Casina tossed and turned all night, replaying her stupidity over and over again in her mind. She never should have confessed to Uri that she missed him. Granted, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But now she wasn"t so sure. After the attack at the aviary and despite his kindness, he probably didn"t want anything more to do with her. Ever.
One thing was for certain though. Since declaring her secret with the alien commander, it was as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her. Somehow. No longer did she feel frustrated or angry with him or anyone else. Her nasty attitude had dissipated, and she hoped it was gone for good. Her attitude had merely been a defense against the way she really felt about the commander and the other aliens she had met. Why on earth hadn"t she realized that before?
Angry with herself, for her naiveté where men were concerned, she tossed aside her bedcovers and went tromping into the bath chamber. Then, instead of waiting for Mrovia to arrive, she readied her own bath, hoping that a good soak would dissolve all of her troubles and fears, not to mention all of her aches and pains from training.
When she finished her morning rituals, she returned to her bedchamber to get dressed, only to stop short at sight of the large black-and-white cat sitting on her bed, licking its paws, and watching her.
"What on earth?" she began, moving toward it. Drawing closer, she let out a squeal of recognition. "Jasper?" Then, "Holy cow. It is!" Snatching the feline up in her arms, she hugged him to her, not caring that she was stark naked. She squeezed him tightly and swung him around in a little dance. "Jasper. What are you doing here?" She held him away to peer into his face, as if hoping for some answers to this mystery. "Well, you"re certainly not a kitten anymore, are you?" Then she set him back on the bed, where he immediately jumped off it to scamper across the room to paw at the glass doors, making clear his desire. "Go on then," she said, frowning at him. She moved to slide the door open, to accommodate him, watching as he scampered away down the steps and into the garden, wondering who had let him into her room in the first place. Apparently the aliens were able to rescue her brother"s cat and had brought him all the way to Jupitar, too. As she warmed at thought of the idea, she thought how considerate the aliens were in having done this for her, perhaps to help ease her loneliness.
She shook her head, puzzling over the matter, then hurried to dress before Mrovia arrived. Since beginning her training, Mrovia had started leaving her extra sets of clothes. Plus, she still had all the clothes she had been allowed to purchase while in Zaratan. But, to have the woman catch her naked yet again was not something she wanted to happen either. And as she considered her wretched behavior to date, she snorted at herself with disgust, wondering what the alien actually thought of her.
She turned at sound of the doors opening. Mrovia entered with an armload of fresh linen, only to pause in surprise at sight of Casina, fully dressed.
"Already, Mees Don"sen?" she said. "Bath, too?"
Casina gave her a sheepish nod, standing with her hands on her hips. "Yes. I...I couldn"t sleep."
"Perhaps we should continue with Paxis"s ministrations," she said, both aware his sleeping aids had been permanently suspended after she had gone to Zaratan. Casina frowned thoughtfully, as she considered this.
"Perhaps," she replied. "Either way, I know the Seth will be here shortly to take me to training, so I thought it best just to get up and get dressed."
But when nothing more was forthcoming, Mrovia hurried to add, "I will see to your repast then." She hurriedly laid aside the linens before dashing back into the hall, intent on sharing with Kaanig Altair this unusual occurrence. But whether he would be pleased was another matter.