and scoff. "You're the only one uncomfortable here dude," I say and search through the compartments for soaps and stuff. They also have the miracle hair treatment bag-thing that we have on our ship.

I squeal in excitement and pull the box out. It is filled and they're all unused, what a glorious day. I hug the box and crouch down to search the lower cabinets.

"What is she searching?" The Zohra asks and I glance at him.

"Poisons to kill you," I mumble and stare back into the cabinet, finding a comb.

"Zohra are mostly immune to poison," he says as a matter of factly. "She's wasting her time."

"No shit. I'm looking for good soaps and stuff, do you have a secret stash?" 

He's stunned I guess, as he doesn't speak. I lift my head up and he's tilting his head with the eye-beam of confusion.

"This Karshok doesn't understand her."

"I figured," I mutter and lift my hoard on the sink. 

I assume I'm not taking a bath in the jacuzzi, so I check the shower and see if it has warm water. It does so I strip down my string-of-asscrack, gather the soaps from the sink, and start my nice, long shower. 

I try to untie my hair, but the tie is stuck so I can't. I try to rip the tie up, but it must be made of titanium. It's more likely that I'm spent, but I prefer to think I'm always strong.

"Hey, could you cut the hair tie, it's stuck and I don't have my knife," I ask and point at the messy state my hair is in. I pull out the tie pointedly and wiggle it. 

The tie snaps, so I murmur a thanks and pull the tie away. 

"Please be fast," the Karshok says with a sigh.

I nod, but I won't be fast. I'm planning on having a good one. He can wallow in his uncomfort for all I care.

I'm scrubbed, smell good, my hair is bagged, and I'm happy in my comfort bubble.

I got actual underwear including a bra-tube, a pair of sandals, and a long white dress. The dress is soft and comfortable; it's like a baby-blanket.

The Karshok that waited on me looks tired and I can sympathise with that, I'm exhausted. I sit on the bed and grin at him lazily.

"Ask what you will," I say and hold in a yawn. "Wait, first; can I ask how… the Shurak is doing?"

He shakes his head. "It's not her business to know."

I pout and grumble in disagreement, but I know he's right. What kind of whore gets updates about an Emperor?

"Tell this Karshok everything from the beginning. Who is she and how did she meet the Shurak?"

"Right, you know the Burg prison?"

His hands fists and he jerks an angry nod.

"That's where I met him. I'm the captain of the pleasure-ship, and my girls and I have been requested to Burg a few times. Burg had requested my girls a couple times to teach your Shurak how to have sex, so they could have him as a sex slave. As he's apparently useless in everything else, like fighting and heavy lifting."

The Karshok lifts his upper lip and growls, "the Shurak as a sex slave? Did she or her 'girls' touch him? It is not—

"We didn't," I interrupt. "Why the hell do you think I was there? The others didn't succeed, so I was his last chance before he would become arena fodder."

"The Shurak is a magnificent ruler. He is not allowed to lift anything heavy, not fight, nor is he allowed to talk to anyone but his family," he says proudly. "He governs our people with extreme skill. He is no 'fodder', female."

"Well, that wasn't my plan, it was the Burg prison's plan for him. Besides, your rules didn't turn out that well, did they? He got snatched by someone and sold to Burg, then he was unable to defend himself 'cause of your dumb-ass rules."

I flail my hands, expressing my frustration.

"Do you know how frustrating it is to try and help someone who doesn't even peep a word, even if he could? Oh and don't get me started on how useless he is at everything. I was tempted to pick out his hair strand by strand."

The dude rumbles again and I jerk my chin at him, challenging him with my words. Nobody can tell me in all honesty that Aladdin isn't useless in the woods.

I probably shouldn't mention Aladdin spoke to me though. He did an oopsie on his rules and I don't know if that means I have to die for it.

"What?" I ask. Baby-blue eyes glower at me. "Dude I haven't even begun the story, don't get angry yet."

I tell our escape step by step, ignoring the interrupting cow. 

I share about the encounter with the pirates, Unitaur, dark halls, desert, poison and stab-hole, dragging his ass across the sea of sand, and making camp. 

The camp is where I get to the good part; I tell him the long, long, long list of shit his Shurak is useless at. The Karshok's face grows darker with anger with each one I mention.

It's amazing. Making a stiff Zohra show emotion. Priceless.

I tell him about the three weeks, and I figure our meeting in the rain is unwanted info, so I skip it and move on to us leaving the camp. 

Then I relive the terrible attack of the dragon-chicken and how it all went down, except him talking to me. 

I guess that's the only point Aladdin felt like he was going to die if I didn't stuff my mouth. 

Oh, that actually makes me fucking furious. How could he not talk for so long? 

"Anyway, that's when I ran to your city. I checked from the top of the tree and saw it. Kinda pure luck that I was heading the right way," I finish and wave my hand. "The rest you know."

He stares at the ground and blows out a breath, then he straightens and bows to me. "This Karshok thanks her for doing the job this one couldn't."

"What?" I mutter, feeling awkward. "Anyone would help that helpless baby deer."

Oh my god. He's Bambi. 

He takes a deep breath and glowers at me once more. "This Karshok will let that one slide. Do not insult the Shurak more. It is a punishable offence."

"Even to outsiders?"

"She is talking directly to the eyes of the Shurak," he says pointedly. "Yes, it is punishable by our laws."

"Damn. I hope he doesn't tattle on me then," I say with a smirk. "Too bad he can't speak."

"He is able to speak to his family," he says and waits for my drowsy brain to make the puzzle.

"The red-eyed dude," I hiss, but then I mutter, "Aladdin wouldn't do that to Jasmine."

"This Karshok couldn't hear her," he says.

"I said that I didn't raise no snitch," I sass and snap my fingers. 

He gives me the confusion beam and I shrug. "Anyway… what now?" 

"We wait for the Shurak to wake," he says, giving me an odd look. "She will sleep and wait here. A female Tellus will guard her."

"Right," I mutter and crawl on the bed. "Turn off the lights while you're at it, yeah?"

I go under the covers and give him a dismissive wave as he looks at me with his confusion again. "Nighty night."

I slam my head on the bed and it's like I go into another dimension, my head spins like mad and I pass out like a snuffed candle.

I have been stuck in the ship's bedroom for three days. I have a guard with me at all times, just standing by the door. 

They have a morning shift and a night shift guard. The morning guards are extremely quiet and grumpy. I've heard the Zohra women are pretty much nocturnal, so I get their drift.

But I'm bored to death. I have taken two baths in the jacuzzi, lied in bed, and tried to make conversation, but nobody