Golden Renegade- Chapters 1-3

 CHAPTER ONE

“Run!”

THE TREMBLING OLD MAN fell to the ground, dropping his wooden cane on the wet pavement. He glanced down the hallway behind him and struggled to his feet.
“Here they come!” he yelled to the little boy ahead of him. “They know we’re here! Hurry!” He limped on his swollen ankle, leaving his cane behind. The boy stopped, and ran back to the old man, grabbing his arm to help him.
“Don’t wait for me, boy!” he said, shaking him off. “Run ahead! Go! There’s nothing left in this life for me. You have to send it!”
“But Mr. Ceti… I can’t leave you behind!”
“Go! You’re our last chance! Send it!”
“I don’t know the code!”
“One, four, three, seven, nine! Now go! Leave me!”
The boy shakily held onto his arm. “I can’t!”
The old man grabbed the boy by his torn shirt and shoved him against the wall. “Do you not hear? If you don’t go, we’ll all die! Go now for the last time!”
The boy stood up, his wide, round sky blue eyes welling up with tears. He opened his mouth to say something, but black shadows were filling up the walls behind them. The ground shook with footsteps. He looked at the old man and shut his eyes tightly. Then he ran down the stone hallway.
He wiped away tears as they leaked down his cheeks and finally reached a metal door at the end of the hallway. He swung it open and ran inside. Beyond lay a room littered with scrap metal, broken cement, and wires scattered all over the floor. A small window in the ceiling let faint sunlight through. The boy reached around nervously, grabbing a loose rock. He stood in the middle of the room and threw it clear through the window above. It shattered to pieces, raining down glass around him as he grabbed a small metal box sitting in the corner of the room and positioned it right beneath the broken window. He paused and pulled out a piece of glass that was sticking out of his arm. Then he felt around the box. A number keypad was on one of its sides and he punched in the numbers: 14379. The box beeped as if setting off a timer and the boy jumped over it and slid across the floor on his knees into a corner of the room. The pavement was cracked, and he pulled out of the floor pieces of concrete, revealing a hole. He dove into the hole just as the box let out a final beep. Its top suddenly slid open, and something shot out, a silver blur, up through the broken window and into the dark sky above with a tail of smoke. The boy watched it in awe, regaining the strength in his eyes.
“Up, up and away, Mr. Ceti,” he said, and disappeared down the hole just as the metal door swung open.



Epsilon sat up in bed suddenly. His heart was beating so hard, he couldn’t catch his breath. There was a sense of urgency taking over his nerves, as if a threat was near. He glanced around the room. Nothing was moving; no one was there. Only wind billowed the white curtains by the glass balcony doors.
“Epsilon…” He stiffened upon hearing his name. His wife rolled over to face him.
“Epsilon, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” He looked away. He was hoping she wouldn’t wake up.
“Nothing? Why are you sitting up like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like someone poked you in the back with a pin.”
He quickly slouched. “Nothing. I was just having a dream.”
“About what?”
He blinked in thought, then smiled. “Well, about you, of course.”
There was a silence. Even though he couldn’t see her in the dark, he knew she was frowning.
“You’re a terrible liar, Epsilon. Are you sweating?”
Realizing he was shirtless, he rolled over onto his side, with his back toward her.
“Polaris, why are the balcony doors open?”
“To let the breeze in. And the moonlight…” He heard her yawn. “I like it when the moonlight comes through like that…”
He looked at the white moonlight stretching across the red carpet. He hadn’t even noticed it before. “Well, you know… with the doors open, it gets chilly in here. I’m going to go close them…”
As soon as he finished his sentence, the lamp beside the bed switched on and Polaris sat up.
“Epsilon, stop playing games. You never get cold. What’s the matter with you?” Before he could say anything, she touched his back. “You’re covered in sweat! Are you sick?”
“No…I’m fine.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing! I’m going to close the doors now…”
She grabbed his arm. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“No, but you’re getting annoying…”
“I know you already. As soon as you close the doors, you’re going to wander off somewhere to be alone. You always do that when something’s bothering you. You’ve been tossing and turning in your sleep all week. Tell me what is wrong!”
Epsilon thought for a moment, then sighed. She folded her arms, waiting for an answer.
“Polaris,” he said, turning toward her. “I had a dream, okay? It was all about me, alright? And here I am…standing right in the middle of a…giant volcano…” He glanced at her. She was staring at him, expressionless. He cleared his throat. “And it was…it was so hot in there, and all this lava is shooting everywhere…and…and I’m trying to climb out of there, and I’m sweating and sweating…then I see you standing there and I feel an ice cold breeze…then I wake up…” While he was still speaking, a pillow came out of nowhere and whipped him in the face.
“You’re an idiot!” Polaris shouted at him, jumping out of bed. “I can’t believe how childish you are!” She stomped around the bed and nearly tripped over the corner of the rug. Epsilon stifled a laugh. She glared at him. “Stop laughing at me! How dare you! How you be so…so…”
“So what?”
“Stupid!” She tugged on the strap of her red nightgown that had fallen off her shoulder while scowling at him. “You can’t tell me the truth about what’s troubling you so you make up this phony dream which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard…it doesn’t even make sense!”
“Since when do dreams make sense?”
“Oh, shut up! Get out!”
“Get out? You’re telling me to get out of my own room?”
“Yes! Get out! I’m not going to put up with you and your lies!”
“Lies, huh?” Epsilon chuckled and leaned across the bed, switching off the lamp. The room went black instantly except for the moonlight shining in. Polaris watched indignantly as her husband rose from the bed and walked toward her.
“You little hothead,” she heard him say calmly. His silhouette appeared in the moonlight and stood before her. “What do you want?” she snapped.
“Nothing. Just don’t slap me.” He took her by the hand. “Come here.”
“Where are we going?”
He lead her over to the balcony doors and outside onto the balcony. He continued to lead her until they reached the edge of it. When they stopped, Epsilon at once let go of her hand and leapt up onto the white marble railing.
“Look, Polaris,” he said, leaning half his body over it. “No hands!”
“Epsilon! Get down or you’ll fall and break your neck!”
“Break my neck? Naw, I’ll probably just bruise my butt, that’s all.”
“We’re fifty feet up! Get down from there!”
He smiled and slid off the railing. “Look at you,” he said, walking toward her. “Look at all that worry in those beautiful, big green eyes. I thought you were mad, huh? I thought you were peeved two seconds ago. Now you look like you’re going to lose your life. Or at least part of it.”
She blinked and looked away as he stood in front of her. “You get so worried,” he said. “You’re always worrying about me.”
“Not always.”
He chuckled. “Now who’s telling lies?”
Polaris bit her lip. “This is just like you, you know that? Why do you test me?”
Epsilon smiled, reached up and tugged at the white scarf that tied up her honey blonde hair. It came loose and her hair fell about in waves around her shoulders. Polaris lowered her eyes even more.
“I don’t,” he said, wrapping the scarf around his right wrist. “I just, sometimes…when I see that worry in you, I wonder… ‘What is it? Does she think she has to protect me or something? Does she think I’ll fall down?’ But it’s easy to figure out, really. You love me to death.”
At this, Polaris quickly pulled away and walked past him, leaning against the railing.
“You’re trying to make me forget my anger,” she said coldly. “It’s not going to work.” A breeze blew across her face, and she shivered. She felt him stand right behind her.
“I’ll tell you my dream,” he whispered in her ear. “All games aside. Just promise me you won’t worry.” She was about to turn away and tell him to forget everything, but she had this ache to know and he pulled her close to him, hugging her from behind. She couldn’t help but let her anger dissipate.
“I promise,” she said quietly.
“Okay.”
He held her tighter. “See the moons up there, Polaris?” She looked up. Two round, white moons floated in the clear black sky above them.
“Of course,” she answered.
Epsilon sighed, resting his forehead against the back of her head. “In my dream,” he said silently. “The sky is dark and like a brown cloud, just hanging over the world. But it’s not here… it’s not our world. It’s not Saihami. It’s someplace else. A place just… covered with these enormous cities that don’t end. They just keep going and going and going and stretch off into the horizon. I feel so small all of a sudden… and it would be an awesome sight, except these cities are dark, just like the sky. They reflect the sky. They have this… ghastly look to them, as if they’re dead but alive at the same time. And I’m wondering just who could live there, who could stay in that place. Then I feel this horror come over me, and I see the people who live there…” He stopped abruptly. There was a silence.
“Epsilon?” Polaris turned her head to look at him, but he moved his face out of her sight behind her.
She squeezed his wrist. “Go on. I’m listening.”
“The people that live there are slaves,” he went on. “They just toil away, building more cities and more strange contraptions. I can’t make out exactly what they are doing, but their masters… they’re these awful looking people. They’re all cold and heartless. They’ve got jet black hair and these stone black eyes, all of them… and they push the slaves around and beat them to the ground, even the little kids. They don’t care if the slaves are tired, sick, or anything. They make them work all day… if not, they die. They’re cruel, cruel people. And the slaves can do nothing, because their masters are stronger. Even if the slaves are bigger and taller than them, the masters can throw them aside like nothing. They’re just too powerful.”
Polaris pulled his hands away from her waist and turned around to face him.
“Epsilon,” she said gently. “You’re sweating again.”
“I am,” he said, glancing downward. “I know.” He looked at her and squeezed her hand.
In the moonlight, she could see his ocean blue eyes gazing at her as if wanting to tell her more and she felt his body tremble suddenly. She reached up and ran her fingers through his dark blonde hair.
“Epsilon,” she said, bewildered. “Are you scared?” He closed his eyes and nodded.
“But why?” she asked. “Are you afraid of what you see in the dream?”
“These people,” he answered. “The masters…when I see them and their strength, what they can do, I’m terrified. I can’t explain it. I don’t even know how to.”
Polaris held his face in her hands. “It’s only a dream. Why does it bother you so much?”
Epsilon opened his eyes and peered at her. “It’s a dream I’ve been having all week. It feels so real. These slaves keep calling for help, for somebody to save them. But they have no one… no help at all. You don’t have that feeling? Like something terrible is going to happen?”
She shook her head. “No. Don’t even start saying that.”
“I can’t let anything happen to us or anyone. I could never forgive myself…”
“Epsilon!” Polaris said, grabbing his shoulders. “What are you talking about? Why are you talking like this? Why?”
“You don’t understand,” he said solemnly. “I don’t expect you to.”
He pulled away from her and walked over to the railing to gaze up at the sky. Polaris turned around quickly, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“I broke my promise, Epsilon. I’m worried about you. I’ve never seen you like this before. Now you have me scared. What am I to do with you?”
Epsilon sighed heavily. “I am king of Saihami,” he answered, still looking up at the two moons. “This is a planet of complete, worldwide peace. We are a good people. We hurt no one, not even each other. I am responsible for keeping it that way. I won’t let any threat harm my people.” He slowly turned around and faced her. “And I certainly won’t let anyone hurt my wife or my baby girl, Venus. Polaris… do you see what I have on my shoulders?”
“I am queen, am I not?” she replied. “What I don’t understand is the threat you are talking about. Help me to understand what is troubling you!”
Epsilon watched his wife as she wiped a tear from her eyes with the back of her hand. He could tell her more, plenty more. But with her crying and so distressed… why? To her surprise, he slowly smiled.
“Come here, gorgeous,” he said, opening his arms. She went to him and he hugged her tightly. “I told you,” he said to her. “I can’t make you understand, because I can’t explain it. I don’t even understand it myself. But what I do know is that as long as I’m here, I’ll let nothing happen to us or anyone.”
She raised her head and looked at him. “Why do you worry me so much?”
Epsilon chuckled. “We’re one flesh, babe. I told you not to worry. Look at those moons…” They turned to admire the two moons again, lighting up even brighter than before.
“They make your troubles just melt away,” Epsilon said, squeezing his wife’s hand. Polaris smiled, then her eyes widened.
“Epsilon, look!” she said, pointing upward. “A shooting star.” A white streak sped across the black of night above them, and Polaris clapped her hands excitedly. “I’ve never, ever seen one that looked so close before. Did you see how big it was, Epsilon…Epsilon?” She turned around. Epsilon stared at the sky, completely absorbed, his blue eyes peering off into nothingness, and his expression blank.
“Polaris,” he said slowly, still looking up. “Come on… let’s go back inside.”
“You didn’t see the shooting star?”
“I did, I did.” He looked at her finally, and smiled. “It was beautiful. But it’s time to go back to bed. You look exhausted, babe.”
“I am. You put me through so much…” She yawned. “I just don’t know what to do with you sometimes…” He took her by the hand and they walked across the balcony together.
“I hope you have no dreams this time,” Polaris said, stepping back inside their room. “You’ll make me insane, that’s for sure.”
Epsilon followed her and shut the balcony doors behind them. But before he followed his wife back to bed, he gazed through the glass at the sky for a long moment, his eyes unreadable.
Polaris grabbed his hand. “Come on,” she said. “You look exhausted too. I’ll hold you as you fall asleep. We can dream together.”
Epsilon looked at her and smiled.

While they slept, the ground trembled briefly. But neither of them felt in their slumber.



Pollux wandered down the red carpeted hallway in the morning, dusting off his stiff, black uniform, and smoothing his red sash and his brown hair with his black gloved hands. He ran his hands across the silver trim that lined the white, smooth walls and gave each of the silver star lamps hanging on them a tap. He was looking proud and confident, until a door opened and the maid Corona stepped into the hallway, carrying a broom. Pollux froze in mid-stride. Corona looked at him and nearly dropped the broom. No one moved; they simply stayed staring at each other. Pollux’s face reddened, and Corona twirled her brown curls around her finger, her brown eyes wide. Was she going to say something? The lamps on each side of the hallway seemed to burn even brighter. His light brown eyes began to water. He was forgetting to blink. He felt like his heavy breaths were bouncing off the high ceilings and walls. Corona took a step toward him, then stopped. Pollux tugged on his collar nervously. That’s it. He couldn’t take the silence anymore.
He blurted out, “Good day, Corona, how you doing, I’m just great and dandy and everything else possible because I’m looking at you, oh sorry! Didn’t mean it that way, I’m going somewhere quickly and if I keep talking to you I’m going to be late, even though I’m probably already late, got to be on time and responsible because I’ve got a new boss now, you know who, and I can’t mess up, really it was nice to see you today, wish I could see you all day, oh sorry again! But really, if you’d like me to help you sweep around that’d be great because I love to sweep, especially so we can talk about stuff instead of just stare at each other… oh crap…”
The massive, carved wooden doors at the end of the hallway slowly opened, and Epsilon stepped out, clad in royal regalia. Corona quickly disappeared through a side door, taking her broom with her.
Epsilon looked down the hallway. “Pollux!” he called.
Pollux stiffened and stood up straight. “Yes, sir?”
Epsilon pointed to the silver watch on his own wrist. “You’re two minutes late, buddy. That’s a record for you.”
Pollux shuffled down the hallway as fast as he could. “I’m sorry, your majesty. I was coming… I just got… distracted.” Upon reaching Epsilon, he bowed low. “Please forgive me for my tardiness.”
“Forgive you? Come on, Pollux! I’m just bugging you, man,” Epsilon said with a laugh. “You’re always on time. You’re more punctual than I am.” He gave Pollux a friendly slap on the back. “So! Why are you all red? Looks like you just saw a pretty girl.”
“I have no time for girls, my lord.”
“My lord? You take your job too seriously sometimes. Call me Epsilon, alright? I don’t care what anybody else says, you can call me by name. By the way, you forgot to lace up your boots.”
Pollux looked down. “Aw gees.” He bent down to tie them. “I’m sorry, Epsilon,” he said. “It’s just that… now that I’m new chief advisor, I feel like I got to measure up to Procyon. That guy was brilliant.”
“Brilliant but old,” Epsilon answered. “He gave great advice, but fell asleep while he was talking. Don’t worry. You’ll do fine.”
Pollux stood up. “But still… I hear people talking and doubting me just because I’m only twenty one. I’ve got something to prove here.”
“Pollux, listen,” Epsilon said. “I married Polaris when I was twenty one. Wait no… I was twenty. She was nineteen. Do you think I wasn’t scared out of mind, especially with her attitude?”
Pollux nodded. “I would be terrified, sir. I mean, Epsilon.”
“Exactly. And it’s not like I was expecting to marry a queen either. Her family was all stiff and proper all the time and I had to learn to sit at a mile long dinner table and eat with five different forks for one meal. The point is… you learn these things with time and there’s no rush. I appointed you chief advisor for a reason. You’re a smart guy.”
Pollux smiled. “Thanks. But I have a question.”
“Go ahead. Shoot.”
“Wouldn’t the real challenge in marrying a queen be… learning to rule the world?”
Epsilon threw his head back and laughed. “You might think so,” he said. “But you obviously don’t know Polaris like I do. Compared to dealing with that woman, ruling Saihami is a walk in the park.”
Pollux smiled again. “Thank you, sir…Epsilon. I guess I feel better now.”
“Alright, my man. Let’s go.”
King Epsilon Eridani strolled down the hallway with his new chief adviser and best friend, Pollux Quasar. Eisilon ruled the small planet of Saihami, also known as Silver Star because from afar, that is exactly what it looked like. It constantly radiated bright, silver light. Saihami was a planet of peace; no one killed each other, assaulted each other, or even stole from each other. There was no violence and no poverty. No corruption and broken families. No crime fighters and no such thing as money. By nature, the people were simply peaceful, and the planet was a paradise. It never snowed, not even on the mountains, nor did it rain. Yet the planet stayed green and lush year round like a tropical rainforest, and the plants and trees absorbed dew to water themselves. The weather was constantly perfect and luminous. The temperature was never too hot or cold, cooler at night, and the animals never harmed each other nor the people. There were never food shortages; the soil and trees always produced more than enough food to feed the world. No one worked to live. If anyone did work, it was voluntarily and the people traded their goods with each other. The people never toiled away in the fields; all they would do is gather their share of their own crops, save the rest or trade it. They built their own houses, but had no locks on their doors or windows or fences on their yards. No one tried to have it all. Everyone lived happily.
This may have seemed to be a dream world, but it existed. Epsilon gained responsibility over it the day he married Queen Polaris, who was a blood heir to the throne. Now Epsilon had been king for six years, and he was only twenty six years old. As for appearance, it had been said that he was the best looking king in decades. He was six feet in height exactly and medium built. He had a tan complexion, deep water blue eyes, and straight, dark blonde hair, which he mostly kept combed back but a tuft in the front always liked to hang in his face a bit. His face made him appear younger than what he really was, and he has a nose that wasn’t small but not too large either and sort of square shaped. He had perfect sized lips and a perfectly straight, broad smile which was contagious, and unlike other kings in the past, was very personable.
This morning Epsilon was dressed in a long, dark purple robe, long sleeved with a silver star embroidered on the chest and the back with a silver sash to match. It smoothly flowed behind him as they walked down the hallway together.
“So, Pollux,” he said. “Let’s do the usual. The morning report.”
“Okay,” Pollux said slowly. “Trading is going well, the weather’s great, all is peaceful, and we had two full moons last night.”
“Awesome,” Epsilon answered. “That’s one thing about the morning report. It never changes.”
“Actually, sir, I have something else… I forgot to tell you.” Pollux stopped walking abruptly and faced him. Epsilon looked at him quizzically.
“Go ahead.”
“Sir,” Pollux began. “Last night at around three in the morning, there was a quake.”
“A quake? Was this in the report?”
“No, sir.” Pollux scratched his head. “It wasn’t in the report. I was awake, and I felt it.”
“You were awake at three in the morning?”
“I had to use the bathroom. But I felt it when I was in my room.”
“A quake. Interesting.” Epsilon tugged at one of his sleeves. “A meteor shower, maybe? We hadn’t had one of those in a while.”
“But, Epsilon, I checked with our meteorologists and they said no meteors were traveling in our atmosphere last night. Everything was completely clear.”
Epsilon remained silent for a moment. “Well,” he said finally. “Without question, we don’t have any quakes on Saihami. It had to be something from the atmosphere. Just how strong was the quake?”
“Enough to move my bed.”
Epsilon clicked his tongue. “No wonder my bureau was in a different spot this morning. But I didn’t feel a thing last night.”
“Did the Queen feel it?” Pollux asked.
“Polaris? No, she was knocked out.” Epsilon paused, thinking about his wife. He held up one hand. “Wait a second…” He pondered for a long moment, his face solemn. “Did you see a shooting star last night?” he asked suddenly.
“No, I was in the bathroom.”
Epsilon turned and looked down the long hallway at his enormous bedroom doors. “Polaris saw a shooting star,” he said pensively. “And I did too, but it didn’t look like a normal shooting star.”
“Really? Why were you two awake, Epsilon?”
He turned and looked at Pollux. “ Man, it’s a long story. Polaris and I were out on the balcony. Listen… if it was a quake you felt, what we saw in the sky made it to the ground. Go back to the meteorologists and ask them if anything suspicious has happened since you last checked with them. Then check with the villagers and see if they have seen anything.”
Pollux bowed. “Yes, sir. I’m on it.” He turned and ran down the rest of the hallway.
Epsilon stood where he was, meditating. Something didn’t feel right, but he didn’t want to admit it. He sighed, and looked up at the high ceiling, trying to think.
“Is something wrong?”
He turned around. Polaris stood in front of him, her robe matching his only tighter. It looked like she hadn’t bothered to comb her hair.
Epsilon tipped his head to the side and smiled at her. “Baby doll woke up, finally.”
She didn’t smile back. “What are you up to, Epsilon?”
“Who said I was up to anything? I see you woke up crankier than last night.”
She narrowed her green eyes at him. “Leave me alone. What is going on?”
“Nothing. Why didn’t you fix your hair?”
She clenched her fists at her sides, then walked past him. “I’m going to see if Venus is awake.”
“You can’t do that,” he said to her.
Polaris stopped and turned around. “And why not?”
“Because…” Epsilon held his hands behind his back. “You didn’t give anything to me this morning.”
She stared at him. “Give you anything? What are you talking about?”
“Come here, woman. And I’ll show you.”
Polaris eyed him suspiciously, then walked over and stood in front of him.
“First,” he said. “We have a staring contest. Whoever blinks first loses.”
She frowned. “What? Forget it! I’m not playing games with you!”
“Come on! It’ll be fun. Don’t blink those big eyes of yours, babe. Just stare right at me. And don’t slap me either.”
She sighed, then they began to stare at each other in silence. Polaris had to look upward because Epsilon was half a foot taller than her, and her neck was already beginning to hurt. Epsilon tried not to laugh. He could tell she was in a bad mood, with her honey hair all disheveled and her skin more pale than usual from fatigue. But she was gorgeous anyway to him with her long, thin nose wrinkled in frustration and her squeezing her pouty lips together. Her green eyes started to water, and she finally blinked.
“Aha!” Epsilon said, smiling. “You lost! Now you got to give it to me, beautiful.”
Polaris rubbed her eye with the back of her hand. “Give you what?”
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Before she could say anything, he reached over and messed up her hair even more.
“Epsilon!” she shouted.
“Mommy…” Polaris felt a tug on the bottom of her robe and looked down. A little girl in a satin blue nightgown stared up at her. “Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy!”
“Whoa!” Epsilon said happily, scooping her up into his arms. “How’s daddy’s little sunshine doing?” He kissed her on the forehead. “I thought you were still sleeping, cutie.”
The little girl nodded. “I was. But I heard you talking to Mommy. Mommy was talking loud.”
“Yeah, she always does that.” He looked at Polaris. She gave him a hard look.
“Venus,” she said sternly. “Go get dressed so you can eat breakfast.”
Venus puckered her bottom lip. She was only five years old, yet her strawberry blonde hair almost reached her waist. She definitely had both of her parents in her, and it was obvious by simply looking at her. She had her mother’s skin color, her perfect cheeks, lips, and long nose, her father’s brilliant, wide smile and the most unusual feature of all was her eyes. Instead of getting either her mother’s eye color or her father’s, Venus got both of them. Her right eye was emerald green like her mother’s, and her left eye was ocean blue like her father’s. She was known as Princess Zeta Venus Eridani to the people of Saihami, but her parents from birth called her Venus.
Resting her head on her father’s shoulder, Venus scowled at her mother. “Can’t I stay with Daddy for a little longer?”
“No,” Polaris said abruptly, crossing her arms. “Go get dressed and don’t make that face at me again.” Her expression hardened even more, and Venus looked at her father in question.
“You heard the lady,” he said to his daughter, kissing her cheek and putting her down. “Mommy and I are having a little chat and Mommy isn’t in a good mood. Go ahead and get dressed, Venus.”
“Okay...” Venus watched both of her parents for a moment, then wandered down the hallway to her bedroom and went inside. They heard her struggling, and finally the large door to her room clanged shut.
Epsilon shifted his gaze to his wife. “Alright. What’s your issue with me now, woman?”
Polaris faced him with a grimace that made him wish he hadn’t asked that question.
“What were you talking about to Pollux?”
“Wow, you’re really nosey.”
“I am queen!” she suddenly shouted. “I deserve to know!”
Epsilon eyed her carefully. “This doesn’t seem like you. You have your moods, but you’re not usually this edgy.”
“You know why? Because you drive me crazy,” she said, her voice cracking. “You wake up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat. You try to hide things from me all the time and you try to cover it up by… by making up stories, and having… staring contests! You’re always doing things to keep me from knowing the truth. I’m sick of it! Why can’t you just be open with me? Why can’t you just talk to me?” Her eyes were filling up with tears. “You distract me,” she said. “You try to distract me from things I need to know. You always do that. Why?”
“You want to know why?” Epsilon said to her. “You really want to know why? Because you are the type to stress over anything. I told you this last night. You always worry about me. Everything I do, you worry. You don’t believe in me. You watch me and expect me to screw up all the time. Face it, I’m not good enough for you in anything, especially being king.”
“That’s not true,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re just so carefree, you can do foolish things and make the wrong decisions.”
“And what do you call that? Lack of confidence! I told you I take being king very seriously. I won’t let anything bad happen as long as I’m ruling. Maybe certain things going on right now bother me and worry me… but I can handle it. If I tell you these things, it just makes it worse. I told you about my nightmares and now you’re worried sick about me.”
“I’m worried because these dreams scare you,” Polaris said in a sympathetic voice. “You can’t hide the fact that you’re afraid.”
Epsilon paused, his expression softening. “Maybe I am afraid,” he said quietly. “But that’s not the problem here. Learn to trust me, Polaris.”
She gazed at him for a minute, pushing her hair out of her face with her hand. He glanced at her and she looked away. Then without a word, she turned and slowly walked down the hallway, back to their room.



Pollux looked around. He was standing in the throne room, a room that was the largest in the castle, and made mostly out of grayish marble. Several pillars lined through the center of the room as well as a red carpet that led right up to the three marble steps where Epsilon sat in his comfortable elegant, wooden red-cushioned chair. Polaris’ chair beside him was empty. The opposite walls of the room were all windows, so the room was bright with the light from the three suns. Since the intricate silver ceilings were high and the white and grey marble walls were so far apart, every sound made in the room echoed.
“According to our reliable meteorologists at their station, there was a quake last night. The thing is… from where they were, it wasn’t that strong at all. So they figured it was a tree falling or the like, and they assumed it was no cause for concern. We felt it a lot more,” Pollux said.
“At least you did,” Epsilon told him. “The rest of us were asleep. Did their radars pick up anything entering the atmosphere? Anything besides asteroids or meteors? Anything at all?”
“Not a speck,” Pollux replied. “That’s another reason why they thought nothing of it. But that’s not the most important thing I got to tell you, sir.”
“Pollux, quit calling me sir. It makes me feel old. What’s the most important thing?”
“Well, I went out and took a stroll and asked the people if they had seen anything or felt anything. I said a meteor may have hit so they wouldn’t get worked up or curious. Some kids told me it looked like some trees in the forest half a mile away had been flattened.”
“Some trees? That could have been anyone looking for wood. How is this relevant to the quake?”
“From what they told me, it seemed like the trees were crushed all in one shot.”
“So something knocked them down all at once?”
“That’s what they said.”
“Did anyone go have a look?”
“No. They said it smelled like fire coming from the woods and they had a bad feeling about going in.”
“There’s no smoke coming from anywhere.”
Pollux shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what to tell you. This is all really strange to me too.”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Epsilon said puzzled, rubbing his chin. “Polaris and I saw a shooting star last night and it was clear as a light bulb in the sky, but our meteorologists say they picked up nothing on their radars. Now trees are down in the forest and something’s burning with no smoke. This is beyond strange. I mean, if this was some sort of odd invasion, we would definitely know by now. But everything is at a stand still and we have no idea what we’re dealing with. Obviously, the only way to end all of this suspense is to go into the forest. Send out soldiers, Pollux. Order them to go see exactly what’s going on.”
Pollux rubbed his gloved hands together. “Uh, how many do you want to send out? If anybody sees a league of soldiers marching into the forest they might think something is going on and panic.”
“Most of them already know something is going on,” Epsilon answered. “If they want to freak out by seeing us send men into investigate some fallen trees, they can be my guest.”
Pollux leaned forward.
“Epsilon,” he said quietly, appearing worried. “You don’t feel like whatever is going on is a lot more serious than how we talk about it?”
Epsilon’s expression dropped instantly, and he slowly looked toward the windows. “I know it is a lot more serious than we think,” he said, despondently. “But if I let it show, you know how everyone else will react. I’ve been having a feeling something like this would happen all week. That’s why I’m not surprised these odd things are happening. Really… I’m more afraid than anybody else because I think I know what will come out of this. Everyone else is just wondering what is going on.”
“That’s because nothing ever happens on this planet,” Pollux said. “All we know is peace.”
“True,” Epsilon said, nodding. “But I’ll tell you… as king, I had to study the history of Saihami. You know… what battles we had in the past, who are our enemies and so forth. Yes, we are peaceful, but we’re the only race I’ve heard of who are peaceful. We’ve had confrontations with other races in the past and were almost wiped out a couple times. When I read all this, it made me realize that really, even in a world like this, not everything is perfect. Things have and will happen. It has been a while and now, it’s probably that time again.” He stood up. “So let’s deal with it, Pollux. Dispatch fifty soldiers to the forest.”
“Armed?” Pollux asked.
Epsilon nodded. “Armed.”
“Consider it done,” Pollux said, bowing. He turned and quickly left the room.
Epsilon watched him leave, then slowly crossed the room to gaze out the windows. He looked across the green land, the endless trees and fields stretching under the sunlight, Mount Altair which towered into the blue sky three miles to the north, and finally, he looked in the direction of the forest. Almost immediately he got a stomache and couldn’t stand still. It was that feeling again that something or someone was about to strike. He placed his hands against the windows and leaned against them. He had to calm himself, clear his thoughts. Polaris came into his mind. As much as she always had a critical eye on him, he knew she loved him. Sometimes she had trouble even admitting it. Despite how perfect Saihami seemed, it’s people, even royalty, had personal issues and conflicts with each other. Polaris had been royal since she was born and lived in the castle all her life. Her parents were strict and bent on being superior in every way because of their royal status, from education, to speech, to etiquette, to manners, and every little thing possible. Polaris became a perfectionist and found it difficult to express emotion and talk about her feelings. But she clung to him in such a way that she needed to know everything he felt, what he thought, and what bothered him all the time. It seemed backwards and confusing, but he knew it was because she was insecure and didn’t expect life with her to be easy. She was gorgeous of course, but she was moody and tense and trusted no one. The trick to dealing with her, Epsilon figured out, was to bring the good side out of her. After all, she was queen but deep inside he knew she was just a girl who wanted to do whatever she pleased and how she pleased without caring.
Venus didn’t turn out like her mother. She was certainly more like him, a free spirit. She hated acting proper, like a royal stiff and wearing elaborate dresses to special functions. Nor did she like making sure her grammar was correct or walking around formal and made up like a princess all the time. She preferred to stroll around in the morning in her pajamas, then put on play clothes to go outside and catch hopping insects. She hated dolls and heels on her shoes. She liked to bounce on her bed and climb trees. She preferred baby blue over pink and hair ties over bows. She was a tomboy and knew it.
Epsilon was hoping anything that happened wouldn’t affect her in any way, but he had that feeling it would profoundly. Then he saw Venus’ reflection appear beside his own in the glass. He quickly turned and looked down.
She smiled. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hey princess,” he said sweetly. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing.” She already had her play clothes on, a blue short sleeved snug shirt and baggy black pants. Epsilon noticed the sneakers on her feet. “Are you going outside?” he asked suddenly.
She nodded and pointed to the window. “I was going to climb that tree over there-”
“You can’t go outside,” he interrupted. “I don’t want you going out today.”
She wrinkled her face up her face into a sad expression. “But why not?”
“’Because I said so.”
“But there’s other kids outside.”
“I said you, not them.”
She stuck out her bottom lip. “But that’s not fair!”
“Not everything is fair, princess,” he told her. “You got plenty of space to play in this castle and you know it.”
She jabbed her toe into the floor and walked away, mumbling, “It’s not fair… I want to go outside…” Epsilon turned to watch her leave, but instead she spun around and yelled: “You always let me play outside! How come I can’t go out today?”
“Don’t ask me why,” he said to her. “I’m busy today. If I said no, it’s no. And don’t yell at me like that again, kid.”
Her eyes got watery and she ran all the way down the carpet and out of the room.
Epsilon thought for a minute. He hadn’t spoken to her that way in a long time and felt guilty all of a sudden. He dismissed this from his mind and gazed out the window again. The fifty soldiers were marching in formation out of the castle’s silver gates and toward the dense forest. Pollux was walking behind them. Then he glanced toward where Epsilon was standing in the windows and gave him a wave. Epsilon waved back.


Polaris sat at her make-up stand in her room, staring in the mirror. She still hadn’t brushed her hair yet or put on any make-up. In her reflection, she looked pale. There was no motivation in her to fix herself up, which was very unusual. She always liked to look her best, but now… she didn’t even feel like doing anything, not even eating. She had Epsilon’s pajamas on her lap. She held them to her face and smelled them. They smelled just like him, a fresh, clean smell, like a breeze and another soft natural scent that only he had.
There was something about him that she realized long ago she couldn’t do without. Watching him act like a child and joke about everything while being so relaxed about life… it was something she admired and envied at the same time. There were times when she thought he couldn’t possibly want her because of how different they were in personality. So she would purposely try to agitate him, snap at him every chance she got, and treat him cruelly. But nothing ever really got to him. He would let it pass him by like it never happened and would never change his playful demeanor. She had never met someone like him before.
Polaris placed his pajamas on the back of her chair and stood up. Then she saw Venus standing there, peering up at her.
“For goodness’ sake, Venus,” she said, startled. “How do you walk in so quietly?”
“I practice,” Venus answered. “It’s fun. But… Mommy, I want to know something…”
“What is it? Why do you look upset?”
“Daddy said I can’t go outside. I want to know why.”
“Really? Did he say why?”
“Nope. He just said he was busy. How come I can’t go outside? I always go outside.”
“That’s not true,” Polaris said. “We keep you in when you’re punished, remember?”
Venus’ eyes widened. “Am I punished now?”
“That’s up to your father.”
Polaris knew Epsilon had a reason for not letting Venus go out. Even though she didn’t know what that reason was yet, she decided to play along and pretend to agree with him. Venus seemed to be getting more aggravated by the minute.
“But what did I do?” she asked. “I didn’t do anything bad. I’m not punished!”
“Venus, don’t argue with me. Did you make your bed yet?”
“No.”
“Then that’s something to do. I told Corona not to spoil you by making your bed all the time. Go make it. And don’t be sloppy with it either.”
Venus slouched, obviously dejected. Her eyes fell to the floor, then she noticed her father’s pajamas hanging on the chair.
“Mommy,” she said. “Are you and Daddy mad at each other?”
Polaris paused in bewilderment and looked at her. “No… of course not. Why?”
“I heard you fighting today. You sounded like you were crying.”
“No…” Polaris shook her head. “I wasn’t crying. Venus, we weren’t fighting. We were just talking.”
“Oh.” She looked at her feet.”
“Venus, your father and I… we have big jobs to do. We make sure everything is going well all the time. Sometimes it makes us a little cranky, that’s all.” She reached down and squeezed her daughter’s plump cheek between two fingers. “It doesn’t mean we don’t love each other. And it definitely doesn’t mean we don’t love you. You know we love you very, very much.”
“I know,” Venus said sadly. “I just don’t like it when you guys fight.”
“I’m sorry, Venus,” Polaris said softly. “Next time, I’ll tell your father what you just said. Maybe that will help end the argument.”
“Okay.” Venus rubbed her cheek with her hand. “Can I play with my jump rope in my room?”
She was so adorable, Polaris couldn’t say no. “As long as you don’t break anything.”
“I won’t. Bye, Mommy!” She ran across the room, pushed the wooden doors open and ran down the hall. One door fell shut, but the other remained open. Polaris watched it with unseeing eyes, then turned and picked up Epsilon’s pajamas. She slowly held them against her nose and smelled them again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement in her mirror and gasped.
“Epsilon,” she said in slight relief, turning around. “Your daughter is just like you. How do you sneak up on me so quietly?”
“Practice,” Epsilon answered, with a sly smirk on his face. He tilted his head to the side and looked at his pajamas she still held in her hands. “I’m gone for just half an hour, woman, and you’re in here smelling my pajamas?”
Polaris’ cheeks reddened. She turned to the right, then the left, and dropped his pajamas on her chair. She raised her chin at him. “Do you mock me?”
He gazed at her, long and deep, his blue eyes growing hazy. “I don’t.”
“Then what? What are you going to say?”
He didn’t answer her. Instead he pushed up his sleeve and pulled off his wrist the white scarf she had in her hair the night before. “Were you looking for this?” he asked softly, holding it up.
She looked at it. “No.”
He watched her as she answered him, then he stepped toward her and touched her face with it between his fingers.
“I’m keeping it,” he said in a voice just above a whisper. “It’s for me to smell.”
Polaris smiled a bit, trying not to laugh. Noticing her expression, Epsilon began to smile.
“What?” he asked. “What’s so funny?”
“I thought you would laugh at me. It seems like such a childish thing to do.”
“What? Smell my pajamas?”
“Yes, what else?”
“It’s not childish at all. I love it.”
“Why?”
“Because… it means a number of things, good things about how you feel about me. Not that you would ever tell me, of course. Only in a fake world would that happen. But… just seeing you doing that and laughing… I guess it’s hard to explain the feeling.”
Polaris’ gaze fell to the floor. “Mother said I used to do the same to her nightgown when I was a little girl. And Father’s pajamas too.”
Epsilon reached out and tilted her chin upward to look into her eyes. “Don’t talk about that,” he said to her. “It’s only going to make you sad. You’re safe with me. You know that.”
Polaris remained silent for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged him. This surprised him, but he hugged her in return.
“Epsilon,” she said, still holding him. “Venus said she heard us arguing. She doesn’t like it when we argue. It bothers her. I could see she was worried about us.”
Epsilon patted her back. “The one who has trouble keeping her voice down is you, sweetheart.”
She suddenly pulled away from him. “What? What are you saying?”
“What I said, hon. You don’t know how to talk quietly-“
“You provoke me!” she nearly shouted. “With your games and secrets!”
Epsilon lowered his chin and peered right at her, submissively holding up his hands.
“Before you accuse me of anything else, listen to yourself and hear your voice echo out of every crevice in this room. We’ve got issues to work out, I know. But you got to admit you’ve got a temper that lights with every match I carelessly throw. Why does it have to be this way?”
Polaris stared at him, unblinking, appearing ready to shout at him some more. But the anger in her green eyes slowly seemed to melt away along with her scowl. She quickly turned around, facing the window.
“Where’s Pollux?” she asked, with her back toward him.
“I sent him on a treasure hunt in the forest,” Epsilon replied. “Along with fifty armed soldiers.”
Polaris turned around. “Why? What are they looking for?”
“We’ll find out when they come back.”
“Epsilon, why didn’t you tell me this? I deserve to know. This is important!”
“I was going to tell you once they came back and reported to me what they found. I didn’t see a need to stir you up if they found nothing.”
“But something is out there to be found,” Polaris said, giving him a suspecting look. “Otherwise you wouldn’t tell Venus she couldn’t play outside.”
Epsilon said nothing, his blue eyes looked past her toward the window. Polaris walked over and stood in front of him. “Epsilon,” she said, looking up at him sternly. “What exactly is out there that you’re looking for?”
He shook his head, still gazing out the window. “Something that caused a quake last night while we were sleeping when it arrived.”
“This is what you have been hiding from me?”
“I wasn’t hiding it. I was stalling to tell you.”
“Why?!”
“Oh, Polaris… ” He turned and walked across the room, heading for the door.
“You’re walking away from me?” she asked in a shaky high pitched voice. He turned around.
“No, no… I’m not,” he said. “I just wish you’d try to understand how I’m trying not to make this any bigger than I want it to be. This has never happened before in this world; I’m sure you know that. But I don’t know exactly what’s going on and I don’t want you or anyone to panic before I figure it out. And you, woman, you know you lose your cool over anything. That’s why I didn’t tell you. Why do I have to repeat myself? I told you the same thing an hour ago. You can’t handle knowing these things. You just can’t.”
Polaris’ expression showed indifference, and she picked up Epsilon’s pajamas and threw them on the floor. “I’m a person, I matter,” she said, in such a way as if she were talking to herself. “I don’t care how I am, I don’t deserve to be uninformed or ignored or just tossed aside… ” She paced the room with her arms crossed. “I’m a queen. I should know these things… ”
Epsilon watched her as she circled their bed three times, then finally sat on it. She sat bone-straight, staring off into nothingness. “I deserve to know,” she said blankly, then said nothing more and remained a statue. Epsilon looked at his clothes lying on the floor, then at his wife. He slowly walked over to her and stood beside her. She didn’t move.
He gently touched her cheek. “Such beauty comes once in a lifetime, he said in a silent voice. “I was fortunate to find it and let it sweep me into ecstasy. No, not simply the outer appearance, though that alone is more beautiful than any creation seen by any being… but the inside is just as ravishing. What she possesses deep within is more than mere words can describe; she is stunning, sweet, and divine. Her every intent is pure. She has the genuine heart and innocence of a child. Even this goddess makes mistakes, but I feel like her every imperfection is perfect. My love covers all of her perfect sins… and hers will cover mine.”
He tenderly tugged on her left earlobe with his fingers then turned and crossed the room. He didn’t look back as he walked out the door.




 CHAPTER TWO

EPSILON WATCHED THE HANDS on his silver wristwatch as they counted hours on the pearl face. Pollux and his soldiers hadn’t returned. Epsilon stared out the windows in the throne room, waiting for anything, anything at all to move out of the forest. There were no walls around the castle, only a large hedge of green bushes that surrounded it, too tall for anyone to leap over. At the front of the castle they parted and here were the closed silver entrance gates with silver pointed stars on their tops. The light green grooved triangular roofs of the castle glistened with dew and the grey and dark orange limestone lit up in the sunlight. The land was still; not even wind moved the trees. His eyes were beginning to hurt from focusing for so long. He remained alone in the massive room, hearing the occasional thumping of Venus jump roping down the hallway and Corona scampering from room to room to clean. Every minute felt like an eternity and made him even more nervous. Could the situation be worse than he assumed? What if something had gone wrong? He thought obsessively he should’ve sent more help earlier. Who knew what may have happened to them? If something did happen, it would’ve been his fault for waiting so long to act. That was something he could never live with.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He raced across the throne room and threw open both large doors at the same time. From the hallway, Corona let out a shriek and dropped her feather duster.
“I’m sorry, my lord!” she said quickly, bowing several times. “You just startled me.”
“I’m the one who should apologize,” Epsilon answered. “Excuse me, Corona… I’m sorry, but I have no time to lose… ” He ran down the hallway and down the grand white marble staircase in the entrance hall, a colossal room that revealed all five floors of the castle at once with separate staircases if one looked straight up. An eight foot chandelier dangled from the ceiling in front of the main entrance doors with thousands of crystals reflecting light onto the black and pearl white granite stone floor with a black star in the center. The entrance doors were large enough to fit a giant, with silver stars and sapphires embedded in the dark wood.
Epsilon headed directly toward these doors, but just before he reached for their silver handles, they opened. Epsilon stepped back quickly in surprise, and sunlight poured through onto his face. He shielded his eyes with one hand and saw a figure walking toward him. It was Pollux.
“Epsilon,” he said at once. “I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting so long…”
“Pollux!” Epsilon quickly hugged him. “Don’t even start with that. I’m just happy you’re alright. Is everyone okay?”
“All accounted for,” Pollux replied. He turned and beckoned to the soldiers to come in. Epsilon watched as they walked in formation into the room in their high collared, buttoned black and silver uniforms with their guns at their sides. But once forty eight of them entered, Pollux halted the last two outside, where Epsilon couldn’t see them.
“Epsilon,” he said, quickly coming back in. “I must report to you exactly what happened.”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“We went into the forest as we were told,” Pollux began. “And when we entered, there was this smell in the air as if something was burning. Still, we went in and basically followed the smell. We found a clearing, an area where all the trees had been flattened to the ground, and they pretty much were all over the place and charred as if there had been a fire. And in the center of that mess, in the ground, there was a deep crater. And in the center of that, we found it.”
“Found what?” Epsilon asked uneasily.
Pollux turned and signaled to the final two soldiers standing outside. They walked in carrying a wooden box.
“Pollux,” Epsilon said in bafflement. “It’s in there? You brought it with you?”
“Let me explain. What took so long was that we had no idea what this thing we found was. So I called in specialists to analyze it and they ran tests on it. It’s not a bomb or anything. It holds nothing in it, no energy, nothing. And it’s not radiating energy either. So, once we knew all this, we figured it was safe to bring with us to show you.”
“Alright, let’s hope that it still is safe,” Epsilon said, staring at the box. “But what exactly is it?”
“It’s such a simple thing, you have to see it for yourself,” Pollux said. He waved his hand and the two soldiers immediately placed the box on the floor. Epsilon slowly circled it, eyeing it suspiciously.
“The suspense is too much,” he said. “But I trust your judgment.”
Pollux raised his eyebrows. “You ready, Epsilon?”
“Go ahead,” he answered. “Open it.”
Pollux went forward and flipped open the wooden lid of the box and stepped aside. Epsilon peered into it. After a long moment, he looked at Pollux in question.
“What is it?”
“No idea whatsoever. What’s your best guess?”
“It just looks like a small metal ball,” Epsilon said, still looking in the box. “How did you get it in there? You rolled it in?”
“I picked it up,” Pollux answered. “It’s not heavy at all. Some of the villagers lent us the box.”
“Alright then. Take it out. I want to have a closer look.”
Pollux bent over and picked up the ball. It fit perfectly into the palm of his hand. He held it out and Epsilon moved closer to examine it.
“This little thing knocked down all those trees,” Epsilon said in amazement, peering at it from all angles. “It made a crater and caused a quake. First of all, I would like to know how it made it through the atmosphere without getting incinerated and without getting detected.”
“It seems like it’s made out of some foreign metal,” Pollux said. “It’s lightweight but extremely strong. We attempted to break it open once we found it was inactive but we couldn’t scratch it.”
“What’s that indentation there?” Epsilon asked pointing. “It has a circular notch in it.”
“It looks like something is supposed to come out of there,” Pollux replied. “But this thing has had no reaction to anything we’ve done to it.”
Epsilon held out his hand. “Let me see.” Pollux handed it to him and Epsilon studied it closely. “It is light,” he said. “Almost light enough to be hollow.” He held it closer to his face. Suddenly his blue eyes widened.
“Pollux, that notch it had opened, and lenses are coming out of it.”
Pollux stepped forward beside him. “It looks like a camera,” he said in surprise.
“This could be used as a spy device,” Epsilon said to him quietly. “If that’s the case, we should quickly destroy it. Wait, look… ”
The lenses began to project a yellow light into the air and the light began to form into a shape.
“It’s a hologram,” Epsilon said in shock.
The yellow light took the shape of a person’s head and shoulders then became defined to reveal a white-haired old man’s wrinkled face.
“Greetings,” the old man said slowly. “I am almost positive this message upon arriving at its destination will fall into the hands of King Epsilon Eridani. It is the only way this message will appear. King Epsilon of Saihami, we have never met, but I know you very well. I am Levi Ceti. I am a Vecsyan. Perhaps you have heard of the Vecsyans, but have not had a very high opinion of them. Please put that aside as I speak to you now. I am here on the dismal world of Sidon, along with a large portion of the Vecsyan race and many other enslaved races. We are all slaves of the Saiteimians.” He paused and swallowed, then continued: “I am positive you have heard of the Saiteimians before. They’ve had conflicts with your ancestors. Nevertheless, they have not changed. They are still as powerful as ever and insist on growing strong enough to conquer race by race, planet by planet, galaxy by galaxy… until they have nothing left to surmount. They’ve started this by enslaving us and forcing us to work for them. As long as the two suns are in the sky, we build and enlarge their cities, which are endless. But they are also using us for another purpose, which is what I fear most. They use us to create their very own weaponry to increase their strength. If this is not stopped, they surely will become undefeatable.” His dire expression softened. “King Epsilon, I only know you and your family by spying on you, and I hope you do not dismiss my plea because of this intrusive act. I have researched every planet and every race within and beyond Sidon. The only place I could find some hope of getting help was on your planet of Saihami, world of peace. You have no idea how fortunate you are to live such a perfect life. I had to reassure myself of your competence, so I sent stealth devices like these, only much more advanced and versatile, to watch you and your people. Yes, for weeks you were watched and didn’t notice and what was recorded was returned to me. I’m sure you know how Vecsyans are known for their excellent knowledge of technology. My mechanical spies obtained your fingerprints and this is how this message was programmed to be activated, by your own touch. This metal sphere was designed to pass through your atmosphere undetected and land in a desolate spot on your peaceful planet and cause great damage around it, only to draw attention. Please forgive me if I have caused alarm. After I had received the information about you that I needed, I knew I would be making the right choice by asking you for help. Please… if you knew the suffering that is taking place here now, you would surely help us. Please help us… help us to find a way to crush the Saiteimians once and for all. Please help us to end the slavery and misery and create a future for the children here. Please find a place in your hearts to send help to us.”
There was a sudden loud rumbling noise in the background, and his image wavered as he looked around quickly in terror.
“I haven’t much time,” he said nervously. “They could be near or listening to this message. I have for you some information you need to know about the Saiteimians that could help you plan against them. Sidon is divided into seven sections and ruled by seven kings. However, the ruler and head of the entire planet is Emperor Zeito. He is married to Empress Ila and they have two young sons. This is another reason why I ask for your help at this time; I’ve heard very strange rumors about their youngest son. It seems he does not carry the physical or personality traits of a Saiteimian at all. This is obviously causing a disturbance within the main castle walls and the Emperor and Empress are trying to keep this quiet. No one has actually seen the boy that I know of, but on the other hand, to make it more bizarre, his older brother is already popular and well-known. This could be the perfect opportunity to bring them down… while they’re distracted over this unusual matter. Destroy from within, King Epsilon. That is the key. Please help us. You’re our only hope now. Free us from this misery. Should you send help… seek out a young Vecsyan boy named Gemini. His slave number is eight-one-four-three-seven-nine. He can assist you. Please… help us. Don’t fail us.”
The hologram faded and the lenses retracted back into the metal ball.
Epsilon turned to Pollux. “Well,” he said, looking pale. “Now we know what this is all about. I’ll tell you… it’s no coincidence this whole week I’ve been having nightmares about cruel beings torturing their dying slaves to build their endless cities. That’s as clear as crystal now. Subconsciously, I knew this was going to happen. All along I knew.” He rubbed his face with one hand. “My dreams became reality. Now I’m up against the worst. I have no idea what to do.” He turned and dropped the ball back into the box.
“You foresaw this, Epsilon?” Pollux asked in astonishment.
Epsilon shook his head. “I don’t know… yes, I guess I did. But I had it in the back of my mind, or at least I tried to keep it there, and hoped it wasn’t true and would just pass.” Obviously subdued, he looked at Pollux. “I’m sorry. I’m a terrible liar. I’ve been worried about this all week. I just didn’t want anyone to know.” He walked past Pollux and stood in the center of the massive room. All fifty soldiers watched him in complete silence.
“Epsilon, you’re not alone,” Pollux said to him. “I can help you.”
“I know,” he answered. “I just don’t want Polaris to know yet. This would be the end of her.”
When he finished his sentence, he glanced up toward the grand staircase and saw a flash of purple disappear down the hallway. He looked down at his own purple robe and smirked to himself.
“Pollux,” he said, without turning around. “Retire the soldiers and meet me in my lounge in half an hour. I have something to take care of.”



Polaris slammed the bedroom doors behind her, grabbed Epsilon’s pajamas off the floor, and ran out onto the balcony. She threw them off the side into the trees below. Then she returned back inside and started opening drawers, grabbing more of his clothes.
“Polaris.” She spun around and whipped a pair of shorts at Epsilon’s face with perfect aim. He let it fall to the floor and grabbed her arm.
“Drop them.”
“No! Let go!”
“Drop them!”
“No!”
He held onto her tighter and knocked his clothes out of her hands with his other arm in one downward motion. She pulled away from him and quickly opened the top drawer of the bureau, pulling out all his silver watches and chains.
“Polaris!” He grabbed her by both shoulders and everything fell to the floor.
“Let go of me!” she shouted. “You’re hurting me!”
“I’m not trying to hurt you! Stop fighting me!”
“No!”
He let go of her shoulders and held onto her hair.
“Epsilon! That hurts!”
“So does watching you throw my things out. Polaris, stop acting like a kid!”
He let go of her and she glared at him as if she wanted to burn a hole through him.
“Don’t start this,” he said in an annoyed voice. “I know you heard what went on in the entrance hall; I know you were eavesdropping, I saw you. I have much bigger things to deal with right now than your stupid temper.”
“Stupid?” She picked up one of his watches off the floor and threw it at him. He caught it with ease and she stomped her foot in a fury. “So now I’m stupid?” she screamed even louder.
“I don’t have to guess what you’re mad about. Just because I said I didn’t want to tell you about what we found and saw right away, that got you heated up, didn’t it?”
“What am I to you, Epsilon? Am I a person? Do I even exist? Do I deserve to know when our peace is being threatened? Do you know if I didn’t marry you, you wouldn’t be king?”
“What are you trying to say?” Epsilon asked, eyeing her sternly. “That if you didn’t happen to marry me, I’d be nothing?”
“Yes!”
At this, he turned around and waved his hand. “Go on. Keep throwing my things out.” He headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” she shouted after him.
“I have more important things to do,” he replied, walking out. He strolled briskly down the hallway, turned left, and opened a door. He went into the room and shut the door behind him. Pollux looked up,
“Epsilon, you’re twenty minutes early.”
Epsilon sat on one of the three large scarlet sofas in the room and sank into it. “I finished my task early.” He sighed then smiled weakly. “So, Pollux, now we need a plan.”
“Yes, sir. I was trying to figure that out right now.”
“I was thinking… about how Levi was saying to destroy from within and after that little disruption… how he was trying to be quick, but I’m sure he gave us just enough information to think up something to use against the Saiteimians.”
“Of course, because fighting them would be pointless. It seems they’re too powerful.”
“Levi knew that. That’s why he did his homework. Now we have to do ours.” Epsilon got up and crossed the room to a large library that spanned the entire wall and reached the ceiling. His eyes passed over the shelves, examining each black leather-covered book until they stopped on one. He pulled it out and walked over and sat at a small circular table by the windows.
“Have a seat, Pollux,” he said, pulling out a chair for him. Pollux sat down seeming a bit hesitant. His young face hinted that he was somewhat puzzled.
Epsilon glanced at him. “Ah, yes, Pollux… this is your first time in here. You look like Venus when she’s ready to ask a million questions about the suns and the sea. That huge library over there is the castle archives and information center. Most of those books cover four millenniums of Saihami’s history. This book here…” He drummed his fingers on the book before him. “… it covers the war we had with the Saiteimians six hundred years ago.”
“How do you find the book you’re looking for?” Pollux asked, turning to look at the library. “There’s so many in there.”
“They have dates on the front,” Epsilon explained. “This is the wrong side.” He flipped the book over with a loud slam. Pollux blinked and nearly flinched in surprise.
“See?” Epsilon pointed to the capitalized silver lettering on the front. “Thirteen hundred to fourteen hundred SE. SE stands for Saihami Era. I believe the war we had with the Saiteimians was around thirteen ninety- seven SE.” He flipped through the pages, ignoring the dust that rose from them. “It’s somewhere in here… here it is. Thirteen ninety-seven SE… Saiteimian war.” He began to read: “The Saiteimians unexpectedly invaded Saihami and began to purge the planet. The Saihamic army counter attacked against them, fifteen thousand against a hundred thousand. They were no match against the Saiteimian soldiers and soon less than two thousand Saihamic soldiers remained. When all hope seemed lost and King Altair was killed, Queen Capella was filled with distress and made a last resort. She used her life energy to destroy more than three fourths of the Saiteimian army. However, before she made this self-sacrifice, she told the Saiteimians that this was not the end of the war. She warned them that in the future, they would be destroyed eternally by one of their own. This one would hold unusually great strength and turn against them. When or how was unknown. She swore by her words then crippled their army. The Emperor, for some reason, then ordered an abrupt retreat. The Saiteimians pulled back and returned to Sidon. One third of Saihami’s land was destroyed. One hundred and twenty six thousand lives were lost. Afterwards, rebuilding began immediately and Princess Aldebaran came out of hiding and became queen at age fifteen. Five decades passed before all the damages caused by the Saiteimians were repaired. Peace continued afterwards.”
Epsilon paused, then placed his elbows on the table and rubbed his temples with his fingers. “You might’ve found the paragraph I just read disappointing, but put that aside for now. This is what’s important: Queen Capella was one of Polaris’ ancestors. She said one of the Saiteimians would turn against them, indefinitely. Levi Ceti said in his message the Emperor’s youngest son doesn’t carry the physical or personality traits of a Saiteimian. So, he doesn’t look like a Saiteimian or act like one. It’s possible this kid is the one Capella was talking about. It only took six hundred years for him to be born.”
Pollux seemed overwhelmed. His light brown eyes studied the book intently. “You think it’s him, Epsilon? I mean, how can we be sure?”
“I’m almost positive. I mean, who else could it be? Levi said this kid is causing trouble within the royal family over there. They’re trying to keep him and something about him a secret. Sounds suspicious enough for me. It has to be him.”
“But even so, what can he do? He can’t destroy all of them. He’s just a kid.”
“Levi didn’t say how old the kid was, but he probably knew he could help us. He probably also knew about our history with the Saiteimians. That’s why he told us all this.”
“But what can we do, Epsilon? How can we go about trying to defeat them, even if this kid is who we think he is? He probably won’t be ready to destroy them until he grows up a bit.”
“Of course I doubt this kid knows what his destiny is just yet; otherwise he’d start his job of eradicating them already. In the meantime, Levi said to destroy from within. We obviously can’t use physical strength against them, only smarts. We have to get inside… inside the Emperor’s castle and outwit them. Infiltration. It’s the only way to bring them down. We have to get in and stay in long enough to study the way they run their government and their world, find out their weaknesses. Once we know all that we can hit them in the right spot to break them to pieces.”
“That makes sense. The only way we could do that is if we got close with the Emperor. You know, get one of our own to become his right-hand man. The problem is… they aren’t friendly and I’m sure it’s next to impossible to even get near the Emperor. They must have very tight security.”
“More than likely. But if one is cunning and makes a name for himself, it’s possible to get through that security. See… it has some information about the typical Saiteimian personality.” Epsilon rubbed his eye with his hand and began to read: “The Saiteimian culture revolves around dominance and power. Their never-ending ambition fuels them to conquer all and their ability to increase their strength to unknown limits enables them to do so. However, they enjoy being challenged and are impressed with those who defy them. They accept any test posed to them. They educate themselves only in how to increase their strength and improve their combat skills. It pleases them and elevates their pride when those who are inferior serve them and suffer under their hand. Saiteimians are very emotionless and stone-hearted, even within family life. The typical Saiteimian family never remains together long. A father or mother usually train their son or daughter to fend for themselves up to age thirteen or less, then abandon them and they go their separate ways. They’re only goals are power and destruction and they stop at nothing to attain these.”
Epsilon leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. “Pollux, they’re basically spoiled brats. Let’s get straight to the point. To be a brat’s friend, you got to tell them how great they are and how awesome their things are. You got to impress them by acting impressed, make them feel big. That’s what they like. To feel superior.” His elbow slipped off the arm of his chair and he slid his arm onto his lap. “There’s more information here, but that’s more about their history; same thing over and over… destroying, destroying, destroying. I think this method of befriending them is the way to go. As hostile and destructive as they may be we can still become useful to them as allies. They have to just…” He shut his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “… they have to crack somehow.”
Pollux gave him a concerned look. “Epsilon, are you alright?”
Epsilon let his hand fall to the table with such an irritated expression on his face as if he were sitting on a knife. “I’m just stressed out,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders and sliding down low in his chair. “My people are wondering what’s going on, my daughter’s wondering what’s going on, and I can’t remember the last time my wife said something decent to me or didn’t scream at me when I spoke to her. What am I to tell her?”
“You can tell her you’re working out a plan and going to send help to those poor slaves,” Pollux said, folding his gloved hands in front of him on the table.
Epsilon gazed at the shiny wooden tabletop which reflected clearly the treetops outside, their sunlit green leaves swaying in the wind. His eyes became distant, and though they were pointed at the table, it was soon obvious he didn’t see it or what was reflected on its surface. He then peered outside the window at the cloudless blue sky, unblinking. He was lost in it, its vastness and endless horizon, tracing the land’s dips, curves, and points with his eyes as far as he could see. He seemed to age as he did this; creases appeared around his eyes and mouth from his strained expression. After a long while, he finally spoke.
“If anyone is going there to help them, it’s going to be me.”
Pollux stared at him in complete shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Epsilon watched him and waited for his next words, his face heavy with despondency. Finally, Pollux shook his head and laughed nervously. “You’re kidding right? Please… say you’re just kidding.”
Epsilon sat up straight in his chair and folded down his eyebrows. “Don’t even try to convince me otherwise, Pollux.” His voice had a threatening tone but Pollux refused to remain silent.
“Epsilon, this is crazy. You can send anybody, anybody else there. You can send your soldiers or even me. I’ll go. But not you, for goodness’ sake, not you.”
Epsilon held up his hand. “My family and I are going. Not another word.”
“What?”
“Not another word!”
At this Pollux jumped out of his chair and stood up erect as a pole. “I’m not going to stay shut!” he said angrily. “We can’t risk losing our king, queen, and princess when we can send other people! We might as well send you on a suicide mission! Epsilon, what is wrong with you?”
Epsilon stood up from the table, his blue eyes narrowed slightly. “You think this is a waste? You think we’ll fail?”
“Why do you have to drag your family into this?”
“I can’t do it without them, Pollux. I’ll tell you what we’re going to do… we go there and crash-land on Sidon. We make believe we accidentally landed on the wrong planet and pretend to be Vecsyans. As for the rest, I’ll take care of that when the time comes.”
“What are the chances of you accomplishing what you need to do? How do you know they won’t kill you on sight?”
“They won’t. Trust me.”
Pollux stepped forward so that he and Epsilon’s faces were less than two feet apart.
“Epsilon,” he said sympathetically, shaking his head. “There’s no way. I think you’re losing it.”
“And so maybe I am,” Epsilon said to him with contempt. “But I feel like I’m the only one who can do this. I don’t need my dreams this time to foretell that.” He turned and left the room, with the silver star on his back gleaming from the sunlight.



Polaris quickly turned around once Epsilon entered their bedroom and closed the doors behind him.
“You came back for more, did you?” she snapped. “You just couldn’t get enough!” Her hair was oddly still in disarray. Epsilon neared her and noticed the skin around her eyes were swollen and she had added more neutral colored make-up to them as if she had been attempting to cover it up. Yet anger was still burning in her eyes and they showed red, practically bloodshot. Epsilon paused in looking at her, keeping his composure steady, then walked past her.
“Listen to me,” he said in a loud voice, clear as a bell. “I’m going to say this quickly to get it over with. I discussed with Pollux a plan of how to defeat the Saiteimians. Someone must go to their world, pretend to be Vecsyan, and infiltrate the royal family. I decided who will go.” He turned around. “It will be you, me, and Venus.”
Polaris stood frozen where she was with her eyes round as teacups. For a moment he felt partially relieved because the look of sheer astonishment on her face replaced the awful grimace she had moments before. For the time it took to draw half a breath, an image flashed through his head of her forgetting her resentment and embracing him. His heart nearly skipped a beat and he felt almost weightless. Then his mind and his eyes opened to reality in time to see Polaris clench her teeth and draw back her hand. His heart stopped and she slapped him across the face.
There was a silence and his face felt like it was on fire. He slowly turned his head to look at her. Her green eyes were glassy and she was breathing strangely. “How dare you…” she whispered, and slapped him again across the other side of his face. He let out a groan and winced. The second slap hurt even more.
“Polaris,” he said weakly. “Listen-”
“How dare you!” she screamed in his face. “How can you even think of putting us in such danger, especially your daughter? How could you?” She was so close to him, he could feel her breath and her body heat, which seemed to be rising like steam from a pot.
“Polaris, just listen to me-”
She hit him yet again, this time right between his eyes with her knuckles. Epsilon stumbled back a step, slowly closing his eyes and opening them to gaze at her and make sure she wasn’t coming at him again. He kept his distance, eyeing her with an empty yet pleading expression on his face. Blood trickled out of his nose and onto his upper lip. By now Polaris’ hands were twitching and she had two streams running down her face. She ran at him and began hitting him everywhere.
“How could you do this to us?” she screamed. “How could you?” At this she kicked him between his legs and in a swift reflex he grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the floor. She lay there, pounding her fists on the carpet.
“I hate you! I hate you!” Her voice was starting to squeak like a rusty wheel and her hair flopped in all directions. Epsilon bent over, his face twisted in pain. “You had to hit me there, Polaris? Do you know how much that hurts?”
“I don’t care!” she shouted deliriously. “I don’t care if you drop dead!”
Epsilon paused and looked at her. His cheeks were marked red and stinging from her slaps, his nose still dripped blood. He stood upright, with shadows crossing his face. Polaris watched him and suddenly looked frightened. He very slowly limped over and stood above her, gazing down at her.
“Dead,” he said, in a silent voice that resounded throughout the room. Polaris peered up at him and bit her bottom lip. Epsilon nodded and began pulling on one of his fingers. He let out a cry in pain and finally dropped his silver wedding ring on the floor in front of her. It rolled around in a circle then finally fell on its side.
“Take it,” he said to her. “We don’t agree. You’re either with me or against me. I’ll go alone.” He turned and limped over to one of the windows. He stood there for a while, trying to absorb the sunlight, and then shook his head in such a way as if he was trying to squeeze something out of his mind. He pulled off his robe and undershirt, and threw himself onto his bed, wearing nothing but his black shorts.
Polaris stared at his wedding ring lying on the floor. It shined as bright as the day they were married. Her mind felt like it was fracturing from fear. Was he serious? She got to her feet, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Don’t come near me,” he said with his back toward her. “I just want to rest. I’ll move my things out in the morning.”
“No,” she said in a raspy voice. “Don’t leave… Venus needs you.”
“Don’t you think you love her more than me?” he answered. “Keep her.”
Polaris began to cough. “Epsilon…” she cleared her throat. “Don’t leave, please.” She went over and sat on the carpet by the side of the bed, trying to gaze at his face.
“I said don’t come near me, Polaris. I don’t want you near me. I’m tired of you.”
“Don’t push me away.”
“You try to beat me down and now you’re saying that?”
Polaris swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry, Epsilon.”
“Now you’re apologizing?” His voice was monotonous. “This is just too much. You hit me. You hate me. You want me dead. Now you’re apologizing. When does the fun end?”
“Please… don’t say that. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I ever said those things. I’m so sorry…”
“No, you’re not. Tomorrow you’ll wake up and start screaming at me all over again. That’s it. I’m done. We’re not made for each other. I’ll just find someone else. Someone probably not as good looking, but certainly more understanding.”
She grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Don’t ever say that!”
“Why not?”
“Because… I’ll just die if that happens!”
Epsilon rolled over to face her. His eyes were as grey as the ocean waves on a cloudy day and his face was like stone. “That’s what you’re afraid of, aren’t you?”
She felt vulnerable all of a sudden and turned away. Epsilon watched and quickly sat up.
“Polaris, answer me.”
“No.”
“What is it?” he asked louder. “What do you get out of treating me like trash? Why do you do it? Do you think I’ll leave you?”
“For goodness’ sake, Epsilon! Why do you even show interest in me? I’m not like you.” Her eyes grew wide as if she was surprised these words came out of her mouth.
“No, don’t stop. Keep talking. What do you mean you’re not like me?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You know… interesting… and rebellious.”
“Rebellious?”
“You know, like before we got married… you used to dress differently and talk differently. Your grammar was terrible.”
Epsilon gave her a quizzical look combined with a smirk. “Terrible grammar. I remember that.”
“Why don’t you talk that way anymore?”
“Because your parents were always giving me dirty looks and your perfect speech rubbed off on me. And I became king so I wanted to make a good impression on everyone.”
Polaris tilted her head to the side and poked his arm gently with one finger. “I miss how you were back then. How you used to act…and speak.”
His smirk grew to his beloved perfect smile. “You mean when my grammar sucked and you thought I was hot in them pants I used to wear?”
She began to laugh. “Yes, like that.”
He stood up. “I oughta find a pair so you can check me out, babe. You threw my stuff all over the floor, you know.”
She looked at his clothes and frowned sadly. He touched her wrist so she would look at him. “Never mind that. Were you cryin’?”
She glanced away. “Yes.”
“I knew it. You didn’t fix your hair either. That’s not like you. You missed me bad, didn’t you?”
“Why do you ask me when you already know?”
“I dunno. Makes me feel good inside.”
Polaris reached up and wiped the blood off his upper lip with her fingers. When she touched his skin, he felt all the pain in his face from her striking him instantly subside. The bleeding from his nose halted as well, and in confusion he questioned this in his mind for a brief moment, when he saw expression on her face suddenly grow solemn. Her eyes slanted and he knew what she was going to say.
“Why us, Epsilon?” she asked somberly.
“I can do it, Polaris,” he said to her. “I can get inside the Saiteimian government. I know I can.”
“How?”
“Don’t ask me to explain it. I just know I can somehow, some way.”
“You’re very convincing,” Polaris said sarcastically. “Especially when our lives are at stake.”
“I would never put ourselves somewhere for us to be killed. You know that.”
“I just want to know how you can be so confident. This is very serious. They may be a strong race, but they’re not fools either. When my parents left to meet with the Vecsyans, I was sure something was wrong, and I’m sure it was the Saiteimians who killed them. They’re ruthless murderers.”
“If you keep talking that way, you’ll never want to face them. You’ve got to trust me, Polaris. That’s all I ask.”
She didn’t say anything more, but leaned forward and laid her head against his chest and her weight against him. He was a bit surprised at this but hugged her in return. With her thin figure resting against him, he remembered the image he saw in his mind earlier; the one of her embracing him with her fury extinguished. What was happening now and what he saw in his mind before strangely matched. Unexpectedly, she took his hand and held it, clasping their fingers together.
“You’re all I have now. Just you and Venus. My parents are dead, but you make me feel safe. I like it this way. I don’t want to lose it.”
Epsilon held her tighter and said quietly: “You won’t lose it, beautiful. I’m always here.”
Polaris raised her head and looked into his eyes, which were now like blue stained glass. He gave her his luminous smile and leaned down a bit so that their noses gently touched. He pulled her in nearer with both arms. Her swollen eyes began to slowly close when a thought suddenly passed through her mind. She pulled back.
“Where’s Venus?”
He blinked in confusion. “What?”
“Venus! Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. Why?”
“I told her she could jump rope in her room, but I hear nothing. Do you?”
“She’s probably jumpin’ somewhere else, Polaris. What’s the big deal?”
“I’m her mother! I have to know where she is!” She broke away and began looking through the bureau drawers to change her clothes.
“Gees, Polaris,” Epsilon mumbled and sighed dramatically. Polaris turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? We were havin’ a moment and now you’re leaving to find Venus when she’s probably fine. What about me?”
Polaris stood up and walked over to stand before him. “You can wait until I get back. We have more to discuss about what you’re planning. There’s a lot more I want to know about what you want to do.”
Epsilon leaned back and stretched his arms toward the ceiling. “Whatever you wanna know, just ask. I’ll tell you. Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and think.” He crossed over to the bed, turned around, and fell backwards onto it. He lay there on his back with his arms spread out, staring at the ceiling. Polaris glanced at him. He looked so adorable laying there, his blue eyes narrowed, with a contemplative look on his handsome face. She knew he cared about her and Venus more than life itself and could see it mixed into the expression he had as he thought. Her heart melted and she was about to tell him she loved him, when suddenly, without even looking at her, he said:
“I love you too.”




 CHAPTER THREE

POLLUX SAW POLARIS COMING down the hallway and quickly shuffled up to her and bowed.
“Polaris, can I talk to you for a second?”
He glanced at the dress she was wearing. She had changed into a simple sleeveless, evergreen colored silk dress that hung down to her knees. What was more was that it wasn’t loose fitted and revealed more cleavage than he had seen in weeks. He kept his eyes focused on her face the best he could as she looked at him quizzically and gave him a nod.
“Yes. What is it?”
“I was just in the library doing some reading on our history and I came across something interesting. Did you know that among our race there are certain individuals that possess ‘special gifts’?”
Polaris nodded. “Of course. My grandfather was one of them. He had the ability to see through objects as easily as we can see through windows. You could imagine how much fun he had using this on my grandmother.”
Pollux scratched his head, straining to keep his gaze from falling below her neck. “… I would’ve never thought of it that way… but anyways, I’ve been really pondering and sorting things out… and I think we may know someone close to us who actually has a special ability.”
“Who?”
“Epsilon.”
At this Polaris began to blink as if dust had gotten into her eye. “Epsilon? Why him?”
“Several things. First of all, he dreamt of the Saiteimians tormenting their slaves before Mr. Ceti even sent his message for help. Secondly, he’s way too confident about traveling to Sidon and infiltrating the Saiteimian government. It’s all too strange. I think he may have the ability to foretell the future.”
Polaris shook her head and laughed comically. “No, no, no, that can’t be. Epsilon is not of royal blood. Besides, he was reading about the Saiteimians in the library two weeks ago. I saw him. His dreams just could’ve been coincidence. As for his over confidence, that’s just how he is.”
“Coincidence? You really think his dreams were so precise by mere coincidence? He had everything down to the smallest detail. Besides that, don’t you ever have that feeling that he knows what you’re going to say before you even say it?”
This struck Polaris in a way as if someone had thrown a boulder at her forehead and she stared at Pollux with a distant look on her face. Her green eyes grew meditative, seeming to see past him.
“Yes… sometimes he does, oddly enough, say things that make me wonder how he knew them in the first place.”
“If it’s true, then it explains everything. Maybe he’s right. Maybe he is the only one who can get in the Saiteimian government.”
“I never told him I was sure about going through with that. The whole idea sounds suicidal.”
“That’s what I thought at first. But, Polaris… if not Epsilon, then who?”
“He wants to take us with him! How can I put my family in such danger? How can he do that?”
“Maybe because he knows what he’s doing.”
Polaris raised her head and peered up at the ceiling with watery eyes. After a few moments, she looked at Pollux with such a deep frown, he almost stepped back.
“I know he’s smart, but I question his reliability. I can’t say that I believe in him wholeheartedly.”
She still wore that hard look on her face and Pollux didn’t know what to say to this. He suddenly appeared uncomfortable for he tugged on his collar and glanced around the hallway as if looking for a thought to stick into his mind. Finally, he bowed and excused himself. When he left this way, Polaris stood where she was. She felt heavy with guilt. The whole idea of leaving Saihami sounded insane, and she resented her husband for coming up with it. But she also resented herself for still not being able to listen to him and trust him.
When Pollux rounded the corner, he nearly walked into Corona, who gasped as if she were choking on something and dropped the rag she was holding. Without thinking, Pollux bent over to pick it up for her while she did the same, and they both bumped their foreheads into each other. Corona let out a cry in pain and Pollux’s face became as red as the carpet. He turned and in humiliation began to run down the hallway, but tripped over his own feet with his arms flailing and fell flat on his face on the floor.






The castle was shaped like a large square, with a tower on each corner and the largest one right at the entrance. The center of the castle was hollow in a square shape as well. This large space was the castle courtyard, decorated as a garden. In the center was a large white marble fountain shaped as an eight pointed star which shot water out of all its points into a marble rimmed pool below. The rest of the garden was a carpet of flowers of all colors imagined with a small stone path winding down through them. Usually Corona spent her time kneeling in the garden, humming to herself while she planted, but the other maids too helped with the garden and keeping it healthy.
Epsilon walked through it now, when he paused and gazed up at the clear sky.
“Man, Pollux,” he said to himself. “The things you go through to impress that girl.”
He turned to see a middle aged maid some distance away with her green watering pot, standing in a patch of red flowers. He waved to her and she bowed and waved back.
“What is it now?” said a voice behind him. Epsilon turned around and slowly smiled.
“Hello, Father.”
“Father?” said the tall man in a russet robe walking toward him. He stood before Epsilon with a stern expression on his face. He was slightly taller than Epsilon and somewhat heavier, with lighter blonde hair and soft grey eyes. The two men looked surprisingly alike and even the maid across the garden was staring in disbelief while she unwittingly drowned the flowers in water.
“I mean, Dad,” Epsilon said in a quieter voice.
“That’s more like it.”
Just at that moment, the maid put down her watering pot and scurried over to them.
“Hello, sir,” she said, bowing low to the man. “I thought it may have been rude of me to not greet you. I thought for certain you must be who I think you are, considering your striking resemblance to the king himself.”
“Yes, of course,” said the man. “I am Antares Eridani, Epsilon’s father. How do you do?” With this, he bowed politely.
“Very well, thank you. Well! I must be on my way now. It was a pleasure to meet you.” She ran back to grab her watering pot with her face flushed in excitement. Antares looked at Epsilon with a smirk.
“You and your noble almightiness. This castle life was never for you.”
“Already you try to tell me who I am. That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”
“Naw, you just wanted to catch up with your old man, right?” He watched the expression on Epsilon’s face drop like a stone sinking to the bottom of a puddle and said, “I didn’t think so.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy lately.”
“I know you have. That Polaris always keeps you on your toes. Seems like that woman has her bleeding cycle everyday. If that’s the case, how did you have a kid?”
“Dad…”
Antares laughed. “Calm down, I’m playin’ with you, son. What’s the matter? You’re all uptight. Did you have an argument with your queen again?”
“Well, yeah… this time she slapped me. Twice.”
“Are you serious?”
“And she hit me between the eyes.”
“Oh, this is good. How hard did she hit you?”
“Hard enough for me to see stars.”
Antares looked at Epsilon carefully. “If that’s so, you would have two black eyes. You don’t have a scratch on your face.”
“Oh, I did get a bloody nose though, but…aw, man… Dad, this is embarrassing to talk about.”
“So? She has thrown stuff at you before, but she never hit you, that I know of. What made her angry, enough to do that, I wonder?” He eyed Epsilon with a grin. “Let me guess… you forgot to kiss her before you went to sleep. Or maybe you just told her she acts like a whining little girl. Keep in mind that I’m choosing my words carefully here.”
“No. I actually told her that she, Venus, and I are going to Sidon to ruin the Saiteimian government.”
Antares looked at Epsilon for a time, and then said: “Well, that was a cruel joke. No wonder she got all heated up.”
“I’m serious. We received a message from a Vecsyan slave who begged for my help to free all of the people the Saiteimians have enslaved. He told me the best way to do it was to get inside the government and destroy them by finding out their weaknesses. At the same time, we might have some help from a certain Saiteimian prince, who supposedly was specially chosen to destroy his own race by one of Polaris’ ancestors. I decided to go there myself, with my family to help out and do exactly as this Vecsyan told me to do. This is what has been going on here lately and I’m open to any suggestions, Dad, so don’t hesitate.”
“I’m not one to hesitate. I’ve heard this legend before… about the war and what the Queen did before she died. I always assumed that the one she was talking about, the one who would destroy the Saiteimians would do it by himself. I figured someone with that kind of power wouldn’t need any assistance. So, with that being said, why is this your responsibility to help all of a sudden?”
“Well, I can’t just sit back and let those people die. The prince is just a kid. How long will it take for him to get strong enough to annihilate them all?”
“Is that your problem? The ancient queen said he’d wipe them out himself. No where does it say in the history books, ‘And then King Epsilon Eridani will go to assist the chosen one with this great task…’ I don’t question your capability, but I don’t know if this is somethin’ you have to get involved in.”
Epsilon shook his head. “When someone is dying, they’re not exactly specific. Besides, that’s not what I feel. I feel like I have to go, as if I’m obliged to. I know that if I don’t go, nothing good will happen. Everything that is happening there will only get worse. I must have received that message for a reason. What else am I to do besides go there to help?”
“What about your family? Are you concerned about them and what could happen to all of you?”
“I’m well aware of all that. You know I would never think of going if I wasn’t sure we would return back here completely unharmed.”
Antares glanced around the garden with a perfectly calm look on his handsome face then stepped in closer toward his son. “You’ve got some strong conviction. If that’s what you wanna do, then go ahead and do it. What is the problem?”
“The problem is everyone thinks I’m crazy because of what I’ve decided. They all think I won’t be able to succeed and that I’ll never return.”
“If anyone should succeed, it will be you. I know for sure this decision has fallen on the right king. You’re a rare and unique find in this monarchy and very clever. More than likely, you probably did receive that message for a reason. If it was up to any of those other rigid idiots in the past, this would’ve never been resolved. The Saiteimians have always been a threat. It would be exceptional if my own son was the one to help get rid of them at last.”
Epsilon slowly sighed, as if letting out a good load of anxiety, and looked directly at his father. “Then… would you do me a favor?”
“Oh, this is rich. A favor. What is it?”
“You have to take my place while I’m gone.”
Antares began to laugh again. This time it echoed off the castle walls. “Take your place? You know I don’t like this fancy life you live. Never did. You don’t either and don’t want to admit it.”
“Father,” Epsilon said sharply. “I do this for Polaris.”
“And she has a nice way of showing her gratitude.”
Epsilon lowered his head and stared at the ground, then peered up at his father, who was an inch taller than him. His blue eyes lost their certainty and seemed adrift from within. Antares’ face softened.
“You know what you look like now?” he said quietly. “When you were four, you wandered away from home and went into the woods. We couldn’t find you for two days. Then I finally found you, all huddled up in a ball against a tree. You didn’t see me at first, but I saw your face before you caught sight of me. You were on the verge of a breakdown because you thought you were lost for good. That’s what you look like now. But then again, ever since you came to live here… you always seemed lost. Is this what you want to come back to?”
Epsilon shook his head and smiled. It wasn’t his usual, extraordinary smile but rather empty and he knew it, because he said weakly: “You’re questioning if I was ever happy here. I’m not so sure.”
“Your job is not too difficult, don’t you think?” his father said to him. “The people govern themselves, you could say, because there are no problems. No violence, no competition, no economic problems. Nothing whatsoever. With that being said, what is bothering you?”
“It’s not that. I became king when I was twenty. I was just a kid; I didn’t know anything about this life. Then all of a sudden I’m in such an exalted position, havin’ people wait on me and treat me like I’m the greatest being to walk this world while living in this grand castle with more rooms than I’ve ever been in… I never really got to live. From then on, I had to become somebody else and worry about and please everyone around me. I’ve never done anything I wanted to do. I realize now that all I want is a normal, simple life. As foolish as it sounds, I wish I could wake up in the morning and walk around in practically nothing. Plant my own garden and fix my own roof. Have a wife who wasn’t raised to be a perfectionist and be constantly after me and pointing out my own imperfections.” He let out another very slow sigh, and looked across the garden. “Having everything never made me happy.”
“So… you regret marrying Polaris?”
“Not her. This life I have to live… that I have lived.”
“This is the consequence of what you chose. When you were fifteen, you used to like those weird, bold girls who would giggle every time you looked their way and pull your swimming shorts down on the beach. They were every bit as unruly as you were. Then when you’re eighteen, this beautiful, prim princess walks into the village and you can’t keep your eyes off her. An infantile kid like you and an aristocrat like her actually end up marrying each other. That’s somethin’ I never understood and never asked you about.”
“I can’t explain it to you. Things were different back then. She was different. Now, I’m worn out from everything. If she wasn’t so hard on me, I could put up with it a lot better. You know… she’d be supportive and like the rewarder for me being who I am and being so great at what I do.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake. Hand Venus over to your mother and spend a week alone. I get the impression that’s somethin’ you need.”
Epsilon’s cheeks turned red. “It is somethin’ I need, but I don’t have time for it.”
“So, nothing is goin’ your way. How frustrating. But… you chose this life. You got to make it work for you. Have some edge, kid. Don’t worry about people and what they say. Just be you. You’re the best at being king. As for Polaris… that girl is hooked on you for life, but she’s got her weak self-confidence and unreasonable fears. She takes it all out on you. You got to show her what you’re made of. Maybe then she’ll see you in a new light. And if she doesn’t, who cares? That’s her problem. Make yourself happy for once. What good is life without that? …But why did we have to speak about this now…of all times? Why so late?” Antares narrowed his grey eyes in regret. “You know… you tell me all this because I know that now, the reality of leaving this world is hitting you and it’s going to hit you harder. You will no longer be here for a long time, and you’re feeling all the responsibilities as a king releasing you. Now your life is running through your mind and you’re wondering, ‘Did I ever actually enjoy it? Will it be waiting for me when I come back? This is all what I’m trying to save.’ Everything, all your thoughts become sporadic. Will you want to be king again? Because, of course, you will return.” Antares didn’t expect an answer to this, because then he said, “Let the future alone for now. Focus on what you have to do. You are taking on the Saiteimians. No one else has ever done this before. I realize that if the prophecy is now starting to unfold, you may be an important part of making it become fulfilled. I trust you. No matter what confronts you, now or in the future, you will know what to do.”
Epsilon smirked to himself for a moment, and Antares watched him, thinking about how much his son resembled himself when he was younger.
“I can’t say how I feel right now,” Epsilon said at last. “Father, I have so many things in my mind. But… will you take my place?”
“You know I will. But if a foreigner should see me, they’ll know right away that I’m not you. Is that somethin’ you’re concerned about?”
“Right now, not in the least. …Bring Mom here with you when I leave.”
“Yes, and speaking of your mother… I’ll explain all of this to her when I get home since I know for a fact that you won’t do it.”
Epsilon gazed toward the fountain with apparent guilt. “I always hated tellin’ Mom things that made her sad.”
“Don’t worry about it. I told you I’ll do it.”
“Thanks.”
At this Antares folded his arms, tilted his head to the side a bit and peered at Epsilon with a look on his face that glowed with pride.
“If there’s anything you should know, son… is that with everything you learn, you become cleverer. I know what you’re doing is very dangerous, but I have no doubt it’s somethin’ you can do. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
Epsilon smiled slightly, and listened to the sounds of the water flowing out of the fountain for a while. The weight as well as the tension he’d felt dragging him down since the whole trying situation had begun finally lifted enough to let him breathe without dreading what tomorrow would bring. He had been losing his nerve somewhat until now; talking to his father was like speaking to an older, more experienced version of himself. Now his determination had been restored. He didn’t say anything more, but Antares seemed to acknowledge that his son had said everything he had been holding inside for too long. Without a word, Epsilon then led his father back into the castle.
Once they walked into the entrance hall, the doors suddenly opened and Polaris stepped inside. She glanced at both of them in surprise, and then looked right at Antares.
“Well, for a moment I thought Epsilon had a twin.”
Antares gave her a nod. “How are you, Polaris?”
Polaris looked at Epsilon. “I can’t find Venus.”
Epsilon stared at her, and slowly said, “I think she answered your question, Father, though she went deaf for a second there.”
Polaris’ mouth fell open, and Antares tried hard to suppress a laugh. “Epsilon,” she said, with her nostrils flaring. “I said our daughter is missing!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“How can I not?”
Epsilon turned to his father with a look Antares understood at once because he said, “The suns are setting. I should be going.”
“Tell Mom I love her.”
“Already done,” Antares said with an amused smile and walked out the doors, closing them behind him.
Polaris faced Epsilon with her hands on her hips. “Tell me what you said again and see what happens!”
“Is that a threat?”
“More than a threat! I’ll actually do it! Don’t you care about our daughter?”
“I said don’t worry about her.”
“Why not?!”
“Because I know where she is.”
Polaris was taken aback by this for her arms fell at her sides. “Where is she?”
“She’s fine. And I… am going to bed after I eat something.” He turned away from the anger building up on her face and began climbing the grand staircase.
“Epsilon!” Polaris shouted so loud, it echoed throughout the entrance hall. He looked back over his shoulder.
“Where is she?”
He seemed pleased to hear this and smiled to himself. Then he turned around and pulled his robe out of his path with a simple smooth arm movement. Polaris watched him and felt her heart jump in her chest. He slowly came down the stairs with a smirk on his face.
“Pollux is putting ice on his nose from falling on it,” he said. “Corona is rubbing her head and thinking, ‘Oh, Pollux, you’re so cute…’. Father just realized he’s late for dinner. Mother is worried about what he’ll say when he comes home. Venus is… well, that’s a secret.”
At this Polaris ran up the stairs and met him halfway up it, gripping the white marble railing with one hand. She stood one step below peering upward at him so closely, she could see herself reflected in his blue eyes.
“Epsilon,” she said in a silent voice. “What am I thinking now?”
He looked at her for a long minute, his smile fading. He took her hand from the railing and held it tightly between both hands. She touched his wrist with her other hand and felt his pulse beating rapidly. His eyes never left her face while she did this. She raised her head and gazed up at him.
“Do you see…?”
He nodded. She watched the expression on his face mellow yet awaken in a way that made her bite the inside of her lower lip.
She pulled her hand away. He looked at her in question, with imploring eyes that almost made her feel guilty. She turned and began to walk back down the stairs, feeling him follow right behind her.
“Polaris-”
She stopped abruptly and faced him. He nearly walked into her, but stepped back and to her amazement, bowed respectfully.
“Enough of this,” she said as he stood upright. “Why did you not tell me?”
“I knew you would figure it out.”
“What if I didn’t?”
“You would.”
She looked away for a moment, and then stepped toward him. “So, how did you?”
“I knew. This month I had been feeling very different. I was seeing things and pictures in my mind. Finally, it all just came to me.”
“This is why you are so confident.”
He nodded and Polaris pressed her palms together. “You are remarkable,” she said, beginning to smile. “You knew all along… about me. You knew.”
He nodded again and she let out a laugh. “I have a husband… who can read my thoughts.”
“Now there’s nothin’ more you can ask of me.”
“Maybe. But don’t play games with me, Epsilon… I want to know if Venus is safe.”
“She’s fine. We’ll go find her first thing in the morning.”
Polaris seemed content at this, for she said nothing and nodded to herself a couple times. When she looked at Epsilon, he had already been staring at her for a long while, and when she turned to walk away, he quickly took her hand.
“What is it?” she asked him.
“Don’t even ask,” he told her. “’Cause you already know.”



Venus sat in a curvy, smooth tree, rubbing her bare feet against the bark, holding a pink flower in her hands. Its edges were a deep red and its center was a bright orange. It was so lovely she couldn’t help staring at it. A breeze blew through the trees and she got an idea from watching the flower’s petals move in the wind. She began plucking them off one by one.
“Mommy and Daddy stay together, Mommy and Daddy don’t stay together… Mommy and Daddy stay together, Mommy and Daddy don’t stay together…” She watched the flowers orange and red petals flutter to the ground and paused. What if her parents did separate? She couldn’t choose between them. Her father was fun and relaxed, and her mother was stern but sometimes sweet. The decision would be too difficult. What if they stayed together? But they seemed to argue too much. From what Venus could remember of her life, they had always argued. At first she thought it was normal, but when she began strolling around the villages when she was four and a half, she noticed a difference in other parents and hers. The village couples would smile admiringly at each other a great deal and hug each other. They would eat dinner together and talk, dance, and laugh while their children played in the sun-drenched fields and hid behind trees in the forests. It didn’t seem like anyone screamed at each other, or at least too loud.
Venus stared up into the tree, its every tree coated in flowers just like the one she held in her hand. She thought maybe all royal families had the same problem. Maybe being royal automatically put people in a bad mood all the time. She remembered her maternal grandparents not being friendly at all. They were constantly telling her to walk with her back painfully straight, shoulders back, and head held high. When she sat, she had to cross her legs. They said a princess wearing pants was a disgrace and that when she wore her royal dresses, she should walk with tiny steps to seem more lady-like and so as not to trip over the fabric. It was no wonder her mother always walked perfect. When speaking to people, she had to talk properly with flawless manners while making very womanly gestures. Venus wrinkled her nose. She couldn’t stand her maternal grandparents and got so angry with them one day, she stuck her tongue out at them and told them both to kiss her rear end. When she said this, her father burst out laughing, but her mother turned bright red and looked like she was ready to faint. Her grandparents snarled at her mother that her daughter was going to be the most unruly and crude princess in the history of Saihami. Venus saw her mother grow teary-eyed when they told her this, but her father was still too busy laughing to hear what they had said.
Venus breathed in the perfume of the flowers and slowly exhaled. In two days, she would return to school. She had begun school six months earlier and wasn’t exactly fond of it. Her teacher was nice. She had a quiet voice with a shy smile and a mass of hair of nothing but black curls. She patiently helped Venus in math when she needed it without making her feel empty-headed. Venus did enjoy learning and since Polaris had taught her how to read when she was three, she could read better than her whole class. The problem was she had a difficult time making friends. For some reason, the other children kept a distance from her and the girls seemed to think she was odd because she was a tomboy. They probably expected a prim princess with sophisticated outfits and long, shiny jewelry all the time. She did try to talk to her classmates, but it seemed like no matter what she said, it came out sounding like she was brainless or she would end up babbling about something no one seemed to care about. Finally she decided she preferred to be alone and hardly spoke at all, unless she needed to.
The branches of the trees shook and Venus looked down in surprise.
“Guess who?” Epsilon said, peering up at her. He was shirtless and wearing black shorts. He smiled at her and narrowed his eyes.
Venus nearly lost her balance and hugged the branch she was sitting on. “Leave me alone!” she said, shutting her eyes. “I want to be alone!”
“Are these yours?” Epsilon asked, holding up her sneakers. On Saihami, sneakers were plain and looked somewhat like shoes. They had no laces and no designs and Venus’ were a plain white.
“Duh,” Venus said, annoyed.
“Duh,” Epsilon repeated playfully. “If you want them, you gotta chase me for them.”
Before she could answer him, he disappeared. She slid out of the tree and landed on her feet on the grass. She saw some movement in some bushes ahead and ran through the thick, green jungle. She strayed from the trail and headed for the beach. A small ocean lay south of the castle but by looking at it you would never tell it was small because it stretched out as far as one could see. Venus stood before it, letting her feet sink into the warm white sand and feeling as small as a pebble compared to it. Its waters were sapphire blue like her father’s eyes, streaked with turquoise and the sky was clear. Since it was the end of the week, the waters were filled with children and their families. They splashed in the waves in their swimming suits, the squinty-eyed old men and women chuckling, tossing their grandchildren into the waves and parents waving their arms and snapping pictures with their cameras.
She felt a presence behind her and before she could turn around, someone picked her up into their arms and began carrying her down the beach. She let out a screech before smelling a familiar scent and realizing it was her father.
“You’re a stubborn kid, you know that?” he said to her. “Independent too. You spend a night out here, just thinkin’ about how you can’t fit in with the other kids, didn’t you? Just because yesterday you tried to play with them and they ignored you, splashed water into your eyes and called you a loser. Right?”
She peered up at him through her left eye, the eye that matched the color of his own. “How did you know that?”
“I know everything. You’re a rebellious five and a half year old. You know what I do with little girls like you?”
Venus cringed. “What?”
At this Epsilon broke into a run and headed toward the water. He suddenly stopped and with a single toss, Venus flew out of his arms and sailed into the water. When she stood up out of the sea, soaking wet, she seemed mad enough to spew lava. Epsilon stood on the shore watching her with a smirk on his face, and sitting beside him was her mother. At this moment, everyone on the beach noticed their presence and stopped what they were doing to bow respectfully to them. Epsilon bowed in return while Polaris nodded and looked at Venus.
“C’mon, kid,” Epsilon said to her. “We’ll play with you if you feel alone.”
Venus thought for a while, glancing around the beach and finally let her anguish go. She took a couple steps forward and caught sight of someone standing behind her father. Epsilon seemed to sense this, for he turned around in question. There stood a short bald old man, shriveled up like a dry leaf with little slits for eyes. He had a large camera hanging around his neck with a long lenses protruding from it. It appeared to be a heavy camera for it weighed his head down and caused him to haunch over.
“Your Majesties,” he said. “I would like to take a picture of you three, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Epsilon answered. He sat down beside Polaris and Venus walked out of the water and sat on her father’s lap. “Go ahead,” Epsilon said.
“Okay. I’ve got a perfect shot right here. Move in closer toward each other… that’s it! Okay! Now… smile!” They heard a clicking noise and he said: “Alright. That was great! Thanks a lot your Majesties!” He bowed several times then hobbled off toward the other end of the beach. Nearby to their left was an overhanging rock cliff with a small waterfall pouring into the glowing sea. The children were diving off it and splashing each other in the waters below. Venus gazed at them for a long while and Epsilon nudged her with his elbow.
“Do you want to try again, cutie?”
Venus watched them for another minute, then shook her head. Polaris gave Epsilon a look and he gathered Venus up in his arms.
“You’re too good for them anyways, love,” he said to her. “They’re the ones missin’ out.”
Polaris reached out to hold onto Epsilon’s arm when she saw the old man some distance away, squinting at the back of his camera and giggling in delight.



Once the weekend ended, the castle began to become as busy as one could imagine. Epsilon gave Pollux a direct order to begin coordinating and preparing for his family’s departure. After this, he reluctantly sat Venus down and explained that they were leaving on a very important trip to Sidon for a while to help people who were suffering at the hand of the Saiteimians. Of course, he didn’t give full details of just how cruel the Saiteimians could be, but it was enough to make Venus begin to sob and scream that she didn’t want to leave. In distressed anger, she pushed herself out of his lap and ran out of the room. Polaris impulsively went to follow her, but Epsilon knew better of it and told her to wait. In his mind, he could see Venus running to the cliff over the beach and sitting on the edge of it in misery. Though she had no friends on Saihami, she still loved her home and didn’t want to leave it for one day, not for anyone or anything. The suns set orange over the ocean, and still she sat there on a flat rock, listening to the waves against the rocks and feeling as if everything was being ripped away from her. This is when Epsilon walked with Polaris along the cliff and found his daughter just as he could see her in his mind. She sat facing the ocean, with her tangled hair down her back. Epsilon stood over her and she peered up at him, her eyes wet and the front of her shirt streaked from tears. He looked down at her with sympathy in his blue eyes for a long moment, and she then suddenly stood up and hugged him, crying into his robe. Polaris moved in beside him and Venus wrapped an arm around her. They stood this way, covered in orange light until all three suns finally dropped below the horizon, seeming to slip into the waters of the ocean.
Epsilon yet had a much larger task to carry out. He had to announce his plans to the people. Though Saihami obviously had similar resources as Earth, there was no radio or television on Saihami. When a king needed to make a public announcement, he had to do it in person. This is why Polaris began to get herself ready and dressed herself in a long white strapless dress that shimmered at different angles when she moved. She pulled her hair back and wrapped it around her head a couple times while intertwining it with a white silk scarf. She held it into place with a pearl ornament and put on long, silver chandelier earrings. She then did her makeup to match her dress, with sheer colors on her eyes and lips, and when she was done, she appeared angelic. She then turned to Venus. She dressed her in a long, red, wide sleeved velvet dress that narrowed at the waist then broadened at the ankles. It had a silver star sailing across the chest and leaving a silver streak and silver specks that covered the fabric down to Venus’ feet. Since Venus’ hair was so long, Polaris combed her hair back and simply held it in place with an amber clip. They then went up to the fifth floor of the castle and from there, up onto the roof. From there they could see down through the silver entrance gates, which were now open, and there was a sea of thousands of people, watching and waiting. Venus held onto her mother’s hand tightly and gazed down at the enormous crowd in awe. The way they moved and buzzed about, they looked like an army of insects. She had never seen so many people in one place before. This began to make her feel uneasy, and she stuck her thumb in her mouth to suck on it.
Finally Epsilon came up the stairs in a dark blue robe with a silver star embroidered on the chest and back and silver swirling lines around the sleeves and hem along with a silver sash. Pollux followed behind him in his usual black uniform with two rows or silver buttons lined up from the stomach to the chest. But this time his sash matched Epsilon’s robe. Pollux appeared worried as he took up his place before a small microphone that sat on the edge of the grey stone railing. He formally introduced Epsilon and when Epsilon came forward, the crowd immediately fell silent. Pollux stood to the side quietly while Epsilon looked out into the crowd and announced that he and his family were leaving Saihami to help defeat the Saiteimians. The people made a great deal of noise, which Venus took to be disappointment and her father calmly reassured them of his plans and thanked them for coming. Then, without a word, he turned away and ran back down the stairs. Pollux gave Polaris a strange look and followed him. Venus pulled her thumb out of her mouth to look up at her mother. Polaris had a blank expression on her face, and Venus simply put her thumb back into her mouth again.
For the next week, Pollux sat gathering information and reading in the library with his head between his hands. Meanwhile, an older man by the name of Mizar, along with his younger assistant Castor, was summoned to the castle. Mizar was said to have studied Vecsyan technology for his entire life and he and his apprentice were called in to repair what would be the transport for Epsilon and his family to Sidon. This transport was a small spacecraft kept in the castle’s basement and named after Princess Aldebaran. It had not been used in years and had accumulated layers of dust on its metal surface. Epsilon took one look at it and told Pollux to summon Mizar immediately.
Mizar and Castor lived quite a distance away which is why Epsilon told Pollux to be quick about communicating with them. Saihami had no means of transportation by technology. In fact, machines were forbidden by Saihamic kings only until two hundred years before. It was believed that machines were one of the reasons why violence prevailed on other planets. According to ancient kings, they were only built to be abused or used for harm. Since then, the rules had become lenient. Machines were used to benefit the people only in certain ways allowed by the law.
On Saihami, devices similar to telephones, but more like intercoms were used to communicate with each other. Once contacted, Mizar and Castor boarded a small boat and paddled up Arcturus River. They walked through wide grassy fields the rest of the way before reaching the castle. When they arrived, Venus hardly got to see their faces because they disappeared into the basement of the castle for the next week and all that was heard was the occasional pounding of metal that echoed up the hallways.
After spending hours in the library, Pollux came sleepily out and informed Epsilon of all the details he needed about the Vecsyans. One of the first things he said that seized their attention was:
“Sir, Vecsyans don’t have blond hair or blue eyes.” He looked at Polaris. “Or green eyes…” Finally, he peered down at Venus. “Or both.”
The next day, the grand doors swung open and Dr. Sirius, an eye specialist with a black mustache as thick as a paint brush, walked in carrying a black suitcase full of his tools. He sat Epsilon, Polaris, and Venus down, telling each to peer into what seemed like special, large binoculars that sat on the table while he looked into the lenses on the opposite side and wrote down the measurements of their irises. He checked over his notes again, then packed up his things and said he would return in three days.
Afterwards, all three of them sat in chairs while the maids rubbed bottles of hair dye into their hair with rubber-gloved hands. Corona creatively chose the specific colors of each: for Epsilon, a dark mahogany brown, for Polaris a reddish chestnut brown, and for Venus, a light amber brown. Upon hearing that her hair was going to be dyed, Venus screamed and attempted to run out of the room when Epsilon caught her and showed her that he and Polaris were going through the same process. At last she finally calmed down and allowed the maids to darken her strawberry blonde hair. Upon finishing their task, they gave Venus a mirror. She glanced in it and said nothing. She wore a dismal look on her face and vanished into her room for hours. Epsilon saw Polaris pull a handkerchief from her sleeve and wipe tears from the corners of her eyes. He tried not to let her see the worry on his face.
Dr. Sirius returned after three days, as he said he would, carrying the same black suitcase. Only this time it seemed whatever he was carrying was much lighter for the way he swung it when he walked.
“The contacts are done. They’re all in here,” he said, patting the case. He set it down on a table nearby and opened it. He explained to them that each pair of contacts lasted a year and that they had a six year supply. Each of their contacts was a different shade of brown, and he gave each of them a small white box with their names written on them. Epsilon thanked him and shook his hand. Pollux was waiting for him in the entrance hall to give him his reward.
That afternoon, Corona, along with the other maids carried up boxes of clothes to Epsilon’s room. They had woven extra heavy weight clothing for Epsilon, Polaris, and Venus, as ordered by Pollux. He had discovered the gravity on Sidon to be three times that of Saihami’s. They were to begin wearing the specially-made clothing to get used to the feeling of extra weight on their bodies. This was something Venus came to despise. She sat in her classroom all day, crying quietly because of pain from back spasms. The rest of the children, who had been staring at her for days because she was brunette and brown-eyed, now gave her looks as if she had finally cracked like an egg and lost her mind.
One day footsteps came up from the basement stairwell. The wooden doors opened and a man appeared, with a huge metal shield over his face and a square of glass on it so that only his eyes showed. He glanced around and wandered down the hallway. Corona caught sight of him and immediately fetched Epsilon. He came at once and the man turned and saw him approaching.
“King Epsilon,” he said in a muffled voice because of the shield on his face. “Mizar sent me to inform you of what we’ve accomplished.”
“Very well then,” Epsilon replied. “But I already see you’ve spent a lot of time welding.”
The man blinked in puzzlement, then quickly pulled the shield off his head. “I’m sorry your, Highness,” he said, turning red. “It’s me, Castor. I forgot I had this thing on.”
Epsilon smiled. Castor was about Pollux’s age and he looked so much like him, they almost could’ve been brothers. “Go ahead, Castor,” he said. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“Yes, sir. Aldebaran was pretty much outdated and rusty, since it hadn’t been used in so long. So we enhanced it, using Vecsyan technology, and brought it up to speed… literally. If you had used it before, it would’ve taken you a month to get to Sidon. Now it’ll only take you four days.”
“Excellent,” Epsilon said. “Well done, Castor, and tell Mizar the same.”
“He’s still down there, checking to see if everything’s working properly and I know he’ll be glad to hear that you’re pleased, sir.”
“Once he’s done, will Aldebaran be ready for use?”
“Ready when you are.”
“Good. When you’re finished, return upstairs and inform Pollux to receive your reward.”
Castor bowed deeply and went back down the basement stairwell.



The very next day, Polaris sat in one of the many castle dining rooms, at a long rectangular wood table, quietly sipping tea, when Pollux walked into the room and bowed.
“Polaris, I’m sorry to disturb you. This was delivered to the front doors.”
He was holding a small black velvet box. Polaris held out her hand without a word and took it from him. She opened it and let out a gasp. Inside was a silver necklace with a silver heart on the end. The silver heart held another heart in its center, made of garnet and outlined in diamonds. Polaris opened the silver heart and to her surprise, inside was the picture taken of her, Epsilon, and Venus on the beach. She looked at Pollux.
“Who delivered this?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. It was found sitting on the steps out front.”
“Strange.” Polaris carefully examined the picture. They each were smiling with such joy in such a beautiful ocean scene, you would’ve never known what truly troubled them. The picture was so serene, she almost forgot that their departure was in two days. She closed the heart and placed the necklace back into its box. Pollux raised an eyebrow.
“Was it a gift?”
“Yes. A very thoughtful one. I’ll give it to Venus.” She looked at him. “She deserves it.”
Pollux nodded and said: “A pretty necklace for a pretty girl. Just to inform you, Polaris… the maids have finished weaving Vecsyan style clothing for each of you. Aldebaran is programmed for its destination and is stocked with enough food and water to last you three weeks. It’s set up for your comfort and ready to go.”
Polaris turned her head toward the window. “Thank you, Pollux.”
He bowed and was about to leave when she suddenly said: “Wait.”
“Yes?”
Polaris rose from her chair and faced him. “Pollux, Epsilon does have a gift. But it’s not being able to foresee the future.”
“It isn’t?”
“No,” she said, folding her hands. “He has the ability to read thoughts and feelings. Even if you try to hide yourself from him, he can see right though you.”
Pollux shook his head in astonishment. “Well now… this all finally makes sense.”
“When he was having those nightmares, he was sensitive to Levi Ceti’s thoughts, though he was thousands of miles away. So, you can imagine… just how much strength he has in this ability.”
Pollux shifted his weight on his feet, with a look of confusion on his face. “Why does Epsilon have this and not someone in the royal bloodline… like you?”
“I have no idea. But I decided that doesn’t matter. King or not, I’ve decided to trust him. He can see things I can’t, and I have to rely on him. Besides… I never give him half the credit he deserves.”
With this, she gave Pollux a little smile that puzzled him even more, and sent him on his way.

Two days passed like the wind and Epsilon rose early on the day of their departure. Polaris opened her eyes slowly like curtains being drawn, and she saw him standing in front of the balcony doors, gazing outside. The sunlight fell across his face and Polaris felt a small jolt. She expected to see a gorgeous blonde, blue eyed man standing there, but instead saw a brown-haired stranger. Epsilon looked at her.
“It’s me,” he said.
Polaris sat up. “I forgot… you look different now.”
“I know. You do too.”
She touched her hair with one hand, then reached over toward the bureau for her contacts which sat in liquid in a container.
“Polaris,” Epsilon said.
She looked up. He beckoned to her. “Come here.”
She rose from the bed and walked over to where he was standing. “… What is it?”
“The suns are rising…” he said quietly. “For the minute, the edge of the sky looks like it’s on fire. To me, all creations of beauty relate to each other, so… I wanted to see you before you put your contacts on.” Polaris smiled to this, and for half a moment, the way the red sunlight hit her face and reflected off her green eyes, she looked like she did when she was seventeen. Epsilon felt a sudden sorrow in his heart and immediately looked away toward the sky.
“What we’re gonna do now is put on some Vecsyan peasant clothing, walk outside straight to Aldebaran, which is behind the castle, and leave. The only people who will see us leave are: Pollux, Mizar, Castor, and Father and Mother. Another thing I wanted to tell you was that… when we get to Sidon, you’ve got to let go.”
“Let go?”
“Yeah. Let go of everything you learned here, everything you lived. How to be royalty, everything. You’re not a queen anymore, so you can’t talk like one, you can’t act like one, and you can’t walk like one or roll your eyes like one. Got it?”
“You’re telling me this now? Don’t you think I knew all of this already?”
“Yeah, of course. But I put more emphasis on it, so you can remember it more clearly. You’ll see me saying this to you in your head, especially in times when you find yourself walking pin-straight as you do, talking with long words, giving orders, or expecting to be pampered by maids.”
“I can live like everybody else, despite the fact that I was born and raised in a castle as royalty. I will prove it to you.”
“Oh, no doubt, love. I’m just helping you. Now repeat after me… ‘My name is Liana Midani and my husband is Evon Midani. My daughter is Ariah Midani.’ Go ahead. Repeat.”
Polaris stared at his face and repeated this.
“Good. From now on you call me Evon, and I’ll call you Liana, and we’ll call Venus, Ariah. These are our new Vecsyan names. Let that sink into your mind. We can’t make any mistakes on this ‘cause they’ll figure out something’s wrong quick.” He touched her face and said, “Put your contacts on.”
They changed into their Vecsyan robes, which were tan and brown colored with black checkers around the sleeves and hem along with plain, tan Vecsyan shoes. Venus was waiting in the hallway after they changed their clothes, with her contacts in and already dressed by Corona in a Vecsyan robe, obviously feeling melancholy. She kept staring at the floor. Polaris ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair with reassuring words of everything that was yet to happen. Then she took her by the hand while Epsilon took her by the other, and they made their way to the back of the castle and outside. Here was a large open field with long swaying grass, and sitting in the middle of it like a dark hill was Aldebaran. It was shaped somewhat like a bug crouching and ready to take flight, and stood on four metal beams. Venus chewed her bottom lip and wondered how they had gotten it out of the castle’s basement and into the open. Epsilon then gave Polaris a sly grin, and they began to swing Venus into the air by the arms as they walked. Though she tried not to, Venus couldn’t help from laughing until her stomach ached. As they got closer to Aldebaran with the warm sun on their backs, they could see a small crowd of people standing around it, watching them approach. One of them was walking toward them. It turned out to be Pollux, who finally came clearly into view.
“Good morning, your Majesties,” he said in a strange sad tone that brought them back to reality. “How do you all feel?”
No one seemed to know how to answer this question, for no one spoke. Epsilon smiled at last and said: “We’re so refreshed and ready, we can’t explain how we feel.”
Pollux slowly nodded, appearing guilty all of a sudden. “Very good. Right now, Mizar is going to give you quick instructions on how to operate Aldebaran.”
Mizar was standing off to the side, his white shirt and wrinkled face stained in black grease. “It’s very easy,” he said. “It’s all voice activated. When you’re going to leave here, simply say, ‘Ready for departure.’ It will ask you, ‘What destination?’ In response, say: ‘Sidon, Quadrant Eight.’ It will repeat this back to you and ask, ‘Is this correct?’ Simply say ‘Yes.’ and off it will go. It’s programmed to its course and already set to land without any commands. Also… Aldebaran keeps it’s own gravity inside regulated to the same strength of the force of our planet. When you land and exit it however, that all changes so be prepared.”
“Everything you need and all your supplies are inside,” Pollux said. “We carried them in for you.”
Venus peered up at Aldebaran’s smooth metal surface while her father stayed silent. He had an unusually heavy frown on his face, and Polaris turned to him in concern.
“Let’s make this quick,” he said. “I don’t want to drag this on any longer than it has to be.”
“My very next words,” Antares said, coming forward. He looked at his son for a long while, and said, “I have to say it… you make a better blonde.” A short woman, no more than five feet with light, brown eyes and dark golden blonde hair like Epsilon’s true hair color stood beside him.
“Leave your son alone,” she said, spreading her arms and embracing Epsilon in a hug.
“Careful, Deneb,” Antares told her. “Don’t embarrass him in front of all these people.”
She kissed Epsilon on the cheek. “You always were my favorite son,” she said to him, holding his face in her hands.
“I was your only son, Mother,” Epsilon said.
“Even so! If I had any other children, you would still be my favorite.” She released Epsilon and gathered Polaris and Venus in each of her arms to hug them both at once. “Take care of each other,” she said to them. “And never give up.”
“Alright, that’s enough,” said Antares. “Let them leave without regret. We’re not here to change their minds.” He looked at Epsilon. “You know what you have to do,” he said sternly. “And when you’re done, I’ll be right here waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Antares gave him a slap on the back. “Go get ‘em kid.”
At this, Mizar glanced around and crossed his arms. “Aldebaran,” he said loudly. “Open doors.”
There was a sound of grinding metal, and a large ramp rolled down from beneath Aldebaran to the ground. Epsilon took Polaris’ and Venus’ hands and walked toward it. He paused and shook Mizar and Castor’s hands along the way, then saw Pollux standing silently to the side. He had such a sad look on his face, it took a while for him to bring his gaze up to Epsilon’s face. Then he held out his black gloved hand.
“To communicate,” he said, handing Epsilon a small metal box that looked like a radio. Epsilon put it into one of his pockets. “Thanks,” he said, and Pollux smiled weakly.
“Pollux…” He looked up.
“When I come back, we’re gonna drink all night together.”
Pollux laughed. “Sure thing, boss.”
Epsilon gave him a look, and Pollux said, “I mean, Epsilon.”
Epsilon smiled. “Until then.”
Polaris watched in wonder as Epsilon gazed uneasily about at everyone, then at the castle in the distance under the three suns. Then he closed his eyes in a sort of wince and began walking up the ramp. Venus put her thumb in her mouth, hearing their shoes clank against the metal. She turned around and the last things she remembered were the brightness of the sky, the smell of the beach on the breeze, and Pollux’s light brown eyes looking up at them, slanted in a look of worry.
“Close doors,” Epsilon suddenly said and the metal ramp lifted upward and slammed shut. The white florescent lights inside Aldebaran flickered on. It was bigger inside than it appeared outside, and nearly all open space. Everything was white, from the polished floor to the walls, to the tall ceiling. Venus felt like they were standing in the middle of a cloud.
On the wall before them there was a large black screen. Her parents peered up at it, then her mother touched her father’s arm.
“Epsilon,” she said quietly. He looked at her, staring directly into her eyes. She gazed back at him for what seemed like eternity, then gave him a brisk nod. Epsilon looked at the screen with an expression on his face that seemed to burn with determination.
“Ready for departure,” he said. The screen began to glow. “What destination?” a woman’s voice echoed.
“Sidon, Quadrant Eight.”
“Sidon, Quadrant Eight. Is this correct?”
Epsilon smiled. “Yes.”
“Confirmed.”
The floor began to tremble and Venus pulled her thumb out of her mouth. Before she could ask any of the questions circling in her mind, they suddenly felt weightless and Venus lost her balance and fell to the floor. Polaris quickly picked her up into her arms.
“We’re already moving and moving fast,” Epsilon said to her. “Go downstairs and get some rest.”
Polaris walked toward an opening in the floor that turned out to be a staircase that led downward. At the bottom, there was another white room with lower ceilings and two beds set up in one corner. In the opposite corner was a small refrigerator. Polaris put Venus down on the smaller bed.
“Go to sleep, Venus,” she whispered. “We’ve got a while before we get there.”
Venus lay down on her side and watched her mother climb slowly back up the stairs. Moments later, she was asleep.



Minutes spilled into hours. Epsilon didn’t eat, sleep, nor speak much during this time, but just sat in one of the white cushioned, square metal chairs that were nailed into the floor, set up before the large screen. His light brown eyes wouldn’t wander around the room and he would hardly blink. Polaris sat beside him, watching him intently as if she were about to say something, or actually several things, but she never did. Whether he deeply regretted his decision of leaving a world of perfection to go to one which was the opposite while putting his life and that of his family’s in danger, she couldn’t tell. He had no fear or distress on his face, nor evident guilt for that matter. But he was painfully silent. Her mind was sorting through every reason for his odd behavior, from him still being angry with her to the depressing blackness of space on the screen. But what she did know is that he knew exactly what she was thinking. When she would look away from him, she could feel his eyes upon her, then she would hear him sigh.
“Liana,” he said at last.
“Yeah?” she answered.
He smiled sweetly, but his face quickly dropped into a frown again. “Do you know how much… how much I care about you, and Venus?”
Polaris sat up straight in her chair. “How much? More than anything. Why do you even ask me this?”
“I’m putting you through a lot, and it will only get worse. I can already see it.”
“…What are you seeing?”
“That… to get through this, we have to be strong in every way. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whenever things get very difficult, please don’t think that I did this to hurt you or Venus.”
“Evon…” Polaris shook her head with a nervous smile. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You will see.” He swallowed, and said, “I want you to rehearse with Ariah her new name, our new names, and what she is to say when someone questions her about where she is from. Teach her how not to let anyone know who she really is.”
Polaris nodded dejectedly and went downstairs. For the next four days, she practiced with Venus on everything she was to say to not let her true identity be revealed. Venus wasn’t enthusiastic about any of this, and only looked very tense. She asked her mother relentless questions about the Saiteimians, and only got discouraging answers. There was nothing good to say about them, and Polaris could tell Venus was growing more and more afraid as her five and a half year old imagination began to run off on its own.
“You know we won’t let anything happen to you,” Polaris told her. “We love you too much.”
“But how are we gonna beat them?”
“Your Dad has a plan. He’s going to try to become friends with the Emperor. Then, we can find out secrets about the Saiteimians to help us defeat them.”
“What kind of secrets?”
“Well, a long time ago, there was a queen on our world named Capella. She said that one day a special, good Saiteimian was going to be born to destroy all the rest of the bad Saiteimians. Now we know that the Emperor has a son, who is not acting like all the other bad Saiteimians. He might be able to help us defeat them and set the slaves free.”
Venus looked puzzled at all this, and Polaris said, “You might not understand everything because you’re still a little girl. But don’t worry... we’ll be okay. Now go to sleep. You’ve been awake for hours.”
Venus lay down with her mind busier than ever, listening to Aldebaran’s reverberating engines as Polaris went upstairs. She sat beside Epsilon, and reached for his hand.
“She’ll understand when she gets older,” he said, without looking at her. “For now, she is trying to figure things out on her own.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distant. I’ve a lot to think about.”
“I know.”
“Have you slept much?”
“No, but I’m worried about you, Evon. You haven’t slept more than six hours since we’ve left.”
“Don’t worry about me.” He let out a quiet sigh, and said, “But I guess that’s too much to ask of you.” His voice was soft, and his eyes finally met hers for the first time in hours. Polaris got up at this and sat in his lap. The surprise on his face was enough to nearly make her laugh, and she curled up in his arms as if she were a child. Without a word, he at last began to smile. She laid her head on his shoulder, inhaling his scent which enveloped her, and fell asleep.
She heard in her hazy dreams some time later an echoing voice:
“Two hours to destination.”
Her eyes opened slightly, and she felt Epsilon touch her face.
“Wake Venus up. Get your things together.”
Polaris drowsily got up and went downstairs. She arranged their clothing into three sacks and made sure the things they needed, such as their contacts and hair dye was hidden in specially sewn pockets on the insides of their Vecsyan robes. She shook Venus awake and gave her a glass of water. While she sipped at it sleepily, Polaris brushed her long hair to relax her. Finally, she grabbed two sacks of clothes while Venus carried the last one, and they made their way up the stairs.
Epsilon stood in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets. Polaris placed the sacks of clothes on the floor. “Now what?” she asked him.
“We wait,” he said, sitting down and still looking at the screen. Polaris followed his gaze. In the center of the black screen was a small, brown dot. Venus dropped her sack of clothes on the floor and sat on it.
“Mama, I’m tired,” she said, yawning. “Don’t fall asleep,” Polaris told her, kneeling beside her. “We’re almost there.”
They sat in nervous agitation, watching the brown spot on the screen grow larger and larger. The room was quiet, but it was obvious their thoughts were racing. Venus seemed too confused and exhausted to notice.
“Thirty minutes to destination,” the voice echoed again.
“Just look at how big that planet is,” Epsilon said quietly, watching the screen. “It’s no wonder they have enough space to multiply.”
Suddenly the entire room shook and jerked violently, Venus let out a scream and held onto her mother.
“What was that?” Polaris asked Epsilon.
“Gravity,” he answered. “It’s pulling us in.”
Polaris pulled Venus onto her lap, reassuring her in a calm voice. She didn’t think it helped much. While she held her daughter in her arms, she could feel her heart beating like a drum. Polaris looked at Epsilon, who watched her with a dire expression on his face. He could feel her fear and see the images she held in her mind of their deaths before even reaching ground.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “We’re gonna be fine.”
“Entering atmosphere,” the voice said. The floor began to tremble again. A sheet of brown now filled up the whole screen and the shapes and ridges of land could be seen.
“After this shaking stops,” Epsilon said. “… and we’re there.” He stood up and walked over to Polaris to kneel beside her. “We’re okay,” he said, rubbing Venus’ back. “Trust me.”
“Warning!” the voice said suddenly. “Aldebaran’s approach detected by Saiteimian radars.”
Polaris’ eyes widened. “… Evon, they know we’re coming.”
“Yeah,” Epsilon answered. “But that’s alright. We want to be noticed.”
Venus peered out through one eye. The screen showed thick brown clouds swirling past them. They reminded her of on Saihami when she stood in the waves while they pulled back to sea, and she would watch the water flow backward between her legs and around her ankles. Finally, the brown clouds broke apart, and she heard her mother draw in a sharp breath. Dark cities stretched out below them, covering the brown land. Even as Aldebaran kept moving swiftly along, the cities did not end. Polaris looked at Epsilon in amazement, but before she could speak, the voice resounded:
“Landing location reached.”
They again felt the weightlessness they had felt when leaving Saihami, and for a long terrifying moment, it felt like they were falling from the sky like a stone. The room shook terribly and Venus almost became nauseous, but held tightly onto her mother. She couldn’t decide whether or not to scream in panic, when she looked at her father. His face was solemn, but showed no fear and this made her hold in her terror. At last the shaking stopped, and everything became silent.
“Landing successful,” the voice said, and the screen darkened to black. Epsilon quickly stood up.
“Let’s go,” he said. “Get your things.”
Polaris set Venus down and stood up in a daze, grabbing her sack of clothes. Venus picked up her sack, feeling so disoriented she wanted to cry. Everything seemed surreal.
“We have to move fast,” Epsilon said firmly. “They know we’re here and they’re gonna come looking for us. We have to find them first. Open doors!”
The floor slanted downward, and the metal ramp rolled out. Epsilon grabbed their free hands and led them both outside. The first thing they noticed once their feet touched the ground was the gravity which pulled them achingly downward. It was felt in every muscle in their bodies and Polaris let out a groan in shock. Epsilon pulled them closer to him and continued moving. Venus looked up at the sky. It was a mud brown, with two faded bright spots, which she guessed were the suns. The air was musty, and there was nothing around them but stunted, twisted trees and a dusty path seeming to lead nowhere. She wanted to ask her father exactly where they were going when they heard someone shout. Her father looked up in alarm and her mother gasped. Two dark figures appeared in the distance, hesitating where they were for a brief moment. But once they caught sight of the three of their faces, they began to run toward them.