The server wheeled the cart into the giant bedroom, then walked over to the curtains and pulled the rope. The giant window allowed the bright light to enter from the scorching sun of the planet Bok.
The Earth woman lying in the bed groaned and opened her eye a fraction. "Mmmm. Where am I?"
"The palace, your greatness." The man went back to the cart and began scooping a jelly onto several small bread discs. "We will conduct your training this afternoon. For this morning, you have an appointment set up for a meeting. You may meet her in the library."
Penny sat up and blinked the sleep out. She made her way over to the cart and tried a few of the small bread discs. "Oooh," mused Penny. "This is really nice, Mister...um...?"
"I am Eltar, your greatness," the man explained. "I will be your tutor on matters of state. Far be it for me to question the queen's judgment on selecting an alien to lead us." He smiled diplomatically. "Perhaps eight hundred years of tradition needed changing."
Penny gave a smirk. "You're kind sarcastic, aren't you?"
"I prefer to think of myself as having a dry wit," Eltar kidded. "I assure you we will have you a native Boccan before the end of the year. Does madam have a request for dinner?"
Penny sighed. "I don't know about many of the foods here! I mean, I like a good barbecue."
Eltar pondered. "Combustion to cook. I shall consult the chef. Perhaps we can chisel you a wheel from a stone as well."
Penny finished her breakfast, then ran off for a shower. Eltar took the tray away, then waited out in the hall while Penny got on her outfit.
She went out of the room and held up her arms. "What do you think, Eltie?" She had on a Boccan summer dress with some nice running shoes.
"Casual wear will be fine for now," Eltar responded. "I will have to show you some finery later. The future queen of the planet needs to set an example."
Eltar led Penny over to the library, which was more like an archive of the entire planet. "This is beautiful!" She turned to Eltar. "Is this mine?"
"You may certainly use it, although the texts are all in Boccan," he reminded her. "Another one of our lessons. You cannot rely solely on the translators all of your life. Speaking of, we need to get one installed for you soon. It's a painless procedure, and it sits right in your ear. You will not even notice it."
Penny looked around the room. "Yeah, sounds fun. Hey, who was the appointment for today?"
Eltar looked down the hall, then motioned for the person to come near. "She is right here."
The woman stomped into the doorway, and Penny turned to look. There she was--the giant barbarian woman that Penny had fought for the crown. She looked even larger than what Penny remembered. Her leg was bandaged from where she had stabbed herself during the fight.
Eltar clapped his hands together. "Well, I will leave you to it." He exited, closing the doors as he left.
The barbarian woman stomped forward, and Penny froze in terror. "Hey, you," Penny said through a forced grin. The barbarian came lumbering at Penny with her arms out. Penny flinched and closed her eyes, hoping for the best.
Penny felt herself being lifted up off the ground, held in the giant arms of the massive orange woman. Penny was confused as she felt her legs danging in the air.
"Oh, thank you,
thank you
!" The orange barbarian rested her head on Penny's. "I wanted to be queen, but you have spared my life!"
"I think I'm dying," Penny yelled into the woman's bicep.
The orange woman put Penny down on her feet. Penny reinflated, then put a hand on the woman's arm. "You don't want to kill me anymore, right?"
"I am sorry, your greatness," the woman pleaded. Her face started to crumple up and her eyes got wet. "I just wanted to be able to assume the throne, and then you came along, and you beat me so easily, and--" The woman gave huge, heaving sobs.
Penny stood there with wide eyes, then patted the woman's shoulder gently. "Look, it's all right." She gave the shoulder a squeeze. "Good Lord, you're massive. You could play for the Colts."
The woman put her hands around Penny's neck. "I just tried so hard! I passed the Four Feats! I was so close."
Penny took the woman's hands and tried to navigate them away from her vulnerable neck. "Hey, it's all right. A woman like you should do well. What's your name?"
The woman took a breath and seemed to calm down. "I am Oola. I am from the Kanasar tribe."
Penny could not understand the reference, and tried to remember the detail to research later. "Look, I'm sorry, too. I mean, the queen just seemed to pick me on a whim. This just sounds like a great opportunity for me."
"But I do not know what to do with myself anymore!" Oola's face crumpled up again. "I have been shamed with my combat loss.
I don't know what to do, Penny
!"
"Okay, okay!" Penny wanted to avoid another hug. "Listen--the queen suggested to me that I find some people to help me...like an entourage or something. How about you be my bodyguard?"
Oola wiped at her eye. "Bodyguard? Me?"
"Yeah!" Penny clapped her hands together. "And you did the Four Feats, right? I need to get those done. You can help me! Ooh, I bet you can teach me how to fight like a real warrior, right?"
Oola nodded, still snivelling. "I would be most honoured, your greatness."
"Awesome!" She looked Oola over. "So...you seem to cry a lot for a big ol' fighter."
"I cannot help it, Penny." She tried to dry her eyes again. "I get so emotional. Everyone assumes I am so fierce and so strong. I feel things, Earth woman! I am a
female
!"
Penny patted Oola's stomach. "And you're a really lovely one, too!" Penny patted Oola's abs a few more times. "Jesus, what kind of crunches are you doing? Anyway, there's a spare bedroom right off from mine. You can move right in there! You'll still have privacy, but you can bust right in when there's trouble. Okay?"
Oola held out her arms again. "Ah ah ah!" Penny held up her hand, and Oola took it in a handshake, which was mercifully gentle. "There we go! Look, I gotta go tour around the palace a bit before I get started on learning the entire planet's history."
"I will go to the training yard." Oola walked off, looking more chipper.
Penny let out a sigh of relief. She was unsure if she was about to have her safety galvanized or jeopardized.