Chapter Three

     Candy awoke to find herself alone in the large bed.  There was a
warm spot underneath her hand where the barbarian had been when she
had fallen asleep.  She could not believe she had just gone to sleep like that,
with the enemy within raping distance.  Maybe she was losing her mind!
      As she laid there castigating herself for having let down her guard
enough to close her eyes, she suddenly got the creepy feeling that she was
being watched.  She grimaced.
     "Oh, good, now I'm getting paranoid.  There's nobody here."
     As she spoke, Candy looked around the room to be sure she wasn't
lying to herself.  Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a
movement on top of the chest of drawers.  Clutching the light brown sheet
to her chest, she got to her feet and began to make her way slowly and
carefully in that direction.  Once there, all she saw was Dolph's earring.  He
must have decided not to wear it today.  It was a beautiful piece.  About 3
inches long, it was a perfect miniature of a Siamese cat.  Around its chest
and front legs, it wore a tiny black harness, studded with what looked like
diamonds.  That seemed to be where the cat was attached to the earring
wire.
     The deep blue feline eyes stared at her.  They seemed so real. 
Candy couldn't imagine what medium had been used to make such
real-looking fur.  She decided to pick it up and examine it more closely.  As
she reached toward the beautiful piece of jewelry, it moved from its sitting
position to an all-fours warning stance.  The tiny beast arched its back and
hissed at her!
     Candy was so shocked, she took several steps backward.  That
seemed to please the little cat because he stretched in that languorous way
that only cats can and walked to what looked like a bottle cap that sat near
him.  Turning his back to Candy, but keeping one ear facing in her direction
at all times, he dipped his head to lick up the white liquid inside the cap.
     Candy loved cats, all animals really.  The smallest cat she had ever
seen had been a newborn kitten and it had been four times the size of this
little guy.  She stepped closer.  Mid-slurp, the Siamese turned his head
toward her and growled deep in his throat.  Considering his size, it was not
a very terrifying sound, but Candy didn't want to upset him.
     After several minutes of a strange dance between cat and woman, it
seemed that they had come to an understanding.  As long as she made no
move to touch him, Candy would be allowed to admire the haughty little
feline.  She could see the back of the cat's harness.  It had some kind of
connection in the center.  The earring was a round silver hoop, the kind that
slips inside of itself to close.  How the cat and the earring went together was
definitely a mystery.
     Candy guessed that the substance in the tiny bowl was milk.  It
looked like milk, and the kitty was definitely devouring it like milk.  After
several minutes of lapping and preening, the cat came toward her, eyeing
her as though she were a great curiosity.  Very slowly, Candy laid her hand,
palm up, on the top of the chest of drawers.  The cat arched a little, more
show than true anger, then warily sidled up to sniff her skin.  His whiskers
tickled and Candy giggled.  The Siamese perked up his ears at the sound,
tipping his head to one side and then the other.  He must have decided that
he liked the sound. Without warning, he jumped into her palm.  With his
front paws, claws semi-retracted, he kneaded the tender skin there.  Then
he laid down, tucking his curled front feet under his body and wrapping his
tail around himself.
     Candy moved to sit in the chair, being careful to keep her hand
steady.  The cat didn't seem the least bit worried.  He watched the scenery
of the room move by with that lack-of-concern look cats have perfected
over the ages.  Once settled, Candy brought her other hand slowly within
the cat's vision.  He paid it no heed.  She was accepted now.  Candy ran her
index finger down the tiny cat's back.  He raised his hind end into the air
and began to purr.
     With a sound akin to a vacuum-packed seal breaking, the main door
disappeared inside the wall and Dolph strode into the room.  He was
dressed in the same sort of jumpsuit, only this one was black.  He quickly
scanned the room, then gave Candy a wary smile.  He noticed her burden. 
One golden brow arched in question.
     "Is Silky behaving himself?"
     Upon hearing the deep baritone, the cat jumped to his feet, his ears
and tail shooting straight into the air.  He started jumping, making that
sound that Siamese cats call a meow.  As soon as Dolph was close enough,
the tiny feline leaped.  He clung to Dolph's jumpsuit, climbing slowly
upward until he was hidden beneath the golden hair at Dolph's shoulder. 
Dolph tossed back his head and laughed, a deep, and surprisingly loud,
sound.
     "Silky is a bit of a slut.  He will let just about anyone pet him, unless
I happen to be present.  Then he pretends that he has been forced to suffer
through another's attention while he waited for me.  Forgive his rudeness."
     'That's rich,' Candy thought, 'forgive his rudeness.  The cat didn't
rape me!'  She decided to hold her tongue.  She needed information and she
wasn't going to get it by irritating the big brute.  She put on her best I-like-
you-in-spite-of-what-you-did-to-me smile and looked up at him.
     "He's very beautiful.  What is he?"
     Dolph grimaced down at her, then nodded.  He reached into the belt
that seemed to appear only when he removed it or retrieved an object from
it and pulled out something that looked like a large ballpoint pen.  As he
leaned toward Candy, she pulled back into the chair.  Dolph gave a deep,
exaggerated sigh, gazing into her eyes as he spoke.
     "This is a Universal translator.  It is implanted behind the ear."
     He moved his hair so that she could see behind his ear.  As far as
she could see, there was nothing there.  He continued his explanation.
     "Once it is implanted, you will be able to understand all of the
known languages in terms that are familiar to you.  I would rather it be
implanted before I begin attempting to explain things to you.  Although
English is my second language, there may be some terms for which it is
difficult to find an English word.  This will save me that irritation."  Candy
didn't miss the stress he placed on 'that', as though he had to bear so many
irritations.  With a little inward smile, she granted that he was probably
dealing with a few more annoyances than he was used to.  But she hadn't
asked to be kidnapped by aliens so she wasn't about to apologize for her less
than friendly behavior.
     Holding the pen toward her and gritting his teeth, Dolph paid her
the supreme complement of asking her permission,  "May I?"
     Feeling defeated by circumstances beyond her control, and
admittedly quite curious, Candy nodded.  She pushed her silky hair away
from her left ear and turned her head so that he could better see what he
was doing.  Dolph placed the tip of the 'pen' against the bone behind her
ear.  He gently laid his palm against the other side of her face.  His palm
went from Candy's temple to her jawline.  A great illustration, she realized
with apprehension, of how truly massive this man was.  There was a 'pop', a
sharp sting, then he stepped away from her and returned the 'pen' to his
belt.  Candy spoke in a slightly accusatory tone.
     "You didn't mention that it would hurt."
     Dolph tilted his head, a look of surprise on his face.
     "Did it?  I've never had anyone complain of pain before."
     "I thought you said you had one."
     Dolph smiled.
     "I said nothing of the kind, little one.  I merely showed you where it
would be implanted.  You assumed.  A dangerous habit."
     At Candy's narrowed eye glare, Dolph chuckled.  He explained with
pride.
     "I have no need of a translator.  Any language that I must
understand, I must also speak."
     With a sly glance at Candy, he continued.
     "One more thing.  It is also a homing device.  I will be able to locate
you wherever you might foolishly choose to go."
     Scottish blood began to simmer.  Candy stood, tossing her hair
behind her shoulders.
     "You tricked me!  I don't appreciate 'Oh, by the ways' when they
have to do with my body, you low-life!"
     Dolph looked surprised again, then his brows started to draw
together in anger.  He pointed to the chair and nearly shattered her
eardrums with his command.
     "Sit down!"
     Candy was so startled by the force of his voice, she almost fell into
the chair.  She glared at him and yelled.
     "You don't have to yell, I'm not deaf!"
     "Neither am I!"
     Dolph stepped to the chest of drawers so that Silky, agitated by all
the yelling, could jump to the surface.  The small feline turned and hissed at
Dolph, shook as though he had been defiled, then curled up inside the hoop
of the earring and covered his face with his tail.  Smiling in spite of himself
at the little beast's show of disdain, Dolph felt the anger drain from him.  He
turned back to the girl, his words much calmer now.
     "If you will try to control your temper, woman, I will do the same. 
If we both make the attempt, we may be able to converse for several
minutes without yelling.  Now, ask your questions, one at a time."