**Author's note: Sorry for the long wait, the holidays have kept me so busy it's made me dizzy. I love you, everyone. Please enjoy this chapter!**
Approaching the ship dining hall, Liliana immediately noticed that the doorway was a wide open archway "No red starburst?"
Nisnieth smiled at his silly young human bride and shook his head softly "No, my love, only personal spaces and high security rooms are locked down, the red starbursts are a micro technology lock that is programmed to respond only to the DNA of specific individuals… I programmed yours into the lock on our chambers already, my darling, no need to worry about that…"
As the pair of them passed through the archway and entered the dining hall, Liliana was stunned to see dozens upon dozens of golden skinned males wearing clothing similar to what Nisnieth was wearing now… each of them sported a jewel tone hair color with a single lock of hair in front a starkly different color than the rest, but she couldn't see any others bearing the same deep purple and aqua blue color scheme that the prince had.
When the alien men noticed Nisnieth and Liliana, they were all promptly at their feet and bowing their heads in a way that came off to Liliana as profound respect… they lifted their heads to gaze at the pair in reverence, none making a single move… until Nisnieth raised a palm to the same level as his head and gently lowered it back down, all men then sat back down and resumed partaking of their meals.
"Wow…" Liliana murmured, staring at the men with wide eyes "Do they do that every single time you come into a room?"
Nisnieth laughed softly "Pretty much, yes, deep respect is paid to the royal family of my planet and I personally have spent many years earning the respect of the Vuulians serving aboard my vessel, they respect me and I respect them. Any and all struggles, we are in together"
Liliana stared at Nisnieth for moment in confused awe… she wanted to hate this guy for snatching her like he did and forcing his will upon her… but the way he talked about his subordinates, like they were complete equals… maybe it couldn't hurt to get to know him a little better? Just maybe?
"Have I impressed you, my love?" Nisnieth asked her, noticing how she looked at him… the far too confident smirk curving his lips banishing any admiring thoughts within Liliana's head for the time being. He just had to open his mouth and ruin it, didn't he?
"Do not be ridiculous" Liliana replied, a light blush gracing her cheeks as she averted her gaze off to the side "Besides, your head seems pretty well inflated anyway… I doubt it could handle much more before it bursts…"
The prince then did something that shocked Liliana straight to her core, he threw his head back and… he started laughing! Like legitimate jovial laughter! She had absolutely no idea how to react to that…
"Oh don't look so stunned, my darling!" Nisnieth said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to draw her closer to his side "You are to be my wife, Liliana… while I do expect you to show me respect, you do not have to walk around eggshells with me as my subjects might… you and I… we will have a very real relationship, my love…"
A delicate pink blush adorned Liliana's face as she allowed the prince to guide her over to a small table at the far end of the room, it was covered with a vibrant royal purple cloth decorated with aqua blue starbursts that shimmered under the light… that did get Liliana's attention enough to finally say something about the color scheme "Is Purple and aqua blue a thing for you?"
Nisnieth grinned at he took a seat behind the table and gestured for Liliana to sit in the seat beside him "Sit, my bride… and yes, many Vuulian families tend to have a particular color scheme to them as a genetic trait, the colors of the male Vuulians are very dominant when it comes to offspring, it's very rare for the children to inherit the mother's families colors. Our children will have hair and eyes just like mine… the markings on my face too, Vuulians commonly have one mark, but the royal bloodline has two. We call it nature's way of preventing royal fraud"
"No ones ever tried faking having two?" Liliana asked curiously, now eyeing the twin marks on the right side of his chin.
"Oh they have, but the markings also give off an aura of sorts unique to their bloodline and we have ways to scan for that aura. Committing this crime is punishable by execution" Nisnieth explained, stopping to pull out her chair for her as they reached the royal table "Please, my love, sit down"
Nodding mutely, Liliana moved to gingerly sit down without getting her dress all bunched up under her, Nisnieth gently pushed in her chair and then moved to take the other one beside her.
"So… how does this work?" Liliana asked, she didn't see a buffet table anymore or any aliens walking around taking orders.
Nisnieth smiled and raised an aristocratic hand "Servitor! Come!"
After those words left the prince's lips, a whirring robotic device about the circumference of a frisbee came floating through the air towards their table… it actually reminded her of how alien spacecrafts were commonly depicted, it stopped in front of the royal table and just remained there hovering, waiting…
"I will have the Gnorbill steak and a salad with brull leaves… as for my companion, all servitor units have been programmed with the human diet, yes?"
"Affirmative, Your Highness" came a robotic voice from the servitor "Please conclude the dinner order"
The prince looked at Liliana and gestured to the Servitor "Go on, my love, ask for anything you desire"
Liliana nibbled on her lower lip a moment as she thought about, then replied to the robotic waiter "I'll have a turkey, bacon and swiss cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun, accompanied by a salad with spinach, diced roma tomatoes, croutons and shredded colby jack cheese, please… oh and a cup of peppermint flavored coffee, three level tablespoons of cream and two tablespoons of sugar…"
After Liliana was finished with her order, the metallic surface of the Servitor gleamed a bright blue twice, speaking it's robotic voice again "Understood, will you require dessert?"
Nisnieth looked curiously at Liliana "What is dessert?"
Liliana blinked a couple times as she looked at the prince as if he'd just sprouted another head "You don't have dessert on your planet? Then… how did the robot know about it?"
"I have scanned several humans over the time I've been watching you, collecting information from their minds and then feeding it to our robotic servants in order for them to better serve my bride… what is this dessert?" Nisnieth replied, his features etched with confusion "Obviously it's food, but how it is different from our meal? Why does the Sevitor specify this as a separate thing?"
Scanned… peoples… minds? She made a mental note to touch on that subject later in private…
"Um, well… dessert is a traditionally sweet food eaten after the main meal… maybe I should order something for you to try?" Liliana suggested, her mind searching then for good dessert to start a beginner out on… ice cream maybe? Cheesecake perhaps? Near everyone loved Cheesecake.
"Yes, that would be appreciated, I wish to know what kind of 'desserts' my future wife likes the best… so order what you normally would, my love" Nisnieth replied, the smooth charismatic smile sliding across his obnoxiously kissable lips