Prologue

January 12th, 3004… he was 8 years old

Kazimir woke up. It was the third time this week he woke up in the middle of the night with lights flashing at the back of his eyes and the words cleanse the planet echoing through his head. He wasn’t afraid though. He was eight years old, and no eight year old should be afraid of scary dreams. That was for babies.

He slid off of the bed and walked to the bathroom and turned on the lights. His golden brown hair was tousled up and his eyes looked sunken. Kazimir yawned and went to his desk.

His drawers were stuffed with papers covered in drawings and mathematical equations that even Kazimir didn’t understand. He assumed that he wrote them down when he was half asleep. But he didn’t know where they came from. He told his parents, and they said that he was a genius.

Kazimir was eight years old, so he didn’t take them seriously. Geniuses were extremely rare, and Kazimir didn’t think he was one. But that didn’t stop him from studying the pictures every night before bed.

There were drawings that dated back when he was five years old. And they looked sloppy, but Kazimir was still able to read them. And as he looked at his progress since his first nightmare, he realised that the mistakes in the drawings corrected themselves over the course of time.

These drawings resembled his father’s architecture blueprints, but instead of buildings, they were the human anatomy. He had an entire volume of books on the human body given to his parents before he was born. Kazimir’s grandparents wanted him to be a doctor, it seemed. But Kazimir found drawing the human body and applying extra limbs or hardened skin to them way more fascinating.

October 14th, 3008… he was 12 years old

“Can anyone tell me what the ancient civilization looked like?” the teacher asked them.

Kazimir started raising his hand, but someone beat him to it. Of course it was her. It was always her.

Juliette was the female version of Kazimir, but a little less competitive and a little less impulsive. While Kazimir would rather die in a hole than loose in a science trivia game, Juliette was always okay with loosing. ‘You learn more from failure than victory’ she always said. Kazimir didn’t agree. ‘I say, we win first before we look at why the others loose and feel bad for them and hope they never make that mistake again’ he would always snap back at her.

But that didn’t mean he hated her. Juliette was fun to talk to, and he respected her opinions on history, even if he didn’t like it.

After Juliette made an entire speech on ancient civilization, she turned around and flashed a triumphant grin at Kazimir. He stuck his tongue out at her in return.

He looked down at his personal notebook, which was full of drawings similar to the ones in his desk drawer. His teachers insisted everyone took notes on everything, but Kazimir understood them faster than everyone else, so why bother? He used those notebooks for better things, anyway.

The bell rang and everyone left the classroom. Juliette tapped his shoulder, “Looks like I beat you to it this time!” she sang.

Kazimir shook his head, “No. I let you answer.” he said.

“If that’s what you want to believe, go ahead!” she skipped down the hallway.

December 27th, 3013… he was 17 years old

Kazimir studied his sketches again. They were way more accurate and complicated than the ones who drew as a child. And they were better and improved blueprints of the human body. He erased a couple of lines regarding the legs and rewrote them.

“Still up at this hour?” Juliette walked out, rubbing her eyes and yawning, “It’s one in the morning!”

Kazimir looked up and smiled apologetically. Juliette had grown more beautiful as the years passed. Her black hair was let down instead of in braids, and her freckles were gone. She didn’t look like a nerd, but nothing had changed on the inside.

“Sorry.” Kazimir looked back down at his drawings.

Juliette sat down on his lap, purposefully blocking his view of his sketchbook.

Kazimir put down his pen and leaned back in his chair, “What?” he asked.

“Mm, nothing.” Juliette looked at his sketchbook, flipping through the pages, “Geez… and I thought you hated the idea of being a doctor.”

“I do.” Kazimir snatched the notebook away playfully, “But this isn’t for treating patients.”

“Hey, I wasn’t done with that!” she braced her hand on his shoulder and pushed herself upwards. Kazimir tossed the notebook onto the floor and wrapped his arms around her, restraining her.

“Harassment! Harassment!” Juliette slapped his arm.

Kazimir laughed, “One question, go.”

It was a game they played. Each person would ask one question, and the one who answers wrong would have to do whatever the victor wants.

“Who was Hatshepsut’s daughter?” Juliette said.

“Neferure.” Kazimir said. That was too easy. “Who became king after the start of the ‘Age of Traitors’?”

She opened her mouth, but then she hesitated for a split second before saying, “King Stronv Netashima.” Juliette said.

“Wrong! It was King Stronv Vika.” Kazimir said.

“Dammit! That was my second guess!” Juliette pounded her fist on the back of the couch, “Alright… what do you want me to do?”

Kazimir smiled, “I want you to propose to me.”

“NO!” Juliette hit him, “You’re the man! You’re supposed to ask me, not the other way around!”

“Sexist, are we?” Kazimir chuckled.

“I’m a stickler to tradition, Kaz!” Juliette snapped. “You know that! This isn’t fair! You know more history than I do! Why do you always insist on–”

Kazimir kissed her gently and looked at her with puppy eyes, “Please, Julie?” he murmured.

Her breath wavered, “I… I… oh, alright, fine!” she sighed and dislodged herself from Kazimir. She knelt down, “Kazimir Teavol. Would you be my husband?” she said in a bored tone.

He leaned down and took her hands, “Yes, Juliette Evanya.” he breathed, “I will be your husband.”

She sprang up and hugged him so tight that for a moment Kazimir thought he saw stars.

“Aren’t we a bit too young for this, though?” her voice was shaking and her voice was muffled.

“Nah.” Kazimir winked, “We’re never too young to do anything.”

March 4th, 3017… he was 21 years old

It was getting worse. His desire to kidnap a person and try out all his ideas on him. He knew that cybernetic enhancement was possible, and he knew he could do it. It may take time, and possibly several attempts on different people, but Kazimir knew he could do it.

That was what his mind said. But his heart was in the way. He grew up knowing that taking lives for personal gain was immoral.

Kazimir was sitting behind his desk in his study, his hands digging into the back of his head and his eyes staring at the drawings in front of him.

The others sent me another vision again. He had written when he was thirteen years old. They gave me improved blueprints to work on. The only thing that’s keeping him sane at this point was his wife, Juliette.

“Kazimir.” she came into the room.

He didn’t reply, nor did he look up from his drawings. They were driving him mad.

“Kazimir.” Juliette knelt down next to him, “You’ve been here all night. It’s seven in the morning.”

“Huh? What?” he barely heard her.

She sighed, “Kaz…” she leaned against his desk, “Listen, if this keeps going, I’m afraid I need to get a doctor. You’re not sleeping or eating, and you zone out way too often. All you do is sit here and stare at these drawings.” she tilted her head to get a better view of them, “And you’ve never told me what’s so special about them.”

Kazimir folded them instinctively, but immediately regretted it once he saw hurt cross her face.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Kazimir rubbed his eyes. I don’t have time for this. A part of his mind said. He was annoyed and frustrated at Juliette for interrupting his thought process. But then the other side of his mind said: What am I thinking? It’s not her fault. She’s just trying to help me.

“You say that everytime I walk in.” Juliette’s voice cracked, “I don’t think you actually mean it, though. You know, words loose their meaning after you use them too often.”

Kazimir made himself shove the papers aside and reach out for her, “Julie…”

She took a step back and his heart stopped.

“I get how important this is to you.” she whispered, “But this is getting out of hand.” she brushed her hair out of her face, “And I can tell that you’re starting to get annoyed with me.”

“No, that’s not–”

“So I’ve made a decision.” she hugged herself and looked at the floor, “I’m going to stay at a friend’s house for a couple of days. You need some time alone to think.”

“Julie,” Kazimir stood up, “don’t. Please… I’m sorry.”

“You say that… but do you really mean it?” her voice was shaking, and tears brimmed her eyes.

“Yes! Of course I do!” Kazimir wrapped his arms around her body.

“You’ve been ignoring me, you know.” Juliette whispered, “Everytime we take a walk you never talk to me.”

“I know.” Did he?

“And everytime tell me you love me the words are hollow.”

“I’m sorry.” They were?

Juliette pulled back and slid off of the desk, “Kazimir, I’m sorry to say this… and I don’t want to say this… but these days I’m just wondering if this relationship could ever work out.”

This got Kazimir’s attention. Despite his obsession over the sketches and human enhancement, he still loved Julie. And if he had to choose between the enhanced human race or Julie, he’d choose his wife. Though the decision would be hard to make.

“Don’t say that.” Kazimir’s voice shook, “Please, don’t ever say that.”

“This,” Julie snatched the papers, “is eating you away! To be honest, I’m finding myself a bit jealous of these papers.”

Kazimir laughed, though tears streamed down his face, “You don’t have to.” he shook his head, “Because you’re worth more than any genius idea I can conjure up of, and you deserve better than a husband who obsesses over blueprints.”

Julie kissed his cheek, “Unless, of course, the husband is willing to do anything I want him to do for today.”

Kazimir kissed her back, “Anything.” he murmured, “Consider this a punishment for the way I treated you these days.”

She smiled, and Kazimir almost buckled. “Well, first, I want breakfast… in bed… with you.”

He grinned, “You know how much I suck at cooking.”

“Hm…” Julie shrugged, “I don’t mind. As long as you tried your best.”

Kazimir straightened and said in a deep and dramatic tone, “Then I shall put my heart and soul into your breakfast, fair maiden! For you are an angel worthy of my attention.”

Juliette laughed and smacked his arm, “Go! Do your duty!”

He went out the door and into the hallway. But then a scary thought crossed through his mind. No doubt sent by the others again. If you want to cleanse this world of a weak race, you can make no exceptions. Including Juliette. 

Keir

Keir Atreyu hated to lose. He was a sore loser, and he knew it. Even though he tried to shake off the hobby of sulking after he loses, he was still shaking with rage after the match he lost.

“Keir!” Rowan and James called after him.

Keir threw his helmet down, “Leave me alone.” he snapped and stormed into the building.

“Keir!” James grabbed his arm, “Listen, we–”

Keir glared at him and yanked his arm away, “I said leave me alone!” he repeated.

Rowan got in front of him, “Hey, it’s not that bad! Half of the people lose on their first rounds.”

“Yeah, well half of the people didn’t work as hard as I did.” Keir knew he didn’t mean it, but he was too angry to care.

“That’s not true.” James said sternly.

“I’m the Crown Prince, James!” Keir sat down against the steel wall, “What would my people say when they see their crown prince lose to a commoner from another planet?”

James crouched down and placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder, “They’ll see a prince who makes mistakes, just like any other mortal being.” he paused, then said, “You’re no different than everyone else, and no one would see any shame in that.”

Keir didn’t feel any better, though. “Well maybe I want to be better than everyone else. You ever thought of that?” he said bitterly.

“You can always strive to be better.” Rowan folded his arms. Keir rarely saw him looking so serious. “But you must be prepared to make mistakes and stumble.”

His rage still boiled, “Whatever.” he shook his head and got up.

“Keir, we’re proud of you!” James called after him. But Keir didn’t listen. He wasn’t proud of himself.

“Hello dear, I saw the race! You did great–” his mother started forward, smiling.

“Leave me alone.” Keir gave her a small push.

“Keir, I know it’s hard, but it’s your first time in the Intergalactic Games.” his mother followed him down the white corridors.

“Why does everyone want to make me feel better?” he spun around to face her, “I did everything I could, yet I lost!”

“You learn more from failure than success.” she said gently and placed a hand on his cheek, “I don’t care if you finished first or last. I’m still proud of you, Keir.”

She brushed her thumb under his eye before taking her leave. Keir felt like punching a wall, but knowing that these palace walls were made of metal, he dismissed the idea and went into his room.

He knew he wasn’t the best at piloting. That skill was given to one of his best friends, James. But all that hard work has to pay off somehow? It can’t just end like that!

Keir let himself fall onto his bed and stare at the ceiling.

Maybe it was the stress? Or was he not ready for professional piloting just yet?

Keir was really annoyed and stressed. Ever since he was a child he’s been trying to find his passions and interests. He did piloting as a child but never enjoyed it that much, so he quit until three years ago when he got back to it. Then he tried sharpshooting, but that didn’t work out either because he had horrible aim. Then he tried hover-blades (which were kind of like roller blades but in the air), but he had terrible balance.

So that was his entire childhood. Every time he tried a new thing, it never worked out for him.

His two friends, Rowan and James, were the only people he really trusted, apart from his mother and father. Rowan is a terrific artist and astronomer, while James is the best pilot this age has ever seen. The reason why Keir was best friends with them was because they were the only people who didn’t make fun of him when he said that he has visions and seizures at the most random times. They’re often about destruction and evil, but sometimes, if fate was kind, it’ll show him a beautiful place that he’s never seen before. A place where mortal beings have never walked through. It was a forest. Forests haven’t existed since the beginning of their history, when they first appeared on this planet. They cut down the forests to make cities, and Keir felt really bad. Forests were pretty, but the only time they’ll ever see them would be in the books.

Keir jerked, and for a moment, he thought he had a spasm. But then his vision started to cloud.

Oh, shoot. Vision! He thought before falling into darkness.

---

“KEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRR!” someone crashed into him.

Keir turned around, “What?” he snapped, annoyed.

Nine year old James shook him violently, “You’re back! Why didn’t you tell me beforehand? I should’ve thrown you a party or something! With dragons as the theme and elves!”

“Hey, keep your nerdy things to yourself. You know I don’t understand any of it!” Keir pried James’ fingers off of his shoulders. “But yes, I’m back.”

“How did it go? Have your seizures and visions stopped or anything?” James smiled hopefully.

“The visions aren’t as intense, but they’re still there.” Keir mumbled, “And, James,” he said through gritted teeth, “do you mind if you don’t say those things out loud?”

“Oh!” James clamped his hand over his mouth, “Yeah, yeah, sure! Sorry!”

---

Keir winced when a stone hit the back of his shoulder. “Ow!” he rubbed it and turned around, “What the–” he yelped and dodged another stone.

“Freak! Weirdo!” the teenagers on the playground pointed and laughed.

Keir was too young to understand how much power he had, and those kids knew that he didn’t understand, that was why they took advantage of him now.

“Leave me alone!” Keir snapped.

But they only laughed “Leave me alone.” they mimicked.

Keir’s eyes watered, but he refused to cry in front of these teenagers.

“Aw, are you going to cry?” one of them crouched in front of him and pushed him.

Keir’s back hit the steel walls of the playground.

“Are any of your visions coming to you, oh ye who are crazy?” one of them poked Keir’s chest.

“Stop it.” he tried to sound brave, but all he heard was fear.

“Did any of them tell you about this?” another shoved him.

Keir stumbled and fell onto the ground. 

“How about this?” the teenager kicked his stomach.

Keir screamed and wretched, the breath knocked out of him.

“Hey, back off!” two boys got in front of Keir.

“Ha!” they laughed, “What are you going to do, tell on us?”

Keir looked up and saw one of the boys raise a gun.

“Don’t make me use this.” the boy said in a serious tone.

The older kids gaped. “Uh, we… um… we were just… yeah, we’re going now.”

The boy nodded, “Yes, I think you should!”

The teenagers didn’t wait another second as they dashed off to another part of the playground.

Keir pulled himself upright to a sitting position.

“You okay?” both boys knelt down.

The first thing Keir said came out as a croak, “You’re… not supposed to…” he pointed at the gun.

“Oh, this?” the boy grinned and raised it, “It’s a fake, but it works every time!”

The boy with the gun had shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes, and his friend had tanner skin, brown hair, and amber eyes. 

“What’s your name?” the boy with brown hair asked.

“Keir.” he answered.

“Keir?” both boys stumbled back, “The prince?”

He nodded.

Both of them yelped at the same time and got down on their knees. “Your highness!” they yelled and put their foreheads down on the gravel.

“Uh…” Keir was uncertain what to do. “You can… get up now?”

Both of them got up uncertainly.

“Who are you guys?” he asked.

The boy with the fake gun gestured at his friend, “This is Rowan, and I’m James.” he held out a hand, “Pleased to meet you.”

Keir took it tentively, “Yeah… you too.”

---

Keir gasped and jerked awake. Was that… was it just a dream? Or was it a vision? He didn’t recall going back to sleep.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Keir!” it was Rowan.

“Keir, you can’t stay in there forever!” James.

Keir got up and trudged towards the door. He opened it. “What do you want?” he said.

James folded his arms and frowned, “Your mom said you were in here for two hours! Did you fall asleep or something?”

“No… I think I had another vision.”

Both expressions turned serious.

“Whoa, really?” Rowan tilted his head, “What was it about this time?”

“Nothing, just a bunch of memories from my youth.” Keir looked at them, “You were both in it.”

Rowan grinned, “Was it the time when I drew stuff on your face when you fell asleep during class?” he laughed.

James elbowed him, “Rowan, this is serious!” he muttered.

“It’s not serious, don’t worry.” Keir looked out the window, “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to check on you.” James said.

“Yeah, and he dragged me along. Great timing too!” he said sarcastically, “I was just about to do a back flip in front of the ladies.”

“You would’ve killed yourself, Rowan!” James snapped, “You don’t even know how to do a cartwheel!”

“Hey, I’m getting better!” he said defensively.

Keir walked pass them, “I’m going on a flight.” he announced.

“Whoa, whoa!” James got in front of him, “No, you’re not.”

Keir pushed him away, “Yes, I am.” he didn’t have time for this.

“You just got a vision. What if you got another one while you’re piloting?”

“That’s highly unlikely, James–” Rowan started.

“Shut up!” James glared at him, “If you want to go take a walk like an elf after loosing a fight to a dwarf, then by all means, go. But I’m not letting you go on a flight right after you had a vision.”

Keir just rolled his eyes and went down the corridor. They were his friends, yes, but that didn’t mean they controlled his every day life.

James

James and Rowan reported to the king and queen immediately after.

“He just… went?” the king rubbed his temples and sighed, “That kid…”

The queen looked concerned, “You said he left right after he received another vision?”

“He wasn’t very clear, your majesty.” James said, “He just said it was a bunch of old memories.”

“A bunch of old memories, you say?” the king thought about it before nodding slowly, “Okay. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

“S… sire? Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Rowan asked, “I mean,” he scoffed, “Keir just got a vision! What happens if he gets another one while piloting? He could crash into something!”

“I’m well aware of the risks, Rowan. And I thank you for showing concern for our son. But he’s an adult now, and, despite his loss in the games, he can take care of himself.”

“But–”

The king held up his hand, “Rowan, it’s alright.” his eyes twinkled, “There are times when you have to let go.”

James bowed, “As you wish, your majesties.” though he didn’t like it.

Rowan bowed before leaving, but when James came out of the palace, he was already gone.

Not doing something stupid, I hope. He thought to himself before leaving the courtyard.

James walked down the streets of the market square, the buildings lined up tightly in rows. There were a lot of people, but this wasn’t the busiest day of the week, so James managed to actually get to the other side of the town square in five minutes. When the square’s at its busiest, it can take up to thirty minutes just to get to the other side.

The first thing that caught his eye was the library. Strange enough, he’s never been in the library before. Not that he didn’t like to read or anything, it’s just that he never put any thought into the library before. Now that he did, he was curious to see what it looked like on the inside.

He went through the automatic doors and emerged in a three story tall chamber with a domed ceiling. There was the lobby where they checked books out, and then there were the seven rows of books. Lined against the bookshelves were ladders, and on each side of the library were long tables where people were able to study or read in peace. It was a beautiful sight, and James found it rather peaceful inside.

He went to the row that said ancient history and mythology. There, he found a book on mythology and pulled it out.

The pages inside looked similar to the two books he had back at home. Inside were illustrated Winged Reptiles, and drawings of what seemed like armor, but the metal plates weren’t merged into one suit. They were attached by small chains.

“Do you need help?” a voice beside him said.

James turned and saw a girl carrying a stack of books that looked too heavy for her.

“You need help with that?” James pointed at the books.

“Answer my question first!” she said playfully.

James grinned, “Nah, it’s alright. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, uh huh.” she rolled her eyes and stuck out a hand, “Seraphina Mondragon.”

James took it, “James Artemis.”

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” Seraphina set down the stack of books and looked at him, “What are you looking for?”

“Nothing, just looking around.” James patted the spines of the books. “So, you need help?”

“Oh, thank gods, yes, please! Thank you!” Seraphina literally put all the books in his arms. James grunted as he realised how heavy they were.

“Come, come with me!” she skipped down the rows of bookshelves.

James strained to see where he was going. “So, you come here often, I presume?”

“Yep!” she beamed, “And… STOP!

James almost stumbled and fell.

“Here we are! Set them down here!” James heard a bunch of crashing and papers being shoved aside.

James managed to set the books down properly and looked at the messy desk, “So… you write?” he gestured at the messily piled papers crammed with notes.

“Oh, ha, no… no, that’s not me. I suck at plotting stories.” she tucked a lock of hair behind her hair, “These are… nothing! Yes, nothing!”

James smiled, “You’re horrible at lying, you know that?”

Seraphina gave a short laugh and sat down, “Very funny. So…”

James’s eyes flickered to one of the pages. It said: I’ve had visions and seizures again yesterday. I still don’t know what they mean, or what they want to tell me. 

He couldn’t believe his eyes. “You… you have visions as well?”

Seraphina’s grin faded, “I told you.” she said in a threatening tone, all her cheerfulness gone, “Mind your own business. I’m afraid you’ll have to… wait.” she looked confused all of the sudden, “What do you mean ‘as well’?”

James smiled, “My friend, Keir–”

“You’re friends with the CROWN PRINCE?” she screeched.

James shushed her, “Shh! Yes, I am.” he whispered, “Best friends,  in fact!” James smiled, “And I think it’s best if you two meet each other.”

“I… I heard the crown prince had visions and seizures similar to mine, but… I never thought that he would speak to someone like me.”

James frowned, “Like you? What…” he scoffed, “what do you mean?”

“I mean, someone weird and clumsy like myself.”

He was taken aback, “Who… who said you were weird and clumsy?”

Seraphina let out a laugh and rolled her eyes, “Well,” she shrugged, “like, everyone basically.”

“You’re anything but weird and clumsy.”

She laughed some more, and James found himself really liking her laugh. “Yeah, right. Alright, for someone who’s hung around with the crown prince, okay, fine, maybe in your perspective, I’m not weird… don’t get me wrong though!” she said hastily, “I’m not saying the crown prince’s weird!”

James chuckled, “No offense taken. Though I’d advise you to never say that in front of him. He doesn’t like people, so don’t even bother asking if he likes people who call him names.”

“But anyways, changing the subject… I’m definitely clumsy. See?” she stood up and lifted the stack of books. Seraphina didn’t make it three steps forward before she stumbled and fell against a bookshelf.

James raised a brow suspiciously, “I think you’re faking it.”

She glared at him, “Oh yeah?” she gathered up her books and put them back on the desk.

“Yep.” he said, almost convinced she was faking it.

“Believe whatever you want, James. It won’t change reality.” she sat down, “So… what is the crown prince like? All I hear is that he’s a person who doesn’t talk much.”

“That’s a pretty accurate description.” James nodded, “But there’s much behind it than just neutrality.”

“No offense, but that’s kind of hard to believe.” she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

“I know, but it’s true. He’s also a very sore looser.”

“Oh.” she said sympathetically, “But he just lost in the Intergalactic Games.”

“Yeah, and he wasn’t really happy about it.” James admitted, “He’s really proud. And even though he doesn’t show it on the outside, he cares a lot about being the example for his citizens. He took a blow in his pride by loosing today, but he’ll get better eventually. I’m sure of it.”

“Wow.” Seraphina looked impressed, “I never knew his majestic serene highness–”

James bursted out laughing, “Majestic serene highness?” he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah!” she said defensively, “People are always calling him godly titles and names ever since… you know, the incident.”

“Oh.” James nodded understandingly, “I see.”

“People down here were terrified after they heard what Prince Keir did to them. And although I trust the prince to have a reasonable excuse, if I’m allowed to voice my opinion, I’d say he went a bit too far.”

“I know it was sort of… over the line.” James chose his words carefully, “But you have to remember what they did to him.”

“Yeah, true.” Seraphina nodded.

There was a long pause before she clapped her hands together, “Well, I’m getting back to work. Was there anything else I could do for you, James?”

“If I may, I’d like to see your notes.” he said, “I’ve only heard Keir and his visions. I’ve never seen through the eyes of another… vision-receiver.”

Seraphina snorted, “Sounds like an oracle to me. But sure, you can watch… if you promise to ask no questions and just read what is written!”

“I will.” James promised.

She smiled and shoved him a pile of papers, “Start from this one.” she handed him a small stack of papers all bound together.

Rowan

Rowan knew he sucked at flying, but after James left, he couldn’t help but feel a bit worried for Keir. Maybe he was right.

So that was when he went to the docks and borrowed a pilot ship.

“You want to pilot a pilot ship?” the head of the docks, Armin, repeated.

“Yes.” Rowan nodded, “Hey, just because I suck at flying things doesn’t mean I can’t try!”

Armin scoffed, “If… okay, if that’s what you want.” he gestured towards the row of pilot ships, “Go ahead.”

Rowan jumped into the cockpit of one of the aircrafts.

Okay, let’s see. All systems seem to be within normal parameters. Rowan thought to himself. But there’s something else that James said to check before taking off… what was it? Oh, just forget about it.

Rowan managed to get off the ground without destroying other ships. He scanned for traces of any ships with the royal insignia, but there were none.

“Well, of course.” Rowan muttered to himself, “Scouts’ll be after him if he used the ships with the royal insignia.” Instead, he opened the cockpit and shouted, “Hey, Armin!”

Armin looked up, “Yeah?”

“By any chance, have you seen Keir come around here?”

“Prince Keir?” Armin shrugged, “I saw him come this way, but I was too busy. I thought he was just here to check on everything.”

“Damn it.” Rowan muttered and closed the cockpit door. “I guess I just have to track him down.”

He took off and entered orbit around his planet. “Alright, Keir… where did you go?”

Most of the time when Keir was angry, he’ll go to a place where almost no one could find him, including his friends. So he’d hide at the most random places.

Rowan headed towards the distant colonies. Keir always enjoyed the forests there, so maybe Rowan would have some luck in finding him.

Rowan wasn’t the best at piloting, so if you expected a fast and smooth trip, please wait until James pilots something. The only thing he’s proficient in when he’s in space are the stars. He was an astronomer, so he was able to identify most of the stars around their solar system.

The distant colonies were located on the planet Madrid and Kyro. Kyro didn’t have as many colonists as Madrid, so Rowan headed towards that planet first.

“Incoming transmission.” the computer said.

“Who is it?”

“James Artemis.”

Rowan cursed, “Put it on audio only.”

“Rowan?” James’s voice came through the transmitter.

“Uh, h–hey, hey, James!” Rowan forced a smile, “How are you?”

“Rowan, what the hell is going on?”

“Nothing!” Rowan said a little too quickly, “I’m perfectly fine. I’m… I’m totally just… in my room.”

James sighed, “Rowan, what are you doing?”

“Nothing, really!” Rowan said, “What are you doing?”

“That’s what I called to tell you.” he dropped his voice and whispered excitedly, “I found someone!”

Rowan choked on his own saliva. “I… I’m sorry, you found someone?” he choked.

“Yeah!”

“Uh… I…” what was he supposed to say? Gods, this was awkward, “I’m… happy for you?”

“What? No!” James laughed, “No, you misunderstand my silly friend!”

Rowan frowned and tried to maneuver the ship as quietly as possible, “James, you okay, bud?” he never acted like this before.

“This is a big mistake, Rowan!” James chuckled, “I meant to say that I found someone who receives visions just like Keir!”

Rowan gaped, “Oh… uh… really?”

James sounded annoyed and disappointed at the same time, “Seriously? I saw something huge and all you say is ‘really’?”

“I mean,” Rowan shook his head and narrowly dodged an asteroid, “that’s great! Great… great job, James!” he bit down a scream when the hull of his ship scratched another asteroid.

“Rowan, what’s wrong? James sound concerned, “You’re never like this.”

“I… I’m kind of in a complicated situation right now.” Rowan veered left. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to call me now.”

“Why are you on audio only?”

Shoot! Rowan almost said, “Uh… I… uh… gotta go, bye!” he said hastily and cut the connection.

He went speeding through the asteroid field, narrowly escaping near death situations.

When he finally cleared the field, he almost crashed into another ship. He yelped and stopped his pilot ship.

The other ship halted and the girl inside glared at him. She had short ash blond hair and an army uniform.

“Incoming transmission.”

“Uh, sure.” Rowan grinned at her.

The channel opened and the girl said, “You trying to get yourself killed?” she yelled, “Are you crazy?”

Rowan’s grin widened, “Yeah, crazy in love with you.” he winked.

She growled, “Listen, citizen, you can either turn back to the capitol by yourself, or I can escort you back. The asteroid field is dangerous.”

Rowan shrugged, “Yeah, but I single handedly survived it, so it can’t be that dangerous.”

“Watch where you’re going next time.” she snapped.

“You an army cadet or something?”

The girl’s eyes narrowed, “I’m graduating into the Winged League. Why?”

“Just curious.” Rowan smiled, “I’m a diplomat in training, believe it or not.”

“I would choose not to.” she said, “If you present yourself like this to a hostile race, you would never succeed.”

“But you’re not a representative from a hostile race, are you?” he pointed out.

She clenched her jaw, “Turn back. It’s dangerous territory out here.”

“Aw, you care about me?” Rowan smiled sweetly.

The ship’s weapons powered up. “Say that again?” she snarled.

Rowan grinned. He got her angry, now the fun’s about to begin, “If I didn’t know you better–”

“You don’t even know my name!”

“I’d say,” he continued, “that you actually cared about me.”

“A citizen’s safety is the first priority of any soldier, now for the last time: Turn back!” Rowan can see her knuckles turning white.

“You know, I’ve had a lot of girls fall for me–”

The girl seemed really pissed, because she didn’t even let him finish before she fired. Rowan laughed and took off towards the colonies with her at his tail.

“You should know that I suck at piloting!” Rowan shouted into the intercom.

She said nothing, but two more missiles fired in his direction. Rowan steered to the right and headed towards the most distant planet of the colony.

The girl stopped chasing him after a while. All she did was stop. Rowan stopped as well, curious to see what she’d do.

The girl looked at him, sniffed, then turned around and left, as if he wasn’t worth her time.

And Rowan was fine with that, because he was still a bit concerned for Keir and his safety.

---

Rowan landed on the planet of Kyro.

It was all jungle and forest. There was barely any civilization within ten kilometers, so Rowan reckoned that this was where Keir landed.

Sure enough, there was a ship around a kilometer’s walk from Rowan’s position.

Rowan never liked the forests for some reason. It was all tropical, hot, humid, and there was no one to talk to but yourself. Or a partner if you were lucky. He would admit that it was peaceful and a great place to think and relax, Rowan didn’t really have time for peace and relaxation. It was always studying, studying, diplomatic missions, and studying.

“You must be prepared, Rowan, for the outside world. The universe is full of wonders, but dangers as well.” his teacher would say. His teacher would have him learn ten languages fluently before sending him on his very first diplomatic mission, and that was to settle some land disputes between two neighboring colonies. Like, why the hell would you want to learn ten languages fluently to settle something as simple as a land dispute?

And then when he returned, his teacher was like, “Alright, here’s the ENTIRE history of EVERY planet in the ENTIRE galaxy with ALL the races you can POSSIBLY imagine.”

Rowan had open minded parents, and they taught him to be open minded. But that didn’t help him NOT to be annoyed at his teacher sometimes.

Of course, he knew his teacher only wanted the best for him, like his parents. And this was the second to last year his teacher would be guiding him through the ways of diplomacy before Rowan would be on his own. To be honest, Rowan wasn’t really ready. Even though he’s been training for this for almost five years now, this being the fifth, Rowan still felt like there was much to be learned and mastered. Diplomacy was something he took quite seriously. Even though people thought of him as a class clown, sometimes Rowan wished he didn’t goof around as much so people can take him more seriously. But when he became class president, and he was officially ranked “popular” in school, it shaped part of his personality. Rowan didn’t like to stand out sometimes, so he asked for advice from his fellow classmates. They shaped him into the person he was now.

Rowan still couldn’t decide if becoming a flirtatious young man was a good thing or bad thing if he wanted to become a diplomat. Many people didn’t believe that he wanted to become a diplomat, but some people were quite impressed by the fact that he wanted to become a diplomat, so whether it was good or bad was still to be determined by Rowan.

Rowan, despite being flirtatious, never actually “liked” liked anyone. Any girl he teased or flirted with were either annoying, boring, or completely useless. Up until the other girl that he bumped into a few minutes ago, there weren’t any that he was really interested. That girl seemed interesting, and he knew that she’s never been teased before. Maybe it was because of her being in the army. In the army, he heard, everything was serious. There were no jokes, no teasing, and no drama. Teasing her would be quite interesting and fun… if he ever comes across her again, which is highly unlikely. She was going for the Winged League. Once someone joins the Winged League, they’re always busy with shaping new members in the army. They have no time for other recreational things.

Rowan sometimes wished that the world was a place full of different people. It was, but people are still the same. He was sick of people trying to be the same. He didn’t want anyone to stand out as different in a bad way, but to stand out in a good way. And the cliques in this world were making it impossible for everyone to be different and unique in their own way.

---

Rowan walked for about ten minutes or so before he saw the ship.

Only, it wasn’t just a ship. It was a shipwreck.

Rowan gasped, “Oh gods…” he ran down to the wreckage, “Keir!” he shouted, “Keir!”

The ship was literally in pieces, and the forest around it was caught on small fires. The glass was cracked, and the tip of the ship was buried in the ground. The metal was scorched, and there was blood on the floor.

“KEIR!” Rowan roared.

Keir was in the front seat, his head was bleeding, and his eyes were closed. His clothes were burned, and his arm looked funny.

“Keir, oh my god.” Rowan shoved the wreckage aside and touched Keir’s forehead. “Keir, wake up.” he could feel the panic rising from his chest. He tried to force it down, but he couldn’t stop the tears. “Keir!” he tilted the prince’s head back onto the seat. There was a long gash along the side of his head, and there was a piece of glass on his rib cage.

“Keir, why didn’t you listen to James?” he cried, “Hell, why did you listen to me? ME? Of all people?” Rowan ripped a piece of cloth from his own shirt and started clearing the injury. He didn’t know whether or not to pull the chunk of glass from his rib cage. No, that’ll just make the internal bleeding worse.

Rowan took deep breaths, but it was hard not to gag from the thick smell of blood. He pressed his ear against Keir’s chest. The thumping of his heart was very faint.

“Hang in there, Keir.” Rowan stood and picked him up. He ran all the way back to the ship (which was very tiring, but he hardly felt it).

As quickly as his shaking hands allowed him to, he sent a transmission signal to James.

“Rowan, I swear, if you’re–”

“James!” Rowan took uneven breaths, “You have to get down here now!”

“Why? I’m eating, for gods’ sakes! Plus, you abruptly ended our previous conversation!”

“Keir’s wounded, damn it!” Rowan yelled into the intercom, “His face is covered in blood, there’s a shard of glass in his rib cage. I don’t know if I should pull it out or not.” more tears poured down his face, “And his arm looks like it’s broken. I don’t know if there are any other internal injuries, but just get here quickly!”

James was silent, and Rowan wanted to scream at him. Then James said, “Where are you guys?” his voice was quivering.

“In the forest by the east oceans on Kyro. Look for a ship wreckage and then scan for the two of us.” Rowan said.

“I’ll be there in three minutes. Keep him alive until then.” James hung up.

Rowan waited for two before he noticed that Keir was becoming pale.

“Keir, don’t die. I swear to god, if you die, I’m going through Hell and the land of the dead or whatever the heck you go to get your back, understand? And it’s not going to be pretty!” Rowan growled.

Keir chose this moment to cough and crack open his eyes.

“Keir! Oh, thank god!” Rowan wanted to hug his best friend, but held back for now.

“Rowan…?” Keir croaked, “Why… I can’t feel my legs… and why does my arm hurt so much…”

“You crash landed, Keir.” Rowan swallowed, “But you’re okay now. James is coming, and we’re getting you to a hospital as soon as possible.”

“I saw something unusual…” Keir whispered, “It was… it was a city… but there were trees as well…”

“You’re beaten to death’s door, and all you can say is you saw a city with trees?” Rowan wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, “Save your breath, you idiot.”

Keir gave him a funny look, and it Rowan would’ve made a face back if it weren’t for all the blood, “I do the talking, and you just listen. But don’t die. Give me a sign that you’re still alive every now and then, okay?” Rowan asked.

James landed his twin ship with ease and grace. He didn’t even wait for it to land before he was opening up the cockpit door and jumping out.

“Keir!” James reached for him but then pulled his hands back.

“James.” Keir sighed, “I can’t feel my legs.”

Rowan and James looked at each other. “Broken spine, I reckon.” Rowan said quietly.

“And why does my arm hurt so much?” Keir mumbled, closing his eyes.

James was already calling the hospital.

“Yes, this is an emergency.” he sounded calm, but his eyes were wild. “What do you mean, you’re all busy?” his voice turned from calm to angry. “This is the crown prince! Yes, Prince Keir! He crashed on the planet of Kyro and we’re bringing him back now.” he pointed his thumb at the twin pilot ship and mouthed Go to Rowan.

Rowan picked Keir up and placed him carefully on the chair next to the pilot’s seat.

“Where… are you… going?” Keir asked weakly.

“Don’t worry, James’ll be here soon.” Rowan looked and saw that James was already putting his messenger down.

“Rowan, you follow me back to the Capitol.” was all he said before jumping in next to Keir.

Rowan nodded and got into his own ship.

Hang in there, Keir. You’re going to make it. 

Clarabelle

She could feel her heart breaking to pieces as she took in the words.

“I’m really sorry, Clarabelle.” Dante touched her cheek gently, “I’m so sorry.” and he seemed genuine.

Clarabelle was an orphan, and Dante was the one who found her. He was twelve, and she was nine. He brought her to the hospital. He was the one who introduced her to her new family. He was the one who held her hand as she stepped into the Academy of Healers. He was the one who helped her with her studies. And he was her first crush.

But now, she stood there, embarrassed and heartbroken. She was a shy person. It takes a lot of courage for even the greatest heroes to express their feelings to the ones they care for, let alone a shy sixteen year old girl who’s always self conscious about everything she does.

“It’s not that I don’t like you or anything.” Dante tried for a smile, “You’re a great person! It’s just that–”

“It’s alright.” Clarabelle took a deep breath and tried to smile and failed. “I’m fine.” her voice quivered.

He looked like he felt really bad. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” he reached out.

Clarabelle couldn’t stand this anymore. She had to go. “It’s fine.” and she took off running in the opposite direction. She didn’t want him to see her tears.

“Whoa!” she collided with someone.

“Sorry.” she gasped.

“Hey, Clarabelle!” it was Elisa. “What… what happened?”

“Nothing.” she tried to go, but Elisa grabbed her hand.

“You… did Dante…” she faltered.

Clarabelle’s eyes were like a never ending waterfall. “He doesn’t like me.” she shook her head, “I don’t know if it was something I did, or if it was because I’m just not good enough… I don’t know.” she buried her face into her hands, her entire body shaking.

“Hey, it’s alright. Shh.” Elisa put her arms around her best friend, “He does like you, just not in that way.”

“I’m so stupid.” Clarabelle wanted to scream out into the sky. Why did it hurt so much? How in the world did she come to believe that he might like her back?

“Hey,” Elisa said firmly, “You’re not stupid, Clarabelle.” she hugged her tightly, “Just because one boy doesn’t return your feelings doesn’t mean you’re not a good person. You’re an angel, Clarabelle.”

“Clarabelle.” a voice behind them said.

“Dante, now isn’t the time…” Elisa said quietly.

She looked behind her shoulder and found him standing there, worry and concern visible in his eyes. “Please.” he said in a pleading tone, “I need to talk to her.”

“Elisa, tell him to go.” Clarabelle whispered in such a low tone that Elisa barely heard her.

“Dante, she wants you to go.” Elisa said.

“Clarabelle, please–”

“If you want her to feel any better, leave!” Elisa snapped.

He was silent, then Clarabelle heard heavy footsteps leading away from them.

“Was it the time I spilled hot chocolate on his shirt?” Clarabelle asked, her breaths becoming shorter and her voice becoming more hysterical, “Or was it the time I threw him a surprise birthday party? He seemed very shocked, maybe he didn’t like it? Or was it the time–”

“Clarabelle, calm down, girl!” Elisa shook her, “Calm down, you’re going a bit nuts here.”

“I can’t.” she panted, “It just hurts so much!”

“I know.” Elisa led her away from the courtyard and into the small gardens. “Take deep breaths, Clare. Deep breaths.”

She obeyed, and soon after, she felt her heart slowing.

“Better?”

She nodded.

“Now, listen to me.” Elisa looked into her eyes, “Dante doesn’t dislike you. He likes you a lot.”

“But why did he–”

“Shh, shh, listen.” Elisa placed a finger onto Clarabelle’s lips, “He likes you, but not romantically. I know you’re head over heels for him, but some things you’ll just have to let go.”

“I… I know.” Clarabelle sighed, “It just hurts, you know? Like, a lot.”

“It does, and it will, probably for months, even years. You may not ever truly get over it. But there’ll be other people.”

“Who?” Clarabelle asked, “Tell me, Elisa. Who else?”

“I don’t know.” she shook her head, “But you have to understand this, alright? This is your first time, and this’ll be the most painful one. Once you’re over this, you’ll know how to deal with the pain if it happens again.” Elisa gave her one last hug before pulling her up to her feet, “Now, we’re getting some dessert to turn that frown upside down!”

---

After some desserts and sweets from Clarabelle’s favorite cafe, she managed to calm down more. And at the end of the day, it was she who decided to go pay Dante a visit to make amends.

Clarabelle arrived at his quarters and knocked, “Dante?” she said quietly.

He yanked open the door, “Clare! Clarabelle!” he breathed.

“Yeah.” she hugged herself tightly, “Listen, I wanted to apologize for leaving so abruptly, and for dismissing you so rudely–”

“No, no!” Dante took her hands, “You had every right. I was an idiot. You were hurt, and I made things worse.”

There was an awkward silence between them before Dante said, “Uh, you want to come in?”

“No, it’s alright. I’m sure you’re tired.” Clarabelle said and took a step back.

“Hey, listen.” Dante put a hand on her shoulder, “You’re an angel, Clarabelle. Like, literally. I’m stupid enough not to like you back, but there are other people who are smarter than I am who are going to return your feelings, okay?” he brushed a thumb against her jawbone, “Don’t ever stop being yourself, ever. You hear me?”

Clarabelle looked up at his perfect sea blue eyes, “You’re not stupid, you know.” she whispered

“Trust me, I’m an idiot.” he smiled.

She laughed, and he laughed. And they ended the day like that.

---

Clarabelle was walking down the corridor, enjoying the sunshine seeping through the glass windows, when Elisa came colliding into her.

“Crown… prince!” she gasped.

Clarabelle frowned, “I’m sorry?”

“Injured!” she grabbed her hand and dragged her to the emergency wing. “The Crown Prince is injured badly!” she managed to say.

“WHAT?” Clarabelle gasped, “Oh, no…”

---

There were a total of seven skilled surgeons and doctors in the emergency room. Outside the emergency room were the king and queen, along with two young men. They didn’t look like they were guards, so Clarabelle reckoned that they were the prince’s friends. One of them was sitting calmly in a chair, while the other was pacing back and forth.

Clarabelle and Elisa barged into the room.

Prince Keir was entirely covered in blood, especially his face, where there was a long gash running from his temples to his jaw. In his rib cage was a chunk of glass, and his arm looked broken. His bare chest was covered in cuts and bruises. And on top of all that, the doctors keep saying something about a broken spine.

“What happened–” Elisa started.

“Elisa, Clare, start cleaning the wound!” one of the doctors ordered.

The two of them didn’t waste any more time as they got to work. Clare’s hands were shaking, but Elisa worked calmly. Clarabelle wished she had her composure and skill.

“We’ll need to get that glass chunk out of his rib cage.” a surgeon said.

“Alright, you two, out now.” they ushered them out and closed the door.

Elisa and Clarabelle glanced at each other.

“I think you should go and comfort them.” Elisa nodded at the royal family.

“Yes, I think I should.” Clarabelle looked at her, “Are you going to be alright? We both saw a lot of blood, and I don’t want you to faint–”

“It’s fine.” Elisa smiled weakly, “I’ve seen worse.”

Clarabelle made her way to the king and queen.

“Your majesties,” she started.

“Is he alright?” the queen stood up, her eyes red, “Oh, please tell me Keir’s alive!”

“He… he’s alive, ma’am.” Clarabelle nodded, “But you must understand that… he’s injured badly–”

“Of course he’s injured badly!” one of the young men snapped angrily and stood up, “You think we’d send him here if he wasn’t?”

The other placed a hand on his shoulder, “Rowan, calm down.”

“Shut up, James.” he shrugged it off and stormed down the hallway.

The king sighed, “But is he going to live?”

“I…”

“Yes or no?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know, sire.” Clarabelle felt useless, “They said they needed to perform surgery on his highness to get the glass shard out.”

“Glass shard?” the queen gasped, fresh tears springing to her eyes.

“Yes.” she nodded, “There was one in his ribcage.”

The king held the queen tightly, “It’s alright, Ashlynn.” he looked at Clarabelle, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Don’t panic.” she suggested, “And try to think positive. I know it’s hard, but the happier the prince is when he wakes up, the faster he’s going to recover.”

The queen nodded, “Thank you, young lady.” she sniffed, “What’s your name?”

“Clarabelle, your majesty.” she bowed.

“Clarabelle, if you can, go talk to Rowan.” the queen pointed down the hall, “I think he needs more comforting than anyone else here.”

“He wouldn’t even talk to me.” James muttered, “What makes you think he’ll talk to her?”

“It won’t hurt to try, James.” the king said quietly.

Clarabelle nodded, “I’ll try.” was all she could offer before she took off down the hallway.

She found Rowan leaning against the window and looking out into the courtyard.

“It’s Rowan, right?” Clarabelle said tentively.

He didn’t answer.

“Listen, I understand–”

“No, you don’t understand.” Rowan cut her off, “So unless if you’ve had a very close friend who was in a near death situation, leave.”

She didn’t want to act like an annoying person, but her majesty just told her to try and cheer him up.

“Throughout my years here,” she said quietly, “I’ve learned quite a few things. And I know that for some unknown reason, whether or not the patient lives or dies usually depends on faith and happiness. I’ve seen patients being nursed back to health when the doctors guaranteed that they’re not going to make it because his friends and family came to visit every day.”

“And what,” he said, “does that have to do with me? Keir’s wounded, and I’m not allowed inside. How am I supposed to talk to him? Telepathically?” he asked with bitter sarcasm.

Clarabelle held her head high, “Yes.”

He didn’t seem to be expecting that. He glanced at her, “You’re serious?”

She nodded, “Yes. Whenever I’m nursing someone who’s in a coma or unconscious, I usually sing or read to them. I’ve always had the theory that patients can hear their friends and family’s every thoughts. That’s what keeps them going.”

Rowan was silent, but Clarabelle didn’t want to say anything else. She was too shy.

“When I found him,” Rowan finally started, “he looked like he’s been dragged through Hell and back again. I didn’t know what to do, and I was so angry at myself.”

“Why?” Clarabelle asked.

“Because I was the one who encouraged him to go on a flight.” his voice was strained, “I thought it’d help him clear his mind. But no… no, what happened was the total opposite.”

“You did what you thought was best for your friend, Rowan. He can’t ask more than that.” she tried to reassure him.

“I sent him to his death.” he sounded weary.

“No, you didn’t.” Clarabelle shook her head, “Prince Keir is not dead yet. And until he really dies, for your sake and his, believe that he’s going to make it.”

---

“How is he?” Clarabelle asked a surgeon.

She looked exhausted as she took her gloves off, “He’ll live.” she said, “But I’m afraid he’ll have to sit in a wheelchair until his spine properly heals.”

Elisa and Clarabelle both loosed a breath.

“We’ve already informed the king and queen, and they’re on their way here.” she sighed, “As for me, I’m getting some sleep.”

Evangelise

Her boots clicked the polished floors of the hospital halls. Apparently, the Crown Prince had crashed landed on the planet Kyro and the king and queen ordered a patrol around the star system. They had nothing to report, though. There were no enemy ships nor hostile creatures.

Evangelise knocked on the door to his highness’s hospital room.

“Come in.” said the king.

She came in and stopped in her tracks.

She recognized the young man standing besides the unconscious prince. He was the one who gave her a bad day just a few hours ago. He was the one who teased her after he almost crashed into her ship.

“Evangelise, right?” the queen rose to her feet, “What do you have to report.”

“Nothing, ma’am.” Evangelise said, her hands behind her back and her back straight, “There were no enemy ships in the vicinity. And there is no evidence of any fired missiles.” (besides her own ship of course, but she didn’t need to tell them that).

“Oh?” she raised a brow, “What of the missiles fired near the planet of Kyro? What do you make of that?”

Evangelise took a deep breath, “That was me, your majesty.” she admitted.

“Why?” she frowned.

“Forgive me. I lost my temper and fired.”

“Fired? At what, Evangelise?”

“The ship that man,” she pointed at the boy, “was piloting.”

Everyone in the room looked at him.

“Rowan,” another young man said, “care to explain?”

Rowan leaned back against the wall, “I… teased her.”

Everyone groaned and muttered.

“Rowan, you’re a diplomat.” the king said, “You’re not supposed to tease other people. Especially if you don’t know them.”

“It was just for fun.” Rowan mumbled.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone that far.” Evangelise apologized to the king and queen.

“No, I think Rowan should apologize for that.” they glared at him.

Rowan sighed, “I’m sorry I teased you.” he didn’t sound like he meant it, though.

“Apology accepted.” Evangelise turned to the king and queen, “I don’t have anything else to report. Permission to take my leave?”

The king nodded, “Permission granted.”

Evangelise turned and walked out of the door.

Why in the world did the prince crash land, then? If it wasn’t an enemy ship, what happened? Did he loose control? Or was he a bit drunk? Evangelise knew that he just lost in the Intergalactic Games, but that wasn’t a reasonable explanation why he would want to commit suicide. Unless, of course, he was so dedicated that he had to end his life because he was so miserable.

She turned a corner and crashed into someone.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” the girl pulled her up.

“It’s alright.” Evangelise brushed her bangs out of her face and looked at the girl in front of her.

She was slightly stout, and a bit shorter. But she had a sweet, angelic smile, and it warmed Evangelise’s heart.

“I wasn’t watching where I was going, I’m so sorry!” she dipped her head, her hair falling across her face.

“Hey,” Evangelise gave her a small smile, “it’s really fine. Just watch where you’re going next time.”

She looked very embarrassed and held out a hand shyly, “Clarabelle.”

“Evangelise.” she shook it and looked at the girl, “So… you a doctor?” she’s pretty young for a doctor.

“Oh, no.” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “I’m training to become a doctor.”

“Is that so?” Evangelise nodded, “I’m training to become an officer.”

“Really?” Clarabelle gasped, “You’re so brave! I wish I were that brave! That’s so cool!”

“I may be brave, yes.” Evangelise said, “But you’re brave as well.”

“Me? Brave?” she chuckled nervously, “No. I’m anything but brave.”

“Hey, Evangeline!” someone down the hall called.

Evangelise turned and Clarabelle looked.

“Oh.” Evangelise tilted her head, “Rowan, right?”

He stopped a few feet in front of her, “Hey, I just wanted to apologize. Plus, Keir’s making me.” he smiled a trouble maker’s smile, “But that doesn’t mean I mean it.”

“It’s Evangelise, by the way.” she said.

“Is his highness feeling better?” Clarabelle asked him.

Rowan nodded, “Yeah. He’s up and running.”

Evangelise frowned, “I heard he had a broken spine. How can he possibly be up and running?” it made no sense.

Clarabelle smiled, “It’s sarcasm, Evangelise.”

“Oh.” Evangelise nodded slowly, “I see.”

Rowan laughed, “You seriously don’t know what sarcasm is?”

“Excuse me.” Evangelise said defensively, “But in military school, there is no sarcasm or pranking allowed.”

“Right.” Rowan said in a mock serious tone, “And in battle school, kids aren’t allowed to be kids. And people like Rowan Lyandor are going to be expelled for trying to lightening up the mood.”

Clarabelle giggled, and Rowan grinned, looking very pleased with himself.

Evangelise scowled, “You know nothing of military school. We are allowed to bond.”

“Yeah, but what do friends do there? Talk strategy and how to beat the crap out of the other person?” Rowan laughed, then said in a deep voice, “Okay, class! Today, we’re going to bond with each other by debating on what’s worse, living a normal life or dying of laughter and not in the battle!”

Clarabelle laughed out loud, amusement gleaming in her eyes, lighting them from brown to amber.

Rowan was on her last nerve. “You want to say that again?” she snapped, hands turning into fists.

Rowan snorted, “Yeah, but I’m smart enough not to. Otherwise you’d beat me up. And Clarabelle won’t be able to join in because she took the doctor’s oath.”

Clarabelle flushed, “I’m not an official doctor yet.” she mumbled.

“Well, either way, I don’t want to take the risk.” Rowan shrugged.

Evangelise didn’t see why she had to listen to all this, so she turned around and started walking.

“Evangelise!” Clarabelle caught up to her. “He doesn’t mean it, you know.” she said quietly.

“I don’t care.” Evangelise snapped, “He mocks the academy, and I don’t see a reason why I should listen.”

She gave her a small smile, “Evangelise, there’s more to this world than duty and pride. Sometimes a little laughter’s good for you.”

“Listen to your conscious, Evangelise.” Rowan’s deep voice suddenly said behind her ear.

Evangelise jumped and Clarabelle chuckled. She slapped him hard. “Would you cut it out?” she yelled in his face.

Rowan looked genuinely surprised. Clarabelle put her hand over her own mouth to force down her scream.

Evangelise forced herself to relax and mumble, “I’m sorry.”

Rowan touched where she slapped him, “It’s fine.” he gave her a crooked grin, “I’ve been through worse.”

Evangelise straightened, “I have to report back to my division. Don’t follow me.” she turned around and left, making sure they didn’t follow her.

---

Evangelise pushed open the heavy metal doors that led to the office of her mentor and teacher.

“Evangelise.” he stood up, “You’re back. What do you have to report?”

“Nothing, sir.” she said.

“Good, because I don’t want us to waste any more time.” he handed her a file, “The king and queen want us to appoint a bodyguard for the prince. Someone to watch over him. We’re appointing you.”

Great. Now I’m stuck with Rowan for the rest of my life. She thought but stayed silent.

“Sign those documents and you’re done. You are to report to the throne room right away.”

“Yes, sir.” She bent down to sign the documents before straightening and taking her leave.

---

This was the first time Evangelise ever saw the the throne room with her own eyes. The two thrones were up the marble steps, and in the room were open entrances to different hallways. Two guards stood in front of the steps, a helmet covering up their entire face.

“Evangelise!” the king sounded surprised, “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been appointed as his highness’s new body guard.” she answered.

“Oh!” the confusion in his eyes cleared, “Okay. Well, Keir is still in the hospital room. Maybe you should go see him first. If he’s awake, tell him. If he isn’t… well, do your duty and stay by his side.”

“Yes, you’re majesty.” Evangelise bowed.

---

The prince was awake, and his two friends, along with Clarabelle and another girl, were seated around the bed.

“… thanks for saving me.” Keir was telling Rowan and his friend.

Rowan punched his arm lightly, “We always knew you were going to get into trouble sooner or later.”

“If I recall, Rowan,” the other man said, “it was you who told me it was safe for Keir to go outside on his own.”

“Uh, actually,” Rowan countered, “I did try to stop him, James.”

“Oh yeah? When?” Keir sat up.

“Um, your highness?” Clarabelle was saying, “Can you please hold still?” she had a needle in her hand.

“Oh.” Keir leaned back in his bed.

“Your highness?” Evangelise cleared her throat.

Everyone turned. Rowan smiled, and so did Clarabelle. But Evangelise trusted Clarabelle to have good intentions more than she trusted Rowan.

“So the cadet returns!” Rowan announced.

She ignored him, “Your highness, I have been appointed as your new bodyguard.”

Keir didn’t look surprised, “Okay.”

Rowan’s smile broaden, “Does that mean you’re going to have to put up with me all day? Oh, I can’t wait for that!”

“Rowan, leave her alone.” James said and turned to look at Evangelise apologetically, “I’m sorry for my friend.”

“It’s fine.” Evangelise diverted her eyes to the new girl.

“Oh.” she stood up and straightened herself, “Seraphina Mondragon.” she held out her hand.

“Evangelise Knight.” she shook it.

“Right, now that that’s over,” Rowan stood up, “Evangeline, get me a cup of coffee, will you?”

“One: It’s Evangelise.” she said through gritted teeth, “And two: I’m a bodyguard, not a servant!” she shook her head, “But I wouldn’t expect you to know the difference.”

Keir and James both chorused, “Ooh!” and looked at Rowan.

But he didn’t seem fazed by it. In fact, he looked quite pleased, “I have an IQ of a thousand, mind you. But I don’t want to waste my time and brain power on you. Instead, I’m going to ask Clarabelle, because she seems to be the only person who doesn’t mind my jokes.”

She blushed, “I… I think I’ll be leaving now.”

Rowan gaped at her, “What? Now! Oh, come on! You’re going to abandon me to the wolves? Where it’s cold… and dark… and miserable.” he said dramatically.

Evangelise bared her teeth, “Serves you right.”

“I never asked for your opinion!” Rowan shouted.

“Okay, everyone, shut up!” Seraphina stood on her chair, “I think Prince Keir would want some of his beauty sleep.”

Clarabelle pointed out automatically, “On the contrary, I think his highness needs–”

“Shh!” Seraphina shushed her.

Prince Keir sighed, “I’m prince, so I decide who leaves and who stays.” he pointed at Rowan, “You and Evangelise, take it outside if you want to argue. Seraphina and James, please stay in here because you two seem like the only useful people here.”

“Okay, that was just plain rude.” Rowan folded his arms, “What about Clarabelle? She’s the only angel amongst us demons.”

She flushed even more, “No, Seraphina seems very nice.”

Seraphina laughed, “Ha! Try saying that again once you get to know me!”

Clarabelle looked at Prince Keir, “Your highness, I must insist you eat something.” she said quietly.

“I’m not hungry.” he said dismissively just as his stomach growled. Everyone fell silent, and the prince’s ears reddened.

Rowan roared with laughter, “You’re not hungry? I’m sorry, but your stomach says otherwise.” he patted Prince Keir’s flat stomach.

He slapped his hands away, “Cut it out! I’m really not!” he snapped.

James sighed, “I’m getting very tired of the two of you bickering, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some food for all of us.”

Clarabelle looked up from her work, “Do you know where the cafeteria is? I can take you there if you want!”

“No!” Rowan said in a mock desperate tone, “Please don’t leave me here alone!”

“I’ll go.” Evangelise volunteered.

Seraphina leaned back in her chair, “Guys, I don’t think now’s a good time.” she said, looking at the prince.

“Why?” Rowan asked, “Now’s the perfect time! Did you hear his stomach, baby Keir’s starving.”

“Shut up!” Keir looked like he wanted to throttle his best friend.

“Because,” Seraphina pointed at the prince with two fingers, “he’s about to receive a vision.”

Keir

For a moment, everyone looked at him.

“What? I feel–” he was cut off by a sharp pain behind his eyes. His vision blacked out just like it happened in the pilot ship.

---

Keir was sitting in a… classroom of some sort. But instead of steel walls, the room looked like it was made of white stuff. He didn’t have a screen in front of him, but he did have a wooden table. A very old fashioned one. 

At the front of the classroom was a black board with writing on it. It was definitely not electronic.

“Class,” the teacher was saying. Even her outfit was old fashioned. Keir looked down and found himself wearing an old school shirt and pants.

“You all know of Kazimir Bishop.” she said, “He suggested that we find another home, because the Earth is dying. Most of you are too young to make this decision, but I beg you. Don’t listen to what he has to say.” she sounded desperate, “Kazimir Bishop may be charismatic, but he is evil.”

“But he told us stories and gave us candy the last time he visited us!” someone said from the back of the class.

“Yes.” she nodded, “I know it’s hard for you to decide. But when you grow older, think back on what I say today. You must think for yourself. Society doesn’t control you. You control yourself.”

---

Keir gasped and jerked awake from his vision. It was night outside, and the room was dark save for the lamp beside the bed. Everyone had gone. The last thing he remembered was him looking at Seraphina confusingly and blacking out.

The vision seemed to be gone now, and so was the aftershock. Keir, hardly tired any more, tried to get up. But then he remembered his crash landing and his healing spine, so he lay back down.

There was a tray of food beside him. And Keir, literally starving, swallowed the entire thing. But he hadn’t eaten since the night before when he lost, so he was still hungry.

On the wall, there was a pad that said press 1 if he wanted to call a doctor. He pressed 1.

A minute later, the door opened and in came a doctor.

“Your highness!” he exclaimed, “You’re awake!”

“Yeah, where’s everyone?”

“Once you received another vision, your friend Seraphina called us in. We had to send them back home.”

“Well,” he remembered Clarabelle, “is Clarabelle here?”

“She’s off duty. Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked.

“Yes, can you get me some more food, please?” Keir pointed at his empty tray.

“Of course.” he took the tray and left.

Keir rubbed his temples and thought back on his vision. Who was Kazimir? And where was Earth? Was it a plant? Or was it another planet? The only colonies other than the Capitol were Kyro and Madrid. Earth was unheard of, yet the person teaching them looked human. Keir had received enough visions to know when it’s a vision and when it’s a dream. And this was most certainly not a dream. But it made no sense.

Then again, almost no visions made any sense.

This vision, however, isn’t about destruction anymore. This vision may be about something before all the destruction and death Keir has been seeing for most of his life. This vision was one of a kind.

It was so weird that Keir pulled up a screen and searched up human history.

The Beginning

The First War

The Holy Kingdoms

The Saviors

The Crusades

Uncovering Secrets

The list went on and on, so Keir chose the option: The Beginning. 

It was the history that he learned in school. Humans first appeared in the Adra continent, and it later became the Capitol City. Then they started building society and conquered most of the continent. They decided to explore, which eventually led to the First War.

In the search box, he entered Black Boards.

Nothing appeared. Keir frowned. Strange…

He knew that it’ll take hours to find the Kazimir the teacher was talking about in his vision, so he dismissed the idea. There were thousands of Kazimirs in history. How was he supposed to find the right one?

The doctor came back inside. “Looking for something?” he asked and set the tray down.

“It’s nothing.” Keir said and closed his screen to eat.

“If you want, I can contact your friends.” he offered.

“No, it’s fine.” Keir said. They were most likely asleep anyways.

Seraphina

Seraphina’s never been more awake in her life. The Museum of Artifacts was amazing! Her eyes widened even more and more until she was sure they were all dried up. She asked questions every five seconds, and James always managed to answer every single one of them.

James was the one who decided to take them all to the Museum of Artifacts after the doctors told them to leave. Rowan, of course, had to restrain himself from touching anything, and Clarabelle just watched from a distance. Evangelise seemed to like her a lot, and stood behind her like a protective older sister.

“And here we have a cell phone.” James sounded like a tour guide. He pointed at the device behind the glass.

“Ooh!” Seraphina pressed up against the case and stared. She knew she looked funny but she didn’t care. “What was it for?”

“Well,” James shrugged, “humans back then didn’t have the technology for transmitters and communicators just yet, so they had to use devices like these.”

“It’s huge!” Seraphina smiled, “I love it!”

Rowan yawned unnecessarily loud, “If we’re done here, I would like to go home now.” he stretched, revealing his abdomen, “My bed beckons!”

James frowned, “Show some respect for history, Rowan.” he chided.

“I’m sure it’s all really interesting, but I really have to go!” Rowan started to step backwards.

James grabbed his arm, “No, you don’t. If I recall correctly, you were planning to try drinking tonight.”

Rowan put his hands on his hips, “That was when I was a stupid kid!”

“That was two days ago!” James hissed, “Did you become smarter over the course of two days or are you just making up excuses now?”

“I became smarter over the course of two days!” Rowan said and folded his arms, “I rest my case.”

Evangelise rolled her eyes. Seraphina shrugged, “If you don’t want to stay, Rowan–”

“He wants to stay!” James interrupted, “And no one can say otherwise.”

Rowan groaned and trudged behind them as they passed from exhibit to exhibit.

“So, here we have something called a textbook.” James pointed at an old fashioned book, “And what do you know? It’s about history!”

The page it was turned to read: George Washington

“James, who’s George Washington?” Seraphina asked.

He looked surprised, “What?”

“Who’s George Washington?” Seraphina repeated.

James frowned, “I… I don’t know.”

Rowan snorted, “You don’t know? Wow, for once the awesome history genius doesn’t know who George Washington is.”

“Do you know who he is?” James challenged.

Rowan held up his hands for peace, “Hey, you know I’m an idiot when it comes to history!”

James turned to Seraphina, “No, I don’t know who he is. Who is he?”

Seraphina read: George Washington (1732-99) was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War (1775-83) and served two terms as the first U.S. president, from 1789 to 1797. The son of a prosperous planter, Washington was raised in colonial Virginia. As a young man, he worked as a surveyor then fought in the French and Indian War (1754-63). During the American Revolution, he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national hero. In 1787, he was elected president of the convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution. Two years later, Washington became America’s first president. Realizing that the way he handled the job would impact how future presidents approached the position, he handed down a legacy of strength, integrity and national purpose. Less than three years after leaving office, he died at his Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon, at age 67.

After she summarized for the four of them, James looked extremely confused.

“Wait… what?” James said.

Seraphina started repeating, but James shook his head, “No, no. Let me see?”

Seraphina made room for him. James scanned the two pages over and over again.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rowan looked, “Was George Washington a weirdo?”

“No.” James frowned, “No, he wasn’t…”

“What’s the Continental Army?” Seraphina asked, “And what in the world was the American Revolution? What does U.S. stand for? What’s the U.S. Constitution?”

“I don’t know.” James straightened, “I think I should go ask someone.”

He left and came back a few moments later with a staff member who worked in the museum.

“Excuse me,” James pointed at the artifact, “But if this is a history textbook, why in the world did it not talk about George Washington? He seems like an important figure.”

The man frowned, “Kid, not every piece of history must be recorded. If that’s what we did, our history books would be way too heavy to carry around.”

“I know, but how come we don’t know the terms American Revolution? Or the U.S.? What does that stand for?”

“I’m no history expert. Sorry.” he shook his head, “Maybe you can go to the library?” he suggested.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” James headed for the exit.

“Hey, wait!” Seraphina caught up with him.

“Dude, you serious?” Rowan looked behind his shoulder to glance at the history textbook one last time.

Clarabelle said quietly, “Don’t you think this is taking it a bit far?”

Evangelise shrugged, “Who knows what goes through their minds.”

“No.” James said, “I know a historical figure when I see one. And the history textbooks only mention important people.”

---

James and Seraphina looked while Rowan went off wandering somewhere. Clarabelle and Evangelise just stood in the corner, talking.

“Found anything?” James asked Seraphina after thirty minutes of looking. His eyes were starting to feel really sore from the lack of sleep and reading.

Seraphina yawned and shook her head.

“Guys, why don’t we call it a day?” Rowan emerged from between two bookshelves.

Seraphina nodded, “Yeah…” she looked really drowsy, “Don’t think I can… keep this up… much longer… going into sleep mode…” she felt so tired.

“Whoa, okay.” James grabbed her forearm, “We’ll call it a night. Seraphina, can you get home by yourself?”

“Sure.” she wasn’t even listening. All she heard was home and by herself.

“Alright.” James nodded, “I’ll come back here to meet you, alright?”

“Mm…” Seraphina stumbled to her desk and sat down. She put her head down and was asleep a few minutes later.

---

Seraphina was standing on a precipice, overlooking a burning city. Even though she wasn’t breathing, she could tell that the air was toxic. The city below was turning into ashes, and buildings were collapsing. The only signs of life were the screams of people trapped under the rubble.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” someone behind her said.

She turned and saw a ten year old boy looking at her. He looked young, but in those eyes were guile and intelligence.

“What?” Seraphina said, wondering how he escaped the burning city unscathed.

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked over to the precipice and smiled cruelly, like this was his plan all along. “How far people are willing to go to cleanse this world of a weak race.”

“Cleanse this world of a weak race?” Seraphina didn’t understand.

“Yes.” he looked at her, “This world was once tainted with the blood of the weakest race in the galaxy. They were honorable, yes. But that’s not enough. Not if they want to face the outside world.”

“People are dying down there!” Seraphina snapped, “Don’t you care?”

“No.” he spat, “On the contrary, I’m quite pleased. And they should be as well. Believe me, what I’m doing is nothing compared to what the others would do to them.”

“Who are the others?” Seraphina didn’t believe that this boy was a real boy. No child could be so evil.

He turned his back on her, “You don’t need to know.” he pointed, “Look.”

Seraphina turned and almost screamed.

Kneeling in front of them were a row of deformed… things. They didn’t look human, but Seraphina had a feeling that they were no different than her.

“These are what I call failed experiments.” he walked over to one of them and shoved its head onto the ground, “Their bodies aren’t strong enough to withstand the enhancements. But don’t worry,” he dug his finger into a small hole in the back of their neck and the creature fell onto the floor, dead, “their sacrifices will be noted.”

“How can you?” she whispered, unable to imagine what these victims have gone through.

“I’m one of them.” the boy told her, “I’m flesh and blood, just like you. But there is something different. A gift given to me.” he pointed at his temples, “This.”

“So you’re smarter than everyone else. Is that why you think you’re better than everyone else?” Seraphina said disgustedly.

“Ever heard of survival of the fittest?” he looked unfazed by her comment, “You all say that ‘everyone should have a chance to live’, well, life isn’t like that. Animals die every day, and that’s just how nature goes. You can’t change it, I can’t change it either. I’m not that stupid.” the boy looked at his wrist, “Oh! Look at the time! I’m sorry, but I have to get going.” his smile was wicked, “But don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.” he waved and her vision fogged.

---

Seraphina practically ran to the hospital after that vision. It was ten in the morning, and she didn’t even bother to wait for James.

She burst into the room and found everyone there.

“Keir just had another vision yesterday.” James explained, “I’m sorry if I wasn’t at the library–”

“I had a vision too!” Seraphina blurted out.

Keir and the rest of them stared at her.

“What? When?” Keir said, almost excitedly.

“Last night.” she couldn’t stop the words tumbling out of her mouth, “There was this… this burning city. Right! A–and there was this boy. This ten year old boy who was just… standing there. He talked to me. And he didn’t seem to care that he was killing all those people down there… all those people screaming in the fire. He said something about the survival of the fittest, and then he introduced me to some of his failed experiments. They look nothing like you and me, but I know they’re one of us! We’ve got to save them! We’ve got to bring him to court or something! I don’t know, but I can’t just sit back and do nothing!”

The room was silent until Rowan spoke up.

“You need to slow down next time.” he said, “But, luckily for you, I’ve had to listen to Keir say stuff in a rapid pace, so I understood you.”

“Your vision was rather frightening.” Keir frowned, “Mine was quite simple. We were in a classroom of some sort. But it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen. There weren’t any screens. Instead, I was sitting behind a very old fashioned wooden desk. The teacher warned us about a man named Kazimir. Saying that he may be charismatic, but he was evil and we shouldn’t listen to him.”

“Seraphina, I think yours has something to do with the end of the world.” James said.

“Why?”

“Because when I read all of your entries and stuff, I noticed that they were all about destruction, and they all took place in a world almost identical to ours.”

“So… armageddon or apocalypse?” Clarabelle asked. “It doesn’t sound like an epidemic, but you never know.”

“English please!” Rowan tilted his head back to look at her.

“She means whether or not the world would end with something that happens here, or if it’s going to be something from outside, like a comet or something.” Evangelise translated.

“Definitely armageddon.” Seraphina answered, “That boy said it’s survival of the fittest. I think he means war.”

“Does this have absolutely anything to do with Keir’s vision?” James asked.

“Probably.” Evangelise said, “Maybe this Kazimir has something to do with the war to come.”

“Have your records brought up the name Kazimir… like, ever?” Rowan looked at her.

“No. But I can go check again.” Evangelise got up from her seat.

“Maybe later.” Keir said, “First, we need to tell my parents. Because if war’s coming, they’d ought to know before anyone else.”

---

Seraphina felt bad for the king and queen. Not only do they have politics and their injured son to deal with, but now they may have a war in their hands.

But they took in the situation calmly.

“You think there is a war coming?”

“Yes, and it may result with the end of the world.” Keir said.

Rowan nodded and made a “blow up” gesture with his hands.

“But,” Clarabelle perked up, “it may not be true! It could be just something else, like a wildfire.”

“I highly doubt I would have a vision if it’s just about a wildfire.” Seraphina looked at her, “No offense, but it’d be stupid if I had a vision about a wildfire.”

Clarabelle flushed and looked at her feet.

“Do you know who, exactly, declares war on us, Seraphina?” the king asked, leaning forward.

“No.” Seraphina said, “But… there is this boy–”

“Boy?” the queen frowned, “As in a little boy? Or as in a teenage boy.”

“That’s what’s kind of weird and disturbing.” Rowan said, “It’s a freaking ten year old boy who sounds like a sociopath.”

“This boy had… failed experiments with him?” the queen continued, “And he warned you about the outside world? How about what he was doing to us was nothing compared to what the others’ll do to us?”

Seraphina nodded, “Yes, your majesty.”

The king’s gaze swept pass them, “Do any of you have anything else to add?”

“Yes.” Keir said just as Seraphina said, “No.”

Everyone looked at them, confused.

“I…” Keir looked at James and Rowan uncertainly, “I may know a way out of this.”

Clarabelle

Clarabelle was still a bit embarrassed after what Seraphina told her. She was so stupid. Why would anyone want to listen to her?

But then Keir said, “I may know a way out of this.” and Clarabelle perked up.

“I’m listening.” the king said.

“I had a vision once.” Keir said, “I didn’t know what it meant then, but I think I do now. It showed me a planet where technology was advance, and the people there live in peace. I think the vision showed me a civilization that can help us.”

“Is that so?” the king leaned in his throne, “Who, might I inquire, are these people?”

“They look like you and me.” Keir gestured at himself then his father, “I’m guessing they’re one of us. James,” he turned to his friend, “throughout our history, has there been any record of humanity splitting up to inhabit different planets?”

Clarabelle and the rest of them watched as James went through his mental archives.

“No, but there is a legend that humans once inhabited thousands of planets before a Great War. Humans were almost driven into extinction. They found sanctuary in this planet, and to prevent this from ever happening again, they erased all records of the Great War and the names of the planets they once inhabited.”

“Great!” Rowan threw up his arms, “Now we need to look through the ENTIRE galaxy, or possibly the entire universe, for this one planet and civilization!”

“You’re not helping here, Rowan.” Evangelise told him.

The king held up his hand for silence, “If there is any way I can prevent a war from happening, I will take it.” he turned to his wife, “Ash, do you mind if you go through the records and find this legend? I’d like to look through it.”

“Yes, sire.” the queen rose and took her leave.

“As for you.” he looked the group, “Stay here.”

“What?” they all exclaimed at once.

“One, I don’t want Keir to be up and about just yet.”

“But I–” Keir started.

“And the only person here who’s an official is James.”

“Sir, I must–” Evangelise tried saying.

“And you’re all under the age of 21 years old.” the king said firmly, “I’m not letting children onto a search for a civilization that may not exist.”

Keir looked extremely upset, “Father, with all due respect–”

“Dismissed.” the king waved them off.

---

Keir, of course, didn’t listen. Instead, he asked Evangelise to look through the military archives to see if she can find any old records.

After she was finished, they gathered around in Keir’s hospital room and started going through them.

“These are all murder occurrences.” Rowan held up a file, “Why in the world would you want us to go through them?”

Clarabelle sat down in between Evangelise and Rowan and scanned through a few newspapers. They were, indeed, all about murders and disappearances.

“Yeah, but look at their interrogations.” Evangelise said.

Rowan scanned through the interrogation sections of the files, “These people claim that they were all unconscious of the fact that they were killing people.”

“And look at this.” Evangelise shoved him a pile of old records.

“And… these people were conscious?” Rowan shook his head, “What does this have to do with anything?”

“Uh…” Seraphina looked up from her pile, “You might want to look at their pictures.”

“And their recordings.” James said with his earbuds plugged in.

Clarabelle picked up a file and started reading it.

“Wow.” Rowan held up two pictures and Clarabelle almost choked.

“These two look almost alike!” Rowan said.

“Dante…” she squeaked.

Everyone looked at her. “What?” Keir demanded.

“That…” Clarabelle pointed a shaky finger at the picture, “That’s Dante!”

Rowan looked at it and frowned, “This guy’s name is Alex Star. You sure…?”

Clarabelle nodded, still speechless.

“Hey, listen to this–”

The door opened and in stepped Dante.

Rowan dropped his file, and everyone stared at him.

Clarabelle stood up, “I… Dante, do you mind if you–”

“What is going on here?” he asked. His voice was calm and he held a tight smile.

From the corner of her eye, Clarabelle could see Evangelise tensing up.

“Nothing.” Clarabelle smiled, “We were just going through some old files.”

He stayed silent. Instead, his eyes scanned the records quickly before turning back to Clarabelle, “He sends his greetings.” he pulled out a long scalpel.

Evangelise darted out of her seat and tackled Dante onto the floor.

James and Rowan helped her disarm the man and pin him onto the ground. Dante let out an inhumane scream, and Clarabelle heard something go off on the other side of the hospital wing.

He stopped struggling and fell limp at the same time.

Seraphina looked out the door, “What was that?” the ground trembled.

There was a long silence before Evangelise stood up, “That was a bomb.” she said grimly.

“A what?” Rowan half shrieked.

“Who would want to terrorize a hospital?” Clarabelle whispered, “There’s nothing here!”

“This wasn’t a coincidence.” Keir pushed his own wheelchair out the door and looked at Dante’s body.

Another horrifying sound shook the ground. The vase of flowers fell off the cabinet and shattered on the floor.

“Guys,” Rowan pointed, “That one was kinda closer.”

“Someone wants us dead.” Keir started down the hall, “And those files gone.”

“Clarabelle, you said those people in the criminal records looked like Dante.” Evangelise said, “Has he ever acted unusual? Or given you any indication of possible murder?”

Clarabelle couldn’t think straight, “No.” she shook her head, “Never. He’s always been nice to me. He was the one who found me on the streets.”

Keir’s transmitter rang. He picked it up.

“Keir!” it was the king, “The hospital’s been bombed! Are you safe? Do I need to send people to get you?”

He pointed down the elevator and told them to go, “No, I’m fine.”

The king sighed in relief, “Keir. No matter what happens to your mother and I, you get yourself to safety, understand? There’s chaos everywhere. Buildings have caught on fire, and now the hospital’s being bombed. Get to safety.” he hung up.

---

“We’re leaving now?” James shouted, “Right when your parents are in the middle of all that?” he pointed at the fires and the collapsing buildings.

“It’s just like in my vision.” Seraphina said.

“They know what to do.” Keir said, “Right now, we need to find that planet, and fast.”

“What about my parents?” Rowan demanded, “You can’t just leave them there! They’ll be killed!”

“Listen, if you want to leave, then leave!” Keir yelled, “But I’m not staying here a minute longer!”

“Don’t you care?” Rowan yelled back, “Don’t you care about your family? Your people?”

“I do, okay?” Keir clenched his fists, “I care about them more than anything I hold dear! But we’re only going to make the situation worse if we stay here! People are dying because of us! Or something we did!”

“How can you be so sure?” Rowan growled.

“I’m not. But six people isn’t going to make a difference, Rowan.” Keir snapped, “Are you coming with me or not?”

Clarabelle looked at Rowan, and so did everyone else.

“I’m coming.” Seraphina said.

“Wherever his highness goes, I’m going.” Evangelise said.

James looked pained, “I… I don’t know.” he looked at Keir, “The three of us have been together since we were kids.” he glanced at Rowan, “I don’t want us to part now.”

Keir looked at James, “You can stay if you want.” he turned and stepped onto a Cruiser.

Clarabelle looked at Rowan and James, who were watching Seraphina and Evangelise climb aboard.

“Rowan,” Clarabelle said quietly, “I know I probably can’t change your mind, but Prince Keir’s got a point. Us staying here would only cause more trouble. And sometimes you’ve got to put your emotions aside if you want to think clearly.”

James placed a hand on Rowan’s shoulder, “Come on.” he gave him a small smile, “We can be the Three Musketeers again.”

Rowan sighed, “I can’t just leave my family here.” he glanced back at the burning city.

“You can’t help them.” James said, “The city’s a kilometer from here, and by the time you get there, everything would be gone.”

Rowan glanced at Clarabelle, and she gave him a gentle and assuring smile, “I’m sure they’re intelligent people. They can get to safety by themselves.”

He clenched and unclenched his fists, “Fine, fine.” he growled, “I’ll go with you.”

James grinned, and so did Clarabelle.

“Jesus, at this rate you guys’ll persuade me to learn the piano…” he muttered.

“That’s the spirit!” James clapped his friend’s shoulder, “Onto the cruiser you go!”

Clarabelle was impressed once she stepped inside. It didn’t look very comfortable, but what did she expect? It was a cruiser, not a Lounger.

She entered in the cargo and weapons bay. On the left was a corridor, and on the right was a dinning room. She went down the corridor and found several escape pods lining both walls. She emerged in a living room of some sort with couches lining each corner of the walls. There were two doorways on either side of the room and both led to bedrooms with two bunk beds and one nightstand with a lamp. At the front was a small doorway leading to the navigator’s room. The doorway was sort of a mini corridor that had a door on both sides leading to the engine room down below.

“I call the top bunk!” Rowan declared.

James folded his arms, “There are two, Rowan. And you know how I don’t like heights. Besides, it’s not like Keir’s going to sleep on the top bunk anytime soon.”

“I heard that!” Keir shouted from the navigator’s room.

James smiled, and Clarabelle felt a bit envious. They were like brothers. Not that she and Elisa weren’t close, but the three were literally inseparable.

James laughed and joined Keir in the navigator’s room. Rowan leapt onto the top bunk and swung his legs like an excited child, “So… anyone here can cook?”

“I can.” Evangelise said, dragging a meter long rifle behind her.

“Whoa whoa, okay!” Seraphina held up her hands, “First off, put the gun away.”

“Second,” Rowan called from the bedroom, “you can cook?”

Evangelise tossed the rifle onto her bed, “It’s a rifle, Seraphina. And yes, I can cook! Is that surprising?”

“Yes.” Rowan nodded.

“It’s a requirement in the military.” she sat down on one of the couches, “Just because I’m a soldier doesn’t mean I can’t cook.”

“I can cook!” James called from the navigator’s room. The ship powered up.

“I think I’ll trust James to do the cooking.” Rowan chuckled nervously.

Evangelise rolled her eyes and said nothing. Clarabelle sat down, “So… while James and Prince Keir are taking us to… wherever we’re going, what should we do in the mean time?”

“We could play truth or dare!” Seraphina suggested.

“What now?” Evangelise looked confused.

“We’re not playing truth or dare!” James shouted.

The ship rumbled and Clarabelle could tell that they were taking off.

“Where are we heading?” Rowan stepped out of his bedroom.

“To the star Olympus.” Keir answered, “Our maps say that there is a solar system there, and possible life.”

“Okay, but what if they’re hostile?” Rowan went into the navigator’s room.

“That’s why we have you.” James said without looking up from the controls.

Rowan looked surprised, “Hey, I’m not an official diplomat yet, so I don’t think I’m really up for that kind of job…” he said.

Keir looked up, “Nervous, are we, Rowan?” he asked, raising a brow.

Rowan was taken aback, “Oh yeah?” he challenged, “Alright… alright, I’ll be your little diplomat.” he smiled and joined them in the living room.

“Is there any form of entertainment here?” Seraphina looked bored, “Because I’m not sure that anyone of us can stand sitting here for weeks.”

“I’ll go look for games.” Rowan bolted down the corridor. There was a sound of rummaging and crashing. Clarabelle flinched.

“Oops.” they heard him say.

Evangelise sighed, “I think I’m going to go train.” she stood up.

“Where?” Seraphina asked.

“I’ll do pull ups on the bunk bed.” she walked into the girls’ bedroom.

“Okay…” Seraphina watched as Evangelise climb up onto the top bunk and lower herself over the edge.

“Careful!” Clarabelle called instinctively.

Rowan came back with a screen, “Found something!” he set it down, “It’s a game called Strategy.”

“Okay…” Seraphina looked at the screen, “So, how do you play?”

Rowan grinned, “I can teach you, but do you dare to challenge,” he paused dramatically, “the master of strategy! The lord of logic! The king of–”

“Rowan, you know you suck at Strategy!” James called from the Navigator’s Room.

Clarabelle and Seraphina both laughed, and Rowan threw himself onto the couch, “Seriously?” he demanded, looking really annoyed.

Keir peeked out of the navigator’s room, “Remember the time when you signed up–”

“Okay!” Rowan interrupted unnecessarily loudly and cleared his throat several times, “Let’s start playing.”

Rowan

He lost to Seraphina first round. And then he almost beat Clarabelle, but then got over confident and made a wrong move.

“Damn it.” Rowan pounded his fist onto the table, but he didn’t realize that it was made of metal, so it hurt. “Ow!”

“You okay?” Clarabelle picked up his hand and looked.

“I’m fine… it’s fine.” he shook his head, suddenly aware of how gentle her hands were. They were smooth yet firm.

Seraphina picked up the screen, “Well, I’m gonna go make myself a PB&J.”

“A what now?” Rowan and Clarabelle both said.

She stopped in her tracks, “You know, peanut butter and jelly sandwich?”

They stared at her blankly.

“It’s an old fashioned food!” Keir called from the navigator’s room.

“Oh!” Rowan nodded, “I see… is it good?”

Seraphina shrugged, “Yeah, I guess.”

“I’ll go make an omelette.”

“A what?” Rowan felt like they were messing with him on purpose.

“It’s a delicacy, dummy!” Evangelise shouted from inside the room and Rowan wondered how she can talk after all those pull ups.

“Seriously, the only thing my mom and dad fed me were dumplings and bean buns.” when Rowan saw them looking at him weirdly, he added, “They were a huge fan of Southern meals.”

“Well, let’s just all go to the kitchen.” Seraphina went into the cargo bay and pulled out two jars of stuff (one that looked like blood and the other like light colored mud… blood and mud! Hey, they rhyme!) and a package of bread. Clarabelle rummaged through the crates, but she couldn’t reach the top shelves. Rowan couldn’t blame her. She was pretty short.

“Seraphina, can you help me, please?” she asked and tried climbing onto the crates.

“Whoa, okay, you don’t want to step onto those things.” Rowan pulled her back down, “I got it.” he got the top crate easily. “What’s in here?” He picked up a round brown thing.

Clarabelle took it, “It’s an egg.” she answered, “And now I need some cheese, peppers, ham, onions…” she looked at the vegetables.

Rowan didn’t know what was going on, so he just stood there until the girls were done. They carried their stuff into the kitchen and started making their meals. He sat down on one of the seats and watched.

“So… Rowan, when did you decide to become a diplomat?” Seraphina asked him.

“I didn’t.” he answered, “My parents suggested it, and I just took it because I was a good kid.”

Seraphina laughed, “Seriously?”

Rowan looked at her defensively, “Hey!” he protested, “Just because I tease and prank people doesn’t mean I’m not a nice guy!”

“Well, are you any good with it?” Seraphina continued.

“Pranking? Oh, yeah!” he grinned, “I remember this one time–”

“No, I mean with diplomacy.” she corrected herself.

“Oh…” not really. Deep down, Rowan was self conscious of his skills, so he didn’t know, “Well, of course! I’m the best diplomat you’ve got!”

Seraphina smiled, “I kind of envy you, Rowan. I don’t have any skills.”

“Nah.” Rowan waved his hand dismissively, “Of course you do! You just need to find it!”

Seraphina snorted, “If I did, I would’ve found it a long time ago.”

“Nonsense!” Rowan leaned back in his chair, “Skills take a long time to discover.”

Seraphina finished her sandwich and sat down next to Rowan to eat, “I’m pretty sure I’m just going to be a librarian, since I know the library so well.”

“Mm…” Rowan nodded, then he perked up, “Let’s prank Evangelise!” he whispered.

Seraphina grinned, “You sure?”

“You don’t trust me?” Rowan put up his feet on the table, “I’m the master of pranks!”

“What do you suggest?” Seraphina tilted her head.

“Okay, so instead of plasma bullets, we load them with paintballs. So whenever she does target practice, she’ll get pained splattered!” Rowan’s grin was wicked.

“Yeah, but what if it was a battle?” Seraphina asked.

Rowan tapped his chin, “Well… she’d have other weapons.” he said dismissively.

“Um…” Clarabelle’s quiet voice said from the corner of the kitchen, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Rowan snorted, “What do you mean? It’s the perfect idea! Evangelise would never see what’s coming!” he said.

Clarabelle hunched over shyly, “Oh… but are you sure–”

Seraphina shook her head, “It’s fine, Clarabelle.” she smiled encouragingly, “She needs to loosen up a bit anyways.”

She still didn’t look comfortable about it, but she said nothing. Instead, she finished making her meal and started eating in the corner.

“Okay, so,” Rowan was so excited. He hasn’t pranked someone in so long, “This’ll be a simple prank. So, it has to be good! Let’s use pink paintballs!”

“I know how to remove plasma bullets, so we could do that.” Seraphina nodded, “When do we do this?”

“Maybe…” Rowan knew that soldiers were light sleepers, so they can’t do it while she was sleeping. “If she ever has to go off the ship, one of us is going to have to do it.”

“I think they’ll most likely need you, not me.” Seraphina said, “So I think I’ll do it.”

“Alright.” Rowan looked at Clarabelle, who was finishing up, “Clare–can I call you Clare?”

“Um, sure?” Clarabelle shrugged.

“Okay. Clare, don’t tell anyone, alright? Because James and Keir’ll just ruin the fun, and Evangelise… well, I don’t need to tell you what she’d do, right?” Rowan asked.

She nodded, “Yeah…” she mumbled and started washing her dishes in the sink.

“Alright, let’s go find some paintballs!” Rowan declared and stood up.

There weren’t any paintballs, so Rowan and Seraphina had to resort to tomatoes.

“Okay, so while she’s gone, fill one of the rifles with tomatoes and give it to her after she’s back.” Rowan instructed Seraphina and she nodded.

After that, he went to the navigator’s room and found James and Keir piloting silently.

“Wow.” he finally said and nodded, “Very fun in here.”

The corners of James’s mouth twitched upwards, but Keir was as stone faced as always.

“Not everyone’s as talkative as you, Rowan.” James explained.

“Yeah, but it’s kind of boring in here.” Rowan shrugged.

James let go of the controls and stretched, “I’m going to go eat.” he set it on autopilot and got up from his seat.

Rowan sat down and stared at the star-filled void outside, “So… how’re you doing?” he asked Keir.

“Fine.” Keir was studying a screen with a map.

“Great…” Rowan leaned back in his seat, “what do you think of the girls?”

Keir didn’t look up from his screen, “Which one?”

“Just all of them in general.”

“Seraphina is probably the only one I can really trust so far.” he said, “Evangelise is a bit over protective, and Clarabelle is, no offense, kind of useless.”

Rowan felt a twinge of annoyance, “Okay, first of all, you can call Evangelise over protective and Seraphina weird, but don’t call Clarabelle useless. She’s shy, that’s all.” he grinned, “Which makes her much more fun to talk to!”

Keir gave him a sideways glance, “Are…” he put down the screen, “are you hitting on her?”

Rowan snorted, “Me? No way.” he looked at Keir weirdly, “And since when were you the gossiping type?”

Keir shrugged and went back to his work.

“Have you ever thought of appointing me as your royal diplomat when you become king?” Rowan asked.

Keir rarely laughed, but he had to chuckle at this, “Royal diplomat?” he sighed, “I… I don’t know. Maybe.”

“And what about James?” Rowan asked, “Is he going to be your official pilot?”

“I guess. I mean, there’s no one better than him so far.” Keir said.

“Well, once you become king, there any changes you gonna make?” Rowan looked out the window.

“Yeah.” Keir gave him a small smile, “Olives.”

Rowan put his feet up, “Yeah… I don’t like them either.” his eyes flickered towards Keir, “But James does.”

“I’m also going to win every single Intergalactic Game.” he declared.

Rowan held up a hand, “Slow down. No one expects you to win at such a young age.”

“I’m 17, Rowan.” Keir put his screen down and folded his arms, “I think a lot of people have won their first Intergalactic Game at 17.”

“You do whatever.” Rowan tilted his head back, “When this is over, I’m going to graduate as an official diplomat.”

“Congratulations.” Keir nodded.

“Thanks.” Rowan looked over his shoulder and saw James coming back with a sandwich in his hands, “He’s back.” he stood up, “Talk to you later.”

“Yeah.” Keir nodded again.

Rowan patted James’s shoulder as he passed, and James smiled at him, bread stuck to his teeth, and Rowan laughed.

Rowan saw Seraphina talking to Evangelise while she was doing push ups, so Rowan decided to look for Clarabelle. After looking in most of the ship, he finally found her in one of the escape pods.

“Oh, again?” Clarabelle said.

“Yeah.” a little boy’s voice said.

Rowan peeked in and saw her talking to a holographic image of a boy with his ankle propped up on one of the seats in the escape pod. He looked disturbingly real, but Rowan can tell he was fake by the sound of his electronic voice. Even that sounded real, though.

She took out a holographic ice pack and bandages, “Here. This may hurt a little.” she said gently and started icing the ankle.

“Ow.” the boy mumbled.

“So… what did you do this time?” Clarabelle smiled at him.

“I was climbing this huge rock!” the boy threw out his arms and Clarabelle laughed. “So, there was a river underneath, and I jumped off of it, but I landed wrong in the water and I twisted my ankle. At least it was in the water, though, so it wasn’t much of an impact. But it still really hurt.” he said.

“Well,” Clarabelle removed the ice pack, “you have to be more careful.” she said, “You don’t want that ankle to become a weak ankle.”

“I’ll be fine!” the boy waved his hand dismissively.

Clarabelle put the ice pack back onto his ankle again, “Rest this ankle for a few days, alright?” she instructed, “You don’t want to injure it further.”

“I will!” the boy promised.

Clarabelle smiled and helped him up. He hopped to the holographic door, “Can you get home from here?” she asked him.

“Yep!” the boy nodded, “Thanks for everything, Clarabelle!” he disappeared and the entire program ended.

Clarabelle sat down in her seat and looked out in the stars.

“Whatever you’re looking for,” Clarabelle spun around, “it’s not going to be there.” Rowan pointed at the void outside.

“Oh.” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “I’m not looking for anything… I’m just…”

“Who was that?” Rowan asked.

“That?” she flushed, “Nothing.”

“So that was me?” Rowan said, “I imagined you talking to a hologram for, like, five minutes?”

“That was just…” her voice got lower with each word, “my imaginary patient. I programmed him when I was fifteen or so. Whenever I felt useless, I would pull him up to make myself feel better. He’d always have injuries or sicknesses, because his body is very frail. But he’s a really good boy.” she brushed some hair out of her face.

“Okay, first off, who said that you were useless?” Rowan came in and sat down in front of her.

“No one.” she looked down at her hands, “I just felt useless just sitting here.”

“You know what makes you useless?” Rowan asked.

She winced, “What?”

“Just sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself.” Rowan leaned back in his chair, “Don’t worry. Once we actually get into the mission, we’d have a thousand casualties. So many that you won’t even have the time to think properly.”

Clarabelle didn’t look convinced, “So, did you come here because you have an injury? Because you look perfectly fine.”

Rowan shrugged, “I’m fine, though I can’t say the same for you.”

Clarabelle stood up, “Don’t worry about me.” was all she said, “I’m okay.”

He looked skeptical, “Alright…”

Rowan walked Clarabelle to the living room where both James and Keir were taking a break.

“How long until we reach our star system?” Seraphina asked.

“We’re going for the star Olympus, so to get there at this speed takes about three weeks or so.” Keir answered.

James leaned back in his seat, “Evangelise! Crew meeting!”

Evangelise came out, her entire body soaked with sweat, “What was that?” her hair was messy, her face was red, and she spoke with uneven breaths.

“Ew.” Rowan scooted to the other side of the table, “I’m not sitting with you.”

She rolled her eyes and Rowan smiled to himself. “I don’t plan to sit down.” she started doing push ups.

James raised an eyebrow at her before looking back at the rest of the group, “So, if we’re to work as a team, we have to know each other first.”

Seraphina grinned, “You should know that I hate mushrooms!”

“He didn’t mean it that way.” Keir said, giving her a sideways glance, “We have to know each other better if we’re to trust each other.”

“Okay, let’s go with ‘Who did the most embarrassing thing ever’. Keir, you can go first.” Rowan looked at the crown prince.

“Rowan, this is serious.” James sighed.

Rowan knew it was serious, and sometimes he hated himself for acting like a child. But he couldn’t help it. It was part of his personality. He stayed silent.

“Does anyone here know anything about survival other than Evangelise?” Keir asked.

No one raised a hand.

“Okay…” Keir tapped his finger on the table, “Let’s start with something simple. What are any hobbies you guys have?”

“Sleep.” Rowan said automatically.

Seraphina laughed, “Nice one!” they high fived.

“I’m sure everyone has that hobby, Rowan.” Evangelise got up from the ground and dusted her hands.

“Whenever I’m frustrated, I do something that I’m good at.” James said, “Like flying.”

“I write out my visions whenever I’m stressed.” Seraphina shrugged.

“I read.” Evangelise said.

Everyone stared at her.

“What?” she scowled, “Just because I’m a soldier doesn’t mean I’m illiterate.”

“It’s not that.” Clarabelle shook her head, “It’s just that… no offense, but you’re not the type of person who looks like she reads a lot.”

“Reading and recognizing strategies and tactics are a part of our training.” Evangelise pointed out.

“So you don’t do reading for fun?” Rowan asked.

“Sometimes.” she admitted, “But not always.”

There was an awkward silence, then Seraphina craned her neck to look at the cockpit window, “How long have we been out here? Have we passed the distant colonies yet?”

“Yeah, we have. Around thirty minutes ago.” Keir nodded.

The ship then jerked to one side, and Evangelise was thrown off balance.

James steadied himself with the table, “What the hell?” he muttered and went to check what was outside.

“What?” everyone crowded in the navigator’s room to look.

“Oh my god…” Seraphina’s jaw dropped.

James

“Uh… how did anyone not see that?” Rowan pointed at the floating ship.

There were frozen bodies scattered all over the place, and the ship looked liked it had been here for hundreds of years.

“I…” James couldn’t find the words, “What happened?”

Clarabelle got to the front and squinted, “That ship seems intact… and there aren’t any cracks or penetrations in the outer hull… it was murder.” she concluded.

“Wait, how do you know?”

“If the ship is intact, it couldn’t have been an explosion that occurred inside. And it couldn’t have been another ship, otherwise we’d be seeing a shipwreck. The murderer opened the doors and killed everyone before sealing them shut.” Clarabelle said.

James was still a bit freaked out about all the human popsicles. “So… what do we do now?” he said numbly.

“I would like to search through the ship.” Seraphina said dreamily, “Whatever we find in there would help us find out what happened here.”

“O…okay.” Rowan clapped their shoulders, “Well!” he said with an unexpectedly bright tone, “You guys can go! I’m gonna go take a nap now!” he bolted to his room.

“Hey, wait!” Keir darted after him and dragged him back, “No. If there are any hostile creatures there, you’ll be our last resort.”

“Gee, thanks.” Rowan didn’t look too happy about that.

James swallowed, “I guess we… take an escape pod?”

---

The ship seemed perfectly intact. Everything was shut down, but they were all working. After James got everything up and running, they searched through the ship.

“No bodies here.” Evangelise said.

Clarabelle pressed her hands against the window and stared at the floating bodies.

“Uh.” James looked at her uncertainly, “Don’t those kind of… freak you out?”

“No.” she replied.

There was a crash and Rowan screamed. He ran out of one of the rooms, his eyes wide and his face pale.

“You okay, buddy?” James asked, frowning.

Rowan pointed a shaky finger, “Dead dude.” was all he said.

Clarabelle made her way into the room, after a few minutes, she poked her head out, “She’s been dead for a long time.” she concluded.

James slowly walked into the room and almost screamed, but Evangelise took in in calmly.

The skeleton had on oxygen mask on, and her clothes were tattered. Her jaw was open, and she was staring into space.

James was shaking at this point. The skeleton sent goosebumps down his spine.

Clarabelle reached over and pulled something out of the skeleton’s lap. It was a rectangular object with a white frame.

“Hold this.” she said to no one in particular as she looked at the skeleton.

Rowan shoved James forward, but James resisted, “Hey, I’m not touching that body!”

“You’re not touching it! You’re holding that thing.” Rowan pushed him forward again.

“Cut it out.” Evangelise took the object and looked at it, “This… it’s like a physical screen.” she pressed down on a circle on the bottom and the middle of the object lit up.

Evangelise, James, and Rowan all yelped.

Clarabelle looked up, “What happened?” she saw the light coming from the object and tilted her head, “What does that say?” she pointed at the glowing words at the bottom of the screen.

They all crowded around Evangelise.

“It looks similar to our language.” Rowan shook his head, “But I can’t read it.”

“James?” Evangelise held it in front of him.

James shook his head, “No. I can’t either.”

“Maybe Keir and Seraphina might know.” Clarabelle went back to the body and tried to take off the gas mask. But the skull fell off and James almost bolted back to the escape pod.

Rowan clenched his jaw to keep himself from screaming, and Evangelise’s grip on the screen tightened.

Clarabelle seemed to be the only one who wasn’t affected by this. “This is a very old fashioned gas mask.” she started putting it on.

“No, don’t!” Rowan snatched it away.

“Why?” Clarabelle looked at him, confused.

“Because… because…” Rowan looked at the gas mask, which looked a bit disturbing now that James thought about it, “It’s kind of creepy.”

“There’s something inside.” Evangelise reached in and took out a piece of paper.

“What’s that?” James craned his neck to take a look.

“Found you.” Evangelise read aloud.

From the corner of James’s eye, he saw the skeleton raise its arm.

Apparently, the rest of them did as well. Because they all screamed and ran for the escape pod, shoving each other to get there first.

“James, get us out, get us out, NOW!” Rowan slammed the door shut behind them and shook him violently.

James’s hands flew from control to control. They launched off of the ship and got back to their Cruiser in ten seconds, crashing into bodies on the way there.

Once the escape pod docked, they all scrambled to get out.

“So how was–” Keir started.

“Get us out, now!” Evangelise yelled.

“Wha…” Seraphina looked confused.

James was in so much shock that he was barely able to start the ship, but once he did, Clarabelle tapped his shoulder nervously.

“Uh, James?” she whispered, “The ship’s kind of… following us.”

“WHAT?” Rowan screamed, “JAMES, GET US OUT–” he was cut off by Keir.

“Calm down, Rowan.” Keir looked nervous himself, “What happened on the ship?” he demanded.

The words came tumbling out of Rowan’s mouth, while Evangelise was pressed up against the wall, her entire face pale. Clarabelle was repeating the fact that the ship was following them, and James was about to go nuts.

“I’m blasting that thing to pieces.” Evangelise grabbed Seraphina’s shirt collar, “Come on. You’re coming with me.”

“Wait, what?” she stumbled after Evangelise.

“James, go faster!” Rowan urged.

“I can’t!” James snapped.

Clarabelle ran after Evangelise and Seraphina, while James navigated through space as fast as the ship allowed him.

“We got the ship!” Evangelise finally shouted from the other side of the ship, “It’s down!”

Only then did James slow down to a stop and relaxed.

---

At the crew meeting in the living room, Clarabelle presented the screen that lit up when Evangelise pressed down on the circular button.

“Does anyone here know what these say?” Evangelise pointed at the glowing symbols on the bottom.

Keir took one look at it and said, “This is the ancient language.” he frowned, “It says ‘Swipe to Unlock’.”

“Unlock?” Evangelise asked just as Seraphina swiped across the screen.

The screen’s background didn’t change, but it zoomed out and there was one picture on the corner of the screen. It was a a music symbol. James pressed it and the screen changed into a white background with nothing but the words Listen to me.

He pressed it and a recording started. It wasn’t very clear, but they managed to make out most of the message.

“So, you decided not to take the bait…” it was a girl’s voice. She sounded no older than twenty.

“I’m impressed, you know.” she continued, “The fact that you ignored the burning city and decided to go forward instead… I had to improvise. You know how hard it is to do something like that?”

“Who is this?” Evangelise scowled.

“You’re probably wondering who I am. Well, let’s just call me Annette and leave it at that. Heading for the star Olympus is a dangerous trip. Especially with six inexperienced children no older than twenty. I must warn you of the perils you’ll have to face.

The others are dangerous. Beware of the others. I know what they’re capable of, and if you ever cross their paths you’re dead. How you’re going to avoid them, I have no idea. But here’s something to take into consideration. And be sure to write this down, because this message would automatically delete once you finish playing it.”

The message got harder to understand from here.

“…ing… watch…is he… others are…there… you, for…ing…come… is death… mercy… no…have I… here… come to you… of… wrong… was it—“ the message was cut off.

James looked up, “Well that was just great.” He commented after the message was played.

“This was a waste of time.” Evangelise stood up, “I say we just ignore this message and—“

“Not so fast, Evangelise.” Keir shook his head, “Whoever this woman is knew who we were and what we were up to. That’s a bit strange, don’t you think?”

“Yes, but we don’t have time to ponder over this.” She argued.

“Why don’t we think about it while we move on?” Clarabelle asked with her hands up in a peaceful gesture.

Keir stood up, and so did James.

“You guys go over it.” Keir said, “James and I’ll get this ship moving.”

James went to the navigator’s room and sat down to pilot the ship.

“It’s weird.” James said at last, “How the message got more and more unclear as it got closer to the important part of the message.”

“Maybe she wanted us to notice something in that message?”

“Yeah,” James jerked his thumb towards where the others were sitting, “That’s why we have them.”

Keir tapped his finger against the scanner, “What do you think we’ll find on the new planet?”

James frowned, “Probably nothing. But Seraphina insisted that there was going to be a race of people who would be willing to help.”

“You don’t trust her?”

James looked at his friend, “Of course I do!” he said defensively.

Keir shrugged and stared out the window.

After a couple of minutes, James called out, “Hey, guys!” he turned around, “Mind if I take a look at the message?”

Evangelise came over with a tablet with the words: Ing, watch, is, he, others, are, there, you , for, ing, come, is, death, mercy, no, have, I, here, come, to, you, of, wrong, was, it. written on it.

“Well, these words can’t make up a sentence that makes sense.” James commented to himself, “The only thing that actually makes sense is ‘others are there’. The rest make up choppy phrases that belong in larger sentences.” he wanted to hit the wall with his head.

“Read the words out loud?” Keir asked.

James repeated the list of words then asked, “Why? Did you find something?”

Keir frowned, “Read them again?”

He did.

“You find something, Keir?” Rowan poked his head into the navigator’s room.

“I think I did.” Keir grabbed his screen and said, “Read the words backwards, James.”

James said, “Uh… okay,” he looked at the tablet one more time, “It was wrong of you to…” he faltered as he continued reading. Now he saw it. It was wrong of you to come here. I have no mercy. Death is coming for you. There are others. He is watching. 

“You figured it out!” James cried.

Keir nodded, “Yeah, but it’s kind of disturbing, don’t you think?”

“Okay, so right now, we need to figure out who’s He and what in the world are the others?”

“They could be extraterrestrials?” James turned around and saw the entire group crowded in the navigator’s room.

“Wait!” Seraphina gasped, “The Others! In that vision with the little boy, he kept mentioning the Others. I asked him who they were, but he said I didn’t need to know.”

“So this message could be sent by the little boy?” Rowan frowned, “But that was a boy, and this message was recorded by a girl.”

“Who knows what that boy has in mind?” Seraphina shook her head, “He was crazy. Probably a genius, but insane nevertheless!”

“That or both people are insane and talking about the same thing.” Keir sighed, “Either way, we can’t think about that anymore. We’re off to a distant civilization that we know nothing about because our own planet is in danger.”

“What if the Others are responsible for the war that’s about to happen?” Clarabelle said.

“Again, who the heck are the Others?” Rowan threw up his arms, “Geez, why do these things have to be so hard?”

“If it’s not, then it wouldn’t be as interesting!” Seraphina smiled.

“I would rather have a World War to be straightforward and not complicated, thank you very much.” Rowan nodded.

“Not possible, my friend.” James shook his head, “Wars are never simple. They’re never simple to begin with, and they can never end simply just like that.” he snapped his fingers.

Rowan sighed dramatically, “If only the world would look upon us lowly mortals with kindness!” he sounded like he was reciting a script from a play.

Evangelise leaned against the wall, “No can do, Rowan.” she said, “I’ve studied wars–”

“Of course you have.” Rowan mumbled.

“and it’s always the same thing.” she said, “Simple arguments or disputes, but people have to make them complicated. Sometimes the right thing to do is right in front of them, but they’re too stubborn or scared to see it. That’s how most wars are started.”

“Uh, Keir?” Clarabelle pointed, “What’s that on your scanner?”

They looked.

“It’s a planet!” Keir practically jumped out of his seat, “And it’s inhabited too!”

Rowan

Keir looked at him, “Rowan, this is your time to shine.”

He grinned and cracked his knuckles, “Yes, it is.” he looked at everyone, “Okay, so you guys have to all look as friendly as possible, but not to the point where they suspect us, alright? Be polite, but sometimes defensive. If they ask to come aboard, Keir, you have to ask why. It’s all in the head.” he tapped his temples, “If you agree, agree reluctantly. If they’re hostile, all of you guys keep your mouths shut.”

Rowan was excited and nervous at the same time. He tried to tell himself that he’s done this a million times, and also tried to ignore the fact that 9/10 of the times are actually just simulations.

No time for jokes. Unless, of course, if this race is a fun race, not a formal and business race, then I guess I can joke all I want? He thought to himself.

“You look nervous.” Evangelise said.

“Me? Nervous? Pfft. Yeah right!” Rowan waved his hand dismissively.

“You do know that most of the time when people say they’re not nervous it means they’re nervous, right?” James said.

“But if that’s the case, then I can’t deny that I feel nervous, because if I said I’m nervous, then you guys’ll know I’m nervous. If I deny the fact that I’m nervous, then you’ll assume I’m just saying that! So what am I supposed to say when I’m nervous to deny the fact that I’m nervous so you guys won’t believe that I’m nervous when I’m actually really nervous?” He asked.

Everyone looked at him.

“Uh… so you’re nervous?” Seraphina asked timidly.

“Ugh.” he threw up his arms, “Forget it!”

“I literally had no idea what you just said.” Keir shook his head. “But okay.”

As they got closer, though, ten ships came out to greet them, but not in a friendly way.

“Their weapons are all powered up.” Evangelise leaned forward, “I don’t think they like us trespassing.”

“Incoming transmission.” the computer said.

“Hello.” Rowan spoke into the intercom.

A man’s… face appeared on the glass. They were a totally different race. Their skin was glowing, and their eyes were completely black. The top of their heads were smooth and reached up, while tentacles dangled from their jaws and chins.

“Whoa…” James whispered, “mind flayers!”

“Mind… what?” Keir frowned and looked at him.

Rowan swallowed. His and his friends’ lives depend on him now, “I apologize if we’re trespassing. But we only have a couple of questions to ask. And then we’ll leave you in peace.”

A white dot appeared in the middle of the creature’s eyes. They grew larger and larger until they took up half of their black eyes. Their tentacles curled and they made a bunch of noises that Rowan was unfamiliar with.

Great. You prepared me for everything else but not this. When it really matters. He mentally slapped his teacher.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t understand your language.” Rowan held up his hands in a peaceful way.

Their tentacles started twitching and their eyes turned completely white, which was really freaky. Rowan wasn’t sure what to do.

“Um… I think they’re angry.” Seraphina muttered.

Rowan wasn’t sure what to do now, and his heart was beating really fast. So fast that he barely heard what Seraphina said. What if they fire before they are able to defend themselves? What if their friends died because of him? He couldn’t have that happening! Keir almost died because of what he said. Rowan wasn’t prepared to carry the burden even into death!

The creatures’s tentacles went limp and the transmission ended. A split second afterwards, all ten ships fired simultaneously.

---

Rowan didn’t know what was going on. Evangelise yelled something and ran for the weapons system. James spun the ship around and took a ninety degree dive. Even with James’s expertise, the creatures caught up quite easily.

“Left! Go left!” Keir shouted.

“I can’t go left! I’ll crash into the ships!” James yelled back.

“Just do it!” Keir roared.

James jerked to the left and charged towards the line of fire.

Rowan, who was somehow still standing, watched as their cruiser twisted through the ten battleships.

“Evangelise, disable them!” Keir ordered.

“James, hold still for once!”

“I can’t!” Rowan didn’t even flinch when a missile grazed a wing.

Clarabelle grabbed onto the back of Keir’s seat, “Why can’t we just retreat?” she shrieked, “We risk injury if we continue this!”

“They’ll follow us.” Keir said firmly.

“You don’t know that.” Clarabelle snapped, “They may be scared and only trying to defend themselves.”

James nodded, “You know what? I’m siding with her.” he dropped out of the battlefield and headed towards the more distant planets of the star system.

Evangelise shouted, “Hey! I haven’t finished yet!”

“Change of plans!” James yelled back and turned around to look at Rowan, “Dude, are you okay?”

“Look out!” Keir screamed.

“Wha–” he turned back around and pulled the ship around just as something went off.

“They have detonation missiles?” Clarabelle paled.

“Apparently.” Rowan finally snapped back to reality and went to check on Evangelise and Seraphina.

Evangelise was carrying an unconscious Seraphina on her shoulders. “She was thrown into the wall.” she said grimly, “And was caught in the temple.”

“Clarabelle!” Rowan shouted.

“Yes?” she came running down the hall, “Yeah, what is it?” her expression changed when she saw Seraphina injured. Blood was dripping onto the floor, forming a puddle.

Clarabelle grabbed a piece of cloth hanging from the wall of the cargo and weapons bay. She then pressed it onto Seraphina’s wound, “Put her down on the bed.” she said.

Evangelise put Seraphina on the bottom bunk and watched as Clarabelle pressed the cloth onto her wound.

“What happened exactly?” Clarabelle asked.

“One moment we were aiming for their weapons system, and the next thing I knew we were thrown off balance by an explosion or something and Seraphina got caught in the head when she hit the wall.”

“Okay, everyone out of the room.” she ordered.

Evangelise and Rowan stepped outside and closed the door just as Keir came from the navigator’s room.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“Seraphina’s wounded and she’s bleeding from the head.” Rowan replied, then added when Keir went for the door, “You can’t go in. Clarabelle’s treating her injury right now.”

Keir wrapped his hand around the doorknob but did as he was told.

“Are they gone?” Evangelise asked.

“Yes.” Keir slumped against the wall, “We’re safe now.”

---

“This is my fault.” Rowan said. It’s my fault we got into this mess. It’s my fault Seraphina’s injured. And it’s my fault Keir or James isn’t eating or sleeping.

“Blaming yourself isn’t going to change anything.” Evangelise said.

“It can make me feel worse. Which is exactly what I deserve.” Rowan muttered, resisting the urge to bang his head against the steel walls.

“Listen, with both Keir and James sulking in bed, and with Clare treating Seraphina, the only people left to operate the ship is the two of us.” she folded her hands on the table, “So let’s pull it together and do something productive.”

“What do you suggest I do without hurting anyone again?” Rowan put his face into his hands and commented bitterly.

Evangelise ignored it, “I am going to pilot, and you are going to sit with me.” she went to the navigator’s room, “And we should take turns bringing Clarabelle food. That girl hasn’t eaten since yesterday.”

“So hasn’t Keir and James.” Rowan protested.

“That doesn’t make them immune to starvation.” she sat down in the pilot’s seat, “Okay, we’re two days away from a trading post. Maybe we can get supplies there.”

Rowan wanted to continue blaming himself for everything, but, to be honest, he didn’t want Evangelise managing everything by herself either, so he pushed all other thoughts away and focused on what was going on, but with difficulty, of course, “What supplies do we need, though?”

“Weapons.” Evangelise answered, “And we need information regarding the star Olympus.”

“Isn’t someone going to watch over the ship?” Rowan asked.

“No. They have places that we can park safely.” Evangelise replied.

“So we’ll stock up on pretty much everything.” Rowan perked up, “Ooh, if I find–”

“No.” Evangelise said.

“How about a–”

“No.” she said again.

“But…” Rowan slumped, “Geez, you’re no fun.”

“We’ll spend our money on something useful.”

“But a souvenir is important too! Memories are what makes us!” Rowan was pretty sure that was a quote from somewhere.

Evangelise paused for a moment, then sighed, closed her eyes and said quietly, “Fine…”

Rowan grinned.

“But,” she added, “Don’t tell the others I let you.”

“I will! I mean, I won’t!” Rowan corrected himself.

“And it can’t be too expensive.” she shook her head, “I feel like I’m your mother.”

“Trust me.” Rowan chuckled, “I’d be running away from home if you were my mother.”

Evangelise glared at him and he laughed.

“Guys?” James’s weak voice came from behind them.

They turned. “Hey! James!” Rowan stood up and threw out his arms, expecting a hug.

He looked at him and Rowan dropped his hands, “So what’s up? How’s Keir?”

“Yeah, about that.” James rubbed his shoulder, “He’s not feeling really well. And I don’t think me being in our room is helping anyone. So let me pilot. I’m fine.” he went for the pilot’s seat.

Evangelise blocked his path, “Hold up, James.” she said, “You look like you came back from the dead! Something bad happened, right?”

James looked weary, “Like I said, I’m fine.” he pushed past them and sat down in the pilot’s seat.

“James, buddy!” Rowan leaned in, “Talk to me, dude! I feel like you guys are ignoring me!”

“Go talk to Keir, not me. I’m not the one needing counseling.” James muttered.

Rowan looked at the door to their room. Evangelise sat down next to James, so that left Rowan the position to go talk to Keir.

Keir was lying on his back with his eyes closed. His hands were folded on his stomach and he looked like he was dead.

Rowan poked his friend, “Hey, you dead?”

“Yes.” he grumbled.

“Oh.” Rowan sat down on the bed from across the room, “So, do you want to be ejected into space, buried, or cremated? Because I’m your bestest buddy, and I’m pretty sure the insurance policy states that it doesn’t cover dying from depression, so do you want me or James to break the news to your parents?”

Keir didn’t answer.

Rowan sighed dramatically, “I guess we just have to go to prison because you died with us keeping you company.”

“Rowan, go away.” Keir said flatly.

He wasn’t sure if he heard him correctly. “Go away?” Rowan grinned, “Come on, you don’t mean that! Listen, I get that you have a crush on Seraphina–”

“Leave.” Keir repeated.

“Okay, man, listen.” Rowan said, his voice hinting that he was getting a bit upset, “No one expects you to be happy happy rainbows and unicorns after what happened. Your spine is still healing, your parents may be in danger, and Seraphina got injured. But it’s been six hours, and James’s up and running. Doing something… anything, may make you feel better than just lying here and listening to me lecture about life.”

“Leave me alone.” Keir said, his voice cold.

“Dude!” Rowan stood up, starting to loose his temper, “Everyone’s tired and worried, including myself! But you don’t see me sulking, do you? Granted, your broken spine prevents you from doing a lot of things–”

“Shut up!” Keir was no longer lying down. He was, in fact, on his feet, and his eyes were blazing with anger, “Shut up and leave, Rowan!”

Rowan knew he was supposed to be worried about Keir walking around like that. The doctor said he was supposed to be resting for at least a month, but it hasn’t been two weeks yet.

“Don’t tell me to shut up, Keir.” Rowan held up his hands, “I’m only trying to help!”

“You’re not helping me, and you lecturing to me isn’t going to heal my broken spine or Seraphina.” Keir braced his hand against the bunk bed. “So instead of wasting your time here, why don’t you go back into the navigator’s room and be useful.”

“Says the guy who’s sulking in bed!” all of his previous diplomacy lessons went out the window. His friend was being a total jerk.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” James walked into the room.

“Great, now I have to deal with both of you!” Keir muttered.

“Excuse me?” James was taken aback, “I just asked what was going on in here! I heard Rowan raise his voice–”

“You tell Keir,” Rowan said angrily, “that until he stops being an ass, he can stay in here for as long as he wants. Since he’s his ‘magnificent royal majesty’!” he said with bitter sarcasm.

“Don’t you take that tone out on me.” Keir sounded like he was about to murder someone.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” James got between them, “Rowan, you’re supposed to be the diplomatic one. If Keir doesn’t want to talk to you, then leave.”

He gaped, “I was just trying to–”

“Rowan, you can never help anyone, so stop trying.” Keir snapped.

Those words hit him like blows to the head. This was Keir. He didn’t mean it… Rowan tried to convince himself that he didn’t mean it, but all he felt was hurt and anger.

James glared at Keir, “That was way too harsh, Keir.”

“He’s always laughing and smiling.” Keir said dismissively, “He doesn’t care.”

Rowan wanted to cry. He did care. He cared about it more than anything else in the world. He was self conscious, even when he convinced people otherwise. He wanted to help people, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t have the courage to fight, nor was he brave enough to pick up a scalpel and treat somebody. The only thing he was able to do was to talk. Talk and hope the other side would agree with him.

But the hurt quickly gave way to resentment and hate. Right now, all he wanted to do was to strangle the crown prince. He didn’t care if Keir was his best friend since they were kids. And even if he was executed for murdering him, he didn’t care.

James was yelling at Keir. He seemed extremely angry as well.

“Keir, what the hell are you talking about? Rowan has feelings too, you know! Not everyone’s calm and composed like you!”

Keir laughed coldly, “Calm and composed, you say? Why do you think I’m in here instead of helping out there, James?”

“Because you’re his majesty.” Rowan clenched his fists to keep them from wrapping around Keir’s throat.

“Don’t call me that.”

“You don’t like it?”

This time Evangelise came inside, “What are the three of you doing?” she demanded.

“No, and you know what? Maybe half bloods like you and your family should return from where you came from: the plantations.”

His anger snapped and Rowan screamed, lunging for his friend. Once his fingers dug into Keir’s neck, he started shaking him violently. Keir, with his weak spine, wasn’t able to kick him off, but he was able to fight back with his hands, and that was what he did. He started throttling Rowan back.

Evangelise pulled Rowan off, “ENOUGH!” she roared.

But Rowan barely heard her. All he heard was the blood roaring in his ears as he went for Keir again, this time with his fists clenched.

Keir charged like a bull and shoved Rowan against the steel wall. James tried to push them apart, but nothing the other two were doing was working.

“Oh my god!” Clarabelle’s voice shook. “What is going on here?”

Rowan grabbed Keir’s head and threw him against the bunk beds. There was a huge thump and Keir hissed.

Evangelise got between them and put up her hands to separate the two, “I said, ENOUGH!” she repeated, her voice authoritative.

“He insulted my family!” Rowan yelled and pointed at Keir.

“Rowan, you’re a diplomat–” James started.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t get angry!” Rowan started forward again, but James held him back.

“Hey, Rowan, Rowan.” James pulled him towards the door, “Come with me.”

Clarabelle followed James and Rowan into the dining room. Rowan didn’t want to sit down, though. He didn’t even want to talk. All he wanted to do was bash Keir’s head into the wall.

Rowan leaned against the wall and held up his hands, “Okay, okay, I’m cool.” he said.

“No, you’re not.” James pulled out a chair and pointed at it, “Sit down.”

“I told you, I’m fine!” Rowan repeated.

“James, I think you should let him stand there.” Clarabelle said quietly.

“Thank you!” Rowan nodded at Clarabelle, “It seems like you’re the only one here who actually tries listens to my opinion.”

“Rowan…” James buried his face into his hands and shook his head, “Listen, we’ve never had this happen before! Why are you two so on edge all of the sudden?”

“He started it, not me.” Rowan didn’t care if he sounded like a child. He had a right to voice his opinion.

“How did you two even start this argument?” James asked wearily, rubbing his temples.

“I was trying to tell him that Seraphina would be fine, and he just… exploded all of the sudden. I don’t know… maybe because I mentioned his broken spine. But that doesn’t give him an excuse to insult me and my family.”

“People say a lot of things when they’re angry and scared, Rowan.” Clarabelle bit her lip, “But it’s not their fault. You can’t expect them to be calm and composed all the time. We’re only human.”

“It’s easy for you to say. I doubt you’ve ever had your emotions burst, since you’re trained to do so.”

Clarabelle’s eyes clouded with pain, “That’s not true.”

“If you’re angry, Rowan, don’t take it out on her.” James said, “I agree what Keir said was very…”

“Hurtful.” Rowan offered.

“Yes. And what he said to you was indeed unforgivable. But that doesn’t give you an excuse to kill the prince.”

“I wasn’t killing him.”

“His face was purple.” James told him, “But like I was saying, you went a bit too far when you started strangling him.”

“So I’m allowed to beat the crap out of him but not choke him, got it.” Rowan nodded.

Clarabelle folded her hands, “Rowan, this is serious.” she said pleadingly.

“I’m sick of being serious!” Rowan snapped, “I’m sick of Keir ignoring us for Seraphina. I’m sick of Evangelise taking everything in like it’s a funeral! I need someone to prank somebody!”

“But didn’t we–” Clarabelle started, but then stopped herself.

James gave her a curious look, but didn’t pay any more attention to her as he turned back to Rowan, “Complaining about it won’t change anything, so you might as well face it.”

Rowan stood up, “I’m leaving. I don’t have time for this.”

“Rowan–”

“Not everyone’s like you and Keir, James. Not everyone can lock up their emotions and expect everything to be alright.” Rowan didn’t even look back as he went into one of the escape pods to sit down.

Evangelise

Evangelise docked at the docking port and looked out the window.

“That’s a pretty big planet.” She commented.

James nodded besides her, “Yep.” he got up, “Alright, what’s on the list?”

“We’re finding the best weapons on the planet and getting our hands on those. Then we’re going to stock up on resources.” she looked back at the corridor where Rowan was in the escape pods. She wondered if he still wanted that souvenir he talked about two days ago.

“So who’s going down?”

“Keir doesn’t seem like he’s in the mood, and so doesn’t Rowan. Seraphina’s still being treated so Clarabelle can’t go down either…” Evangelise looked at James, “I guess it’s just us two.”

“That’s fine with me.” James nodded and stood up, “Let’s go.”

---

They took a shuttle down to the surface of the planet. The people there looked relatively human except for a few things that fly past them so quickly that neither of them were able to catch what they were. Their language sounded similar to theirs, but it was like shopping in a totally different continent.

“Uh… do you speak English?” James asked one of them.

He looked up, “A bit.” he replied.

So they did speak their language!

“Cool.” James nodded, “Where’s the weapon merchant?”

“I… I’m sorry…” the guy looked apologetic, “I cannot understand what… last two words mean?”

“Oh.” James spoke slowly, “Is there a person who can speak our language?” he said this while gesturing with his hands.

He tilted his head, “Um…” he pointed at a building down the street, “There. Ends in a few minutes.”

“What ends in a few minutes?”

“Education.”

Evangelise and James thanked the man and walked to what they assumed was the schoolhouse.

The teacher seemed to talk about math. Their symbols were different, but Evangelise recognised the equations and pictures.

Then a deep sound rang through the classroom and the teacher waved her hand dismissively.

They walked in and went up to the teacher, “Excuse me?” Evangelise said.

She looked up, “Different language?”

“Yes.” James nodded, “The guy at the stall,” he pointed out to the market, “said you’d know how to speak our language. Or something like that.”

The teacher shook her head, “Not me. Him.” she pointed and called out, “Keith!”

Evangelise and James both turned and spotted a young man. His hair was black with his bangs dyed silver. His eyes were brown, and he wore a very formal white shirt and black vest. He looked at them curiously.

“Hello.” his English was almost flawless. “Can I help you?”

“Yes.” James nodded, “Do you know where the weapons merchant is?”

His eyes narrowed, “Why?”

“We kind of ran into a hostile race, and we’re afraid we’ll run into more.” Evangelise said, “Plus, we need to stock up anyways.”

“If you want access to weapons, you’ll have to ask my father, not me.” he shoved his hands into his pockets, “Visitors? No, you don’t seem like the type. And you don’t speak the International dialect… who are you?” he walked out of the schoolhouse and Evangelise and James followed.

“We’re from another planet.” Evangelise said, “A place called Eira.”

“Eira?” Keith nodded, “I’ve heard of it. I’m speaking its language, aren’t I?”

“Yes, we know.” Evangelise said, “But we need supplies for a journey.”

“I would ask where you were going,” Keith blinked, “but I guess you’ll just tell me it’s none of my business…” he closed his eyes and sighed, “Alright.” he held out his hands like he was expecting a hug.

“Um…” James eyed them uncertainly.

“You don’t have wings, do you?”

“Wings?” Evangelise choked.

Huge metallic wings shot out of Keith’s back and flapped twice. Evangelise and James jumped back and almost stumbled.

They were around two and a half meters long and were made of thin, flexible metal. On his wings were glowing blue symbols.

“It’s a long and dark story.” he said, his tone heavy, “I don’t think I’m ready to share it with you just yet.”

Evangelise fumbled for his arm, still staring at his wings. These people have wings! She thought, and it seemed like the only thing going through her head.

After they both took hold of his arms, he took two steps forward and shot into the air. Evangelise screamed and tightened her grip.

“Ow.” Keith mumbled, “Watch it.”

Evangelise felt her stomach in her throat and all her limbs go numb. Keith took a sharp dive down to the market and glided through the stalls and tents. The people didn’t even look up and Evangelise assumed that everyone here was used to people with wings.

“I’ll take you to my father.” he said, “You can tell him about it.”

“You trust us?” Evangelise managed to say. Strangers rarely trust strangers, and Evangelise wasn’t sure if she was ready to trust Keith yet.

“Well, what are you going to do? Set the market on fire? Kill my family?” he snorted, “Whatever your mind can conjure up, trust me, we’ve been through worse.”

“I’m sorry,” James started, “but what exactly have you guys been through lately? If I were you, I wouldn’t trust us.”

Keith glanced at him, “Consider yourselves fortunate, then.” he said.

---

Evangelise never liked flying a shuttle, much less flying in the air where there’s gravity. Their homes were in the mountains, which made sense, because they didn’t want any visitors climbing up the mountain and into their homes. And since their houses were up in the mountains, there is no way visitors can get up there without wings or some form of transportation.

At the bottom of the mountains were the homes for the commoners and citizens of the city. And at the very top were where all the important people lived.

“There are ten houses left on the face of Tridaria. I belong in one of the two major houses. I’m the youngest son.” Keith said.

“So… does each citizen belong in a house?” James asked, looking like he was about to go sick.

“No.” Keith didn’t seem to notice, “Each house governs a small portion of the land or is in charge of the economy, politics, etc. But my house, House Maelis, controls the trade of the entire planet, and the other major house, House Grethiim, is the family of the head governor. He’s sort of the leader of the governing council.”

“So is it a democracy or dictatorship?”

“Mm…” Keith shrugged, “I’m not really sure, actually. You know, I don’t really tangle myself in politics.” He suddenly stopped and dropped down.

“WATCH IT!” Evangelise roared.

“Sorry.” Keith landed smoothly and let go of James and Evangelise. “This is my home.”

The entire complex was built upon a huge rock in between three waterfalls. There was a marble arch at the front of the rock, facing outwards with what Evangelise assumed to be the house symbol carved into the arch. There was a gray stone path leading through a garden with trimmed hedges and tall trees covered in blooming flowers. At the edge of the two sides of the garden was a railing, and beyond that was a sheer drop down the side of the rock.

The house itself was just as beautiful.

The ceiling was made of glass, and the doors were metal with the house symbol engraved onto them. Above the door, on the second floor, was a balcony with two chairs. The windows were all floor to ceiling, and Evangelise can see the kitchen and living room. There were plants on the walls and it looked like a greenhouse.

“Whoa!” Evangelise gasped, “You have a marvelous house!”

“Thank you.” Keith nodded and started down the path, “Come on.”

The doors opened when Keith stepped near them.

“Father!” Keith shouted as he walked through the threshold.

The ceiling was glass, and sunlight shined through, warming the entire room. The couches were arranged in a circle, and in the center was a table. There were three archways. One was on the left which led to the kitchen and dining room. One was on the right which led to a library. The last one was on the other side of the room and it led up a spiral staircase.

“Keith!” there were rapid footsteps down the staircase and a girl with long auburn hair and light green eyes ran through the archway.

“KEEEEEEEE–OOF!” the girl tripped over the carpet and fell onto one of the couch.

“Aurelie.” Keith gave her a small smile.

She sprang back onto her feet, “Hey!” she smiled at Evangelise and James, “My name’s Aurelie! What’s yours?”

“You… you speak–” James started.

“You’re obviously visitors! You don’t have the mark of the Tridarians, so I can only assume you’re not from here!”

“Well, my name’s Evangelise.”

“And I’m James.”

“Keith!” a man’s voice called from upstairs.

Keith crossed the room, “Father.” he waved at James and Evangelise, “These two… visitors from Eira.”

“Eira?” the man coming down the stairs looked more like Aurelie. They had the same auburn hair and light green eyes, but he had higher cheekbones like Keith. “We rarely have visitors from Eira.”

“But you know how to speak our language?” Evangelise pointed out.

“Yes. It was one of my duties to learn the languages of various planets. Being the overseer of all trades.” the man looked at them curiously, “What are your names?”

“James.”

“Evangelise.”

“I am Zephyr Maelis.” he sat down on the couch, “Sit, please.”

Aurelie sat down.

“Not you, Aurelie.” Zephyr said.

“But I–”

“Aurelie, just go.” Keith pointed at the library.

She slid off the couch, “I never get to do anything fun.” she muttered to herself.

Evangelise sat and so did James.

“So why did you bring them here?” Zephyr asked Keith.

“They want to trade for some of our weapons.” Keith said.

“Whoa, whoa… okay.” Zephyr shook his head, “First off, weapons are off limits, but you already know that, Keith, so I’m assuming you’re coming to me for my permission, yes?” that question was directed to James and Evangelise.

They nodded.

“Two, nobody comes to trade for weapons anymore. There hasn’t been a war since who knows when, so might I ask why you want weapons?”

“That involves telling you our destination.” James said, “And I don’t think we should share that information.”

“What you say will never be repeated outside of these walls.” Zephyr promised.

Evangelise could tell James was still hesitant. And she couldn’t blame him. They never knew why these people could be the ones they were looking for, or the ones who have been trying to kill them, or the ones who deliberately put the recording of Annette there for them to find.

Then again, Zephyr and Keith seem like ordinary people. They haven’t proven themselves as hostile people yet, and Aurelie seemed like an ordinary younger sister. And Keith mentioned the race’s dark background. Maybe the ones who gave them metal wings had something to do with what they were looking for?

Before Evangelise could consult with James, he started repeating the events of the past few weeks.

“One of our friends had a vision, and in that vision, there was a ten year old boy who kept repeating the Others–”

Keith choked and Zephyr’s face turned grim.

Evangelise blinked, “So you know something?”

Zephyr clenched his jaw, “Why do you want to know about them?”

“Our prince has been receiving visions about destruction, and a few weeks ago, bombs have been activated throughout our city. We came out seeking answers.” James said.

“Ah… the curiosity of mankind never ceases to amaze me.” Zephyr murmured to himself.

“Excuse me?” Evangelise said.

“You haven’t told them of our history, have you, Keith?” Zephyr ignored her.

Keith shook his head, “No. I haven’t. I didn’t think they needed to know.”

“Well obviously they do need to know.” Zephyr stood up, “I’m calling the Stone Guild.”

“STONE GUILD?” Aurelie stumbled out of the library, “Can I come?”

“Aurelie, you shouldn’t–”

“But I promised Kiro that I’d come to visit!” Aurelie’s wings shot out and Evangelise flinched.

Keith sighed, “I… I guess–”

“YES! YES!” she started jumping up and down before running towards the door and taking off.

“What’s the Stone Guild?” James asked.

“The Stone Guild was one of the first leaders we had when we first arrived here.” Zephyr explained, “They have a complete archive of our history, and they’re the only ones who have access to the Labyrinth.”

“The Labyrinth?” Evangelise echoed.

“Yes. A very complex underground lab that… he used to work in.” Zephyr’s voice was strained.

Keith unfolded his wings, “I’ll meet you there, then?”

“Yes.” Zephyr nodded, “And make sure no one sees you.”

Evangelise didn’t have time to ask what he meant before Keith lifted them up and flew out of the house.

Seraphina

Her head was spinning, and there was a throbbing pain in her temples. But she managed to sit up and look around.

She was in her bunk bed, and it seemed like everyone’s already woken up. All Seraphina remembered was slipping in and out of unconsciousness. Sometimes Clarabelle would be there, other times she wouldn’t. The only clear memory she had was she and Evangelise firing at the hostile creatures that tried to kill them.

Seraphina used the wall to steady herself as she pushed herself up. She trudged out of the room and into the living room.

Clarabelle was scrolling up and down a screen, but the others were nowhere to be seen.

“Clare.” Seraphina’s voice was raspy.

She looked up, “Seraphina!” she cried and shot to her feet, “You’re awake! Why are you awake? You’re not supposed to be awake!”

Keir came bolting down the hallway from the dining room, “Seraphina!” he breathed.

“I’m fine, Clare. Really.” Seraphina massaged her temples, “Just a minor headache.”

“So the oracle awakens!” Rowan came out from one of the escape pods. His eyes were sunken, like he hadn’t slept for a while, and his smile seemed forced. Which was a bit unusual for Rowan. He was always smiling and joking. Why the sudden change of behaviour?

Keir looked at her, “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes.” she nodded, “Perfectly fine.” she looked around, but found no signs of Evangelise or James. “Hey, where’s–”

“A lot has happened while you were knocked out.” Clarabelle explained, “We came across a planet–”

“Not more hostile civilizations, I hope?” Seraphina didn’t want to have slept through an entire battle.

“No, don’t worry. They were peaceful, and James and Evangelise took an escape pod down to trade.”

“Ah, I see.” Seraphina nodded, “So, what can I do?”

“You need rest, Seraphina.” Clarabelle said gently, “You should lie down.”

“I’ve been lying down for days, alright?” Seraphina waved her off, “I’ve had enough rest. What I need now is food!” she declared, and her stomach growled as if it agreed strongly.

“Well, it’s lunch time anyways.” Clarabelle nodded, “Let’s get something to eat.”

“I’m thinking steak.” Keir said.

Seraphina looked at Rowan, “Alright, what about you? What do you want to eat?”

For a moment, Rowan looked annoyed. “No. I’m not hungry.” he said flatly.

“Really? But you’ve been complaining since this morning–” Clarabelle started.

“If he’s not hungry, then fine.” Keir snapped, “He doesn’t have to join us.”

Seraphina was taken aback. Something definitely happened between Rowan and Keir. They were best friends. Something big must’ve happened to sever their relationship.

“Keir, you don’t have to be so–” Clarabelle started.

“You know what? It’s fine.” Rowan muttered bitterly, “His highness clearly doesn’t want half bloods to dine with him.”

“Rowan, don’t say that–” Clarabelle pleaded.

Keir spun around and headed towards the dining hall without another word. Rowan growled and went to the bedroom.

“Uh… what happened? Somebody brainwash them or something so they recognize each other as mortal enemies?” Seraphina tried for humor.

The young healer sighed, “Prince Keir has been under a lot of stress since you went unconscious. And… you know how stress leads to frustration, and frustration leads to anger. Prince Keir had a fight with Rowan a few days ago.”

“Wow, how big of a fight was it?”

Clarabelle pursed her lips, “I don’t think I should tell you that just yet.”

They entered the dining hall and found Keir with a stack of screens and papers. On the table was the food they requested.

“So, I’ve mapped out the timeline according to our visions.” Keir said, clearly not wanting to talk about Rowan, “And I noticed that, although they depict different things each time, they all have the exact same theme: the end of the human race. And as we receive more visions, they come more frequently, and they become clearer.”

“What does that have to do with anything, though?” Seraphina asked.

“Maybe someone is sending you these visions?” Clarabelle suggested.

“Yeah? How?” Seraphina challenged.

Clarabelle tapped at her temples, “A transmitter implanted into your brain.”

“Oh, gross!” Seraphina shuddered at the thought of a metal device in her brain. It was like she was a cyborg, and soon the device would take over and grow all over her body until–

“I highly doubt that, but I’ll consider it as a possibility for now.” Keir nodded, “But back to the visions… look at this. I drew this when I was seven years old.”

Seraphina leaned over the table. Keir’s drawing was almost undecipherable. It was a bunch of plain gray colouring all over the paper, but at the corner was a small speck of purple and red.

“And… why did you draw this?” Seraphina asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.” he took out another drawing, “This I drew five days afterwards.”

Now the red and purple stretched all over the gray on the paper, like vines… or like a shattered mirror. The purple and red were the cracks, and the gray was the glass.

“And this time, I wrote something in the back.” he flipped it over and it read: Purple and red are great. Gray is not.

“This is getting creepy.” Seraphina commented.

Keir shrugged, “I was a weird kid.” he was silent a moment, then he said, “Seraphina… back at the hospital… how did you know I was about to receive a vision?”

She smiled to herself, “First tell me why you crash landed. You forgot to mention that detail.”

Keir leaned back in his chair, “I received a vision in the middle of my flight, and I lost control, and I crash landed.” there. Simple.

“Ah, yes, but alas, what I want to hear is the vision itself.” Seraphina said.

Keir sighed, “My vision fogged, then a golden light flashed through my eyes and the next thing I knew I was staring down at a city. But it wasn’t like any city I’ve ever seen.” he sounded like he was lost in his own thoughts, “The buildings were colorful, and they all had different styles. Some were red, others were gray, and some even had walls made of glass and metal. But down the streets there were trees planted on the sidewalks, and there were fields of grass and groves of trees in the city. Children played in them like it was the most normal thing in the world.”

This caught Seraphina’s attention. Most humans have always found the idea of a living organism without a mind weird and even creepy. She didn’t know where that idea came from.

“Trees and grasslands?” Clarabelle sounded interested as well, “Humans have never settled on the idea of planting greenery anywhere near cities, much less in cities.”

“Exactly my point.” Keir folded his hands, “I think these visions are depicting something outside of our world. More specifically, another planet.”

“The one we’re headed towards right now?”

“Yes.” he nodded.

“But… what’s so special about this planet?” Seraphina said, “So a couple of civilizations don’t mind trees in their cities. So what?”

“This civilization is the one we are trying to find, Seraphina.” Keir said in a hushed voice, “The one that can help us in this war!”

“Oh…”

“We also have to consider the events that have happened during this entire trip.” Clarabelle took a piece of paper out and started writing, “First, we found old files from the military that recorded all the murders and kidnaps we’ve had these past years. And I recognized Alex Star as Dante.” she looked up, “The two of them looked extremely similar.”

“And so did many others.” Seraphina said, “And in the recordings of their interviews, some of them claimed that they were unconscious of doing all those deeds. And when we scanned their memories, it was true, they didn’t seem to remember themselves doing anything wrong.”

“Then Dante came into the room and tried to kill us.” her voice shook, “I think that he’s… he’s like the ones who claimed they were unconscious of killing or kidnapping people.”

“Whoa, whoa… Clarabelle,” Seraphina held up a hand, “what are you suggesting? That there’s a secret organization who sends both conscious and unconscious agents to kill and kidnap people?”

Clarabelle looked at her, “You read my mind.” she said.

“But it makes sense.” Keir said, “All except one thing… why would someone send clones, both conscious and unconscious of their actions, to kill and kidnap people?”

“For fun?” Seraphina suggested, “I know it sounds sick and cruel, but there are people like that out there, and we must consider every option.”

“Then this same organization is bombing my father’s cities and terrorizing my people?” Keir’s knuckles turned white.

“That’s my theory.” Seraphina nodded.

“But remember the recording?” Clarabelle said, “She said she was surprised we didn’t take the bait. So the bombings were just to lure us back into the city.” she looked at the prince, “Your highness, I think someone’s trying to assassinate the royal family.”

Keir turned pale, “Assassinate…” he faltered.

“I mean, think about it! Why kill a diplomat, a pilot, a doctor in training, a soldier, and a teenage girl? You were among the group, Prince Keir, so luring us into the city would mean certain death for you.”

“Or they know Keir and I receive visions and want to be rid of us.” Seraphina suggested.

“Because… because the visions you receive have something to do with them!” the entire thing connected all of the sudden, “They know you receive visions regarding them, and they know you learned of a civilization that can help us dispose of them, so they bomb the cities, hoping to kill you. Then when that failed, they killed off everyone on that intact ship floating in space, knowing we would come across it. After we activated the ship and said the words, it came chasing after us, hoping to finish us off!” Clarabelle said excitedly.

“That leads us to the hostile race of creatures Rowan wasn’t able to communicate with.” Keir said thoughtfully.

“Well, either that’s just a coincidence, or it had something to do with our terrorist organization.” Seraphina shrugged.

“I’d say it’s a coincidence.” Keir said, “We have no proof that those creatures were under the influence of this organization.”

“We have to look out for the next attack.” Keir concluded after a brief pause, “I’ll get Evangelise to ready all weapons, and we should be armed at all times.”

“Even in our sleep?” Seraphina asked. She didn’t like the idea of hugging a knife like it was a stuffed animal.

But Keir nodded grimly, “Yes.”

Clarabelle pursed her lips, “Your highness, if, by any chance, we do come across someone sent by the organization, but he is unconscious of what he’s doing–”

“How would you know if they were conscious or not?” Keir interrupted.

Oh. Clarabelle felt stupid.

“It’s fine.” Seraphina looked at her notes, “So, according to the records and files, these people would most likely look the same, but it’s impossible to tell whether or not they’re conscious of their actions by looking at them. The only way to tell is through the scans of their memories, and I doubt we’ll have time to scan their brains in a fight.”

“What if they weren’t conscious? Does that make them evil?” Clarabelle asked.

“That’s up for you to decide, Clare.” Seraphina said. Personally, she thought that it didn’t make them evil. She believed that people can’t blame someone for doing something wrong if they never knew it was wrong in the first place.

Keir folded his hands and sighed, “So what does this lead us to?”

“Well, at least now we have something to tell the people in this civilization we’re headed towards.” Seraphina shrugged.

“Alright…” Keir nodded slowly, then he stood up, “Well, it’s been great talking to you guys. Call me when James and Evangelise return, alright?”

“Yeah, sure.” Clarabelle gave him a tentative smile.

Once Keir left, Seraphina turned to the shy girl, “Alright, now tell me what happened between Rowan and Keir.”

Clarabelle tapped her fingers on the table, “Well, you see–”

“Hey, guys.”

Seraphina twisted in her seat, “Rowan!” she leapt out of the chair.

He looked worst, and his eyes were red, and his cheeks here glistening. He had definitely been crying.

“Rowan, you’ve been–”

“Yeah, I know.” he held up a hand to stop her, “I’m fine now.” he sat down across the table, “So what did you guys talk about?”

Clarabelle and Seraphina both gave him updates on their discussions with the prince, and Rowan listened until the very end. He didn’t smile, made no jokes, didn’t laugh once, and seemed like a totally different person.

After they finished, he didn’t say anything. All he did was stare at his hands.

“Um, Rowan?” Clarabelle leaned over and tapped his shoulder twice.

“Huh?” he looked up, “Oh, sorry.” he apologized.

“So… what’s your opinion on the matter?” Clarabelle asked, clearly not knowing what else to say.

“Don’t have one.” he mumbled, still looking at his hands.

Seraphina and Clarabelle shared a glance.

“Rowan…” Seraphina tried to start, but Rowan pushed back his chair, stood up, and left without another word.

Seraphina looked at Clarabelle with an expectant expression. Clarabelle sighed, “I guess I should tell you.” And she did.

After she was done, Seraphina rubbed her face and groaned, “Oh god…” she shook her head, “How… h-how… how… wha–what? How…?”

“His highness is under a lot of stress,” Clarabelle pursed her lips, “And he had to let it out, but I guess Rowan’s a very emotional person deep inside, so now he’s extremely hurt.”