Authors: Laura D. Bastian
“You can't go back!” I said. They both looked at me as if surprised by my outburst. I blushed, hoping the darkness hid it. I didn't want Jai to see how bothered I was by the idea of him leaving so soon. It hurt in a way I wasn't expecting.
“You can't go back,” I repeated a little quieter. “It wouldn't be safe. You have to keep her away from him. You would be better off waiting to see if she has more Visions to know more of what's happening there. How often do you have them?” I turned to Amira.
“Occasionally,” Amira said. “This was my first Vision since we moved here. My last one was calm and peaceful. I hoped it meant this would be over soon. My father still controlled the kingdom, and the lives of the people moved on as they always had.”
“Do you think Shander is in control now?” I asked.
“I do not know.” Jai sounded so defeated. “There is no way to communicate with them without someone coming here. We were to search for more Traveling ore and make the best life we could while we waited for them to solve things on that end. Her father wanted her to have a chance to learn as much as possible from your planet and culture. That is part of the reason we came to the United States. We wanted to see how the people in the most powerful nation on your planet lived. See what might be good for our planet and see what we do better.”
“And you picked Utah?” I couldn't believe they'd try to learn about the US by coming here.
“The Salt Flats are a perfect place to leave Earth from. We will have to be ready to leave immediately when the time comes.”
“You can't just Travel from wherever you are?”
“The magnetic field around Earth has waves and flows that alternate in a rhythm. With the mountain ranges around here and that huge flat area in the Salt Flats, the interference is less than in most other places.”
“Wow.” I didn't know what to say. They could leave Earth within hours. My eyes started stinging, and I breathed slowly to stop the tears. I hadn't felt as sad when Celia moved away as I did with this information. Of course I could still e-mail and call her whenever I wanted, but when they left, it would be impossible to communicate with them.
“King Chark felt that if Amira was not home, he could focus on solving the problem with Shander,” Jai said. “He didn't want to worry about Shander finding her and holding her for ransom or marrying her against her will. With her previous Visions, we felt hopeful it would be over soon, but now who knows how long it will be before she can return to her father.”
“What about your mother?” I asked. “You've never mentioned her.”
“She died when I was young. I hardly remember her.” Amira's voice was low.
“I'm sorry.”
“Thank you.” Amira placed her hand on my arm and squeezed gently.
“What about your family, Jai?” I asked.
“My father was Amira's mother's brother. I was raised on an estate near the palace until I turned ten.” He paused for a moment. “When my parents died, I went to live at the palace with Amira. I learned how to fight and protect her. I became her personal bodyguard after her other bodyguard was killed.”
“I'm sorry you lost your parents,” I said, longing to comfort him somehow, but having no clue what to say. “I can't imagine how hard that would be. And then to have to leave your home and come to a place across the universe.” I shook my head as I thought about it. And how dangerous was it to be a bodyguard to a princess? Would Jai be killed too?
“It has been hard, but King Chark has become like a father to me. Amira is a better little sister than I imagined I could have.”
Amira snorted in a delicate way that only she could manage. “And you, Jai, have been a typical brother.”
“How old are you guys?” I asked.
“Seventeen,” he answered.
“Seventeen,” Amira said.
“Are your years the same as ours?”
“Pretty close, it may be off by a few days. I haven't really studied it.”
I wasn't sure why I felt so relieved he wasn't older than me. Considering he came from another planet, what would it matter how old he was? But now my parents couldn't object too much to me seeing him, based on his age. And if I wasn't grounded until the end of summer for getting home late tonight, I planned to see him every day.
“How did you know where to land here on Earth?” I asked.
“We came to Scotland where Ramal is. We used the tracker to find him. There is something special about that place too. Something that makes it easy to Travel with our medallions. We arrived on Earth not too far from what you know as the Loch Ness. We stayed with him for a few months while learning about your planet, language, and culture. Delilah and Marshal came to the States to set up a home and background story just before we moved here.”
“We should have stayed with Ramal and not gotten you involved in this.” He glanced at me before fixing his eyes on the road ahead of him.
“I'm glad I've been able to get to know you two.” I hesitantly squeezed his hand.
“I am glad we met you as well.” He smiled at me. I hoped he wouldn't be in a rush to leave now.
“I do worry we may be putting you in danger,” he said again.
“I don't think there's anything to worry about. Who would believe your story if I told them? Which I wouldn't,” I hurried to add. “I hope Shander won't make any attempt to find you here, but I wouldn't be in any danger anyway. Please don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself and Amira.”
“You are probably right,” he agreed. He didn't say more, but I couldn't help thinking he didn't believe me.
We sat in silence for the remainder of the drive home, and Amira fell asleep again. When we got into town, Jai looked at the clock on the dash and asked, “What will your parents do when you get home so late?”
“I'm not sure,” I admitted. “I've never broken a curfew before.”
“I apologize for this,” he said. “It is my fault. I should have paid more attention to the time. I was enjoying the evening too much, and then when Amira woke up screaming, thoughts of anything else left me.”
“Me too. I wouldn't have let you go anywhere tonight without telling me all you did though. Especially if we can't talk about it,” I said with a little sadness.
“We should keep our conversations to a minimum. Perhaps we can give you some more Densinne to be able to think to you,” he offered.
“Maybe. I'll have to think about it.” It had been such a relief to have my thoughts all mine tonight.
“Let me know.”
He pulled the jeep up to the curb in front of my house. Before I could grab my jacket off the floor, he was halfway around the front of the vehicle on his way to open my door. I waited for him a little self-consciously. The other time I'd been in a car with them, he'd opened the door for Amira and I'd opened my own. He'd seemed a little disappointed he couldn't open both doors at the same time, but I never felt like I should wait for him to get Amira's door and then come get mine.
He held his hand out to help me from the car. When I placed my hand in his, I remembered the burn he'd healed for me. Looking down at my hand in his, I felt thankful I had a chance to know him, however short that time might be. I almost selfishly wished for them to be here forever, hoping the situation on Rommader would never be fixed, and they would be forced to remain on Earth. I immediately felt guilty.
“Thank you again for helping me with my hand,” I said, wishing I had thought to ask how he did it. Maybe later.
He raised my hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles, sending shivers of pleasure down my arm.
“I am⦠I'm glad I could help,” he said.
We stood there for a moment looking at each other, and then I reluctantly pulled my hand out of his and turned toward my house. “I should go in. Get it over with.” I shrugged.
“Would it help if I came in and apologized for keeping you so long?” he asked.
“No, I'll be fine. If you don't mind, could you help me bring my stuff up to the house though?” I walked to the back of the jeep.
“Of course.” He grabbed the blanket, cooler, and jugs while I gathered my telescope and checked the back to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. When I turned around to get something from him, he was already waiting at my doorstep.
“Thanks,” I said when I got up to the door.
“You are welcome.”
I let myself in with my key, and Jai helped me carry the items into the house. My parents had fallen asleep on the loveseat in front of the TV. I put my finger to my lips and waved goodbye to him as he let himself out quietly. When he closed the door, I walked back to the window and watched him get in the jeep and drive the few houses down to his.
Taking a deep breath, I walked over to my parents, put my hands on my mom's shoulder, and whispered I was home.
My mom looked at me and then squinted at the clock on the DVD player. “What time is it?” she whispered as she stretched.
“Almost four.”
“What happened to getting home by two?” She yawned.
“It was such an unbelievable shower that we lost track of time. Then we got talking about space and stars and planets that I didn't even think about the time until two-thirty,” I said.
“Hmm. Well, I'm too tired to talk about this now. We'll talk about it in the morning. Don't expect to be able to sleep in though.” She yawned again and then woke Dad up.
He looked at the clock and asked, “Did you have problems with the jeep?”
“No. We just lost track of time,” I said. “I'd have called if I had a cell phone.”
“Just pay for it yourself and it's yours.” Dad's answer was always the same and since I was too cheap, I dropped it.
“Did you have fun?” he asked.
“Yes, it was awesome!” I said, thinking about it all. “It was a perfect night for watching the meteors. Thanks for letting me go up. It wouldn't have been as bright down here on the front lawn.”
“Yeah, you're probably right.” He yawned. “We watched a few of them when we got back, but couldn't see them very well.”
“Let her go to bed, dear,” Mom said. “She's going to have a busy day tomorrow if I know you. She can tell you about it tomorrow.”
“Night,” Dad said with another yawn.
“Goodnight, dear.” Mom hugged me.
“Night.” I'd gotten off easy, but I knew the morning would come early. I rushed up to take a quick shower to get the smoke smell out of my hair before bed.
I dreamed of stars and planets, of kings and queens, of s'mores and Amira, but mostly I dreamed of Jai.
The Day After
Morning came way too soon. Dad came to my door and knocked a cheery beat then poked his head in.
“Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey,” Dad sang as he switched on the light.
I groaned and rolled over, pulling my pillow over my head in the process.
“No no, sleepy-head.” He removed my pillow. “If you're going to stay out until the wee hours of the morning, the biggest punishment I can think of is to get you up at zero-dark-thirty and give you a full day's work.”
“I know,” I mumbled, throwing my arms over my eyes. “I just couldn't stand your singing.”
“How rude you are to your old man,” he replied good-naturedly.
“Sorry, but you always told me to tell the truth, and truth is, you stink.” I peeked at him from under my arm and grinned.
“Ah.” He tossed the pillow at me. “The truth hurts I guess, but I'm the boss here. I'll just keep singing until you're up.” He took a deep breath, and I shot out from under the covers.
“I'm up. I'm up.” I stretched and yawned.
“Good. Come have some breakfast, and then you'll be coming to help me open the nursery so Mom can sleep in. She didn't get much sleep last night.”
“Sorry. We lost track of time.”
“So you said,” he replied.
“I'll be down in a bit.” I stumbled to my dresser to get some clothes.
“Hurry it up. We need to leave in twenty minutes.” He closed the door as he left.
I could handle this kind of punishment. I'd stayed up late into the night many times, watching the stars or reading books I loved and couldn't put down and then gotten up early to go to work. I wasn't too worried about how tired I'd be. I figured I could handle it for the day and then go to bed early tonight. Hopefully Dad and Mom would count this as the full punishment.
Downstairs, Dad served me some toast and eggs. “Here's the eggs, but I didn't make you any bacon.”
“This is great. Thanks, Dad.” I piled the eggs onto my toast, making a quick sandwich. I'd eaten and loaded my dishes into the dishwasher before Dad had finished his breakfast.
“You handle the early morning better than I ever did,” Dad said through a mouthful of eggs. “Why don't you go get the keys to the car and you can drive us to work when I'm done.”
“I can drive us? Thanks.” I went to the hall by the garage and pulled the keys off the hook. Dad climbed in the car a few minutes later and I carefully backed out of the garage.
****
Work went by rather slowly, making me drag midway through the day. My mind kept me occupied with everything I'd learned the night before. Dad asked about the trip, and I tried to keep it light. I told him about explaining some of the stories behind the constellations and how Amira loved the s'mores. I tried to keep it all about the meteors we'd gone up there for, and Dad didn't press for any more details.
While I worked on my own, I dwelt a lot on the moments before Amira's Vision woke her up. When Jai held my hand, it had felt amazing. I couldn't help wondering if things might have led to a kiss.
All morning I kept going over all the things we talked about. By mid-afternoon, I'd been at the nursery working long enough that Dad eventually took pity on me. He told me to take the car home to Mom, releasing me for the day.
At home, I longed to climb into my bed and take a nap, but the desire to see Jai was stronger.
I dressed in one of the outfits from my shopping trip, one Amira said Jai would like. I fixed my hair and put some light makeup on. I usually wasn't one to wear much. Mascara was my one item I would want to take with me to a deserted island. That or lip-gloss, maybe both.
While putting my lip-gloss on, I heard someone at the door. When I opened it, I realized how much my memory of Jai had been flawed. He looked incredible. I stared at him for a while. When I finally noticed he'd been talking to me, a blush crept up my face.
“I'm sorry, what did you say?”
He smiled, making my heart skip a beat. “How did things go last night with your parents?”
“Dad got me up extra early to go to work with him.” I fought a yawn. “He also gave me a curfew of eleven o'clock. Other than that, I don't think it bothered them too much, me getting home so late. Dad just asked if the jeep had any troubles.”
“You kept our secret?” he asked.
“Yup,” I said. “He didn't ask much for questions. He only asked if the meteor shower was as good as I'd hoped.”
“It was pretty fascinating,” he said.
“I enjoyed it too. It was very⦠educational.” I looked in his eyes. “I love the idea there is so much more than has been discovered. I want to know more.” I tried not to beg, but I would, to learn more.
“I talked to the others about letting you use the Densinne. We could talk to you where no one else could hear it. Are you interested?” he asked.
“I am a little nervous about trying to keep my private thoughts to myself,” I said, thinking about my first experience. “I seem to blurt out things I don't mean to say with you.”
“You did extremely well that first day.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “You seemed like a natural at being able to think only what you wanted to let us know. Toward the end, you kept most of it private.”
“That's good.” If my thoughts about him were going to continue progressing this way, I wanted total control over them.
“Will you come over to my home?” Jai stepped away from the door and held his arm as if inviting me to walk down the front steps. “Amira wants to see for herself that you are not uncomfortable about this whole thing. We can also give you a little bottle with the Densinne in it.”
“Sure. I can come over for a bit.” I stepped forward and closed the door behind me.
Jai held his arm out for me. Instead of taking it, I held my hand out lower so he could hold my hand as we walked. He smiled. “You're probably right. That would appear strange here.”
“A little,” I agreed. It was nice to walk next to someone taller than me. I hadn't wanted to shrink for days. I couldn't help noticing Curtis outside with his polishing rag as we came down the sidewalk. Jai must have noticed him too, because instead of crossing the street right away, he led me down the sidewalk on my side of the road. We didn't cross until directly in front of his house.
I tried to ignore the stare from Curtis, but couldn't help feeling giddy that I was holding Jai's hand. Even if it didn't mean what Curtis probably thought it meant, it was nice to have the contact for now.
When we got to his house, Amira opened the door before we got to the first step. She rushed out and grabbed my hands then asked, “How are things with you?” She looked at me as if I might suddenly change my mind and run back home.
“Things are good. It's pretty cool actually,” I assured her.
“That is such a relief.” She led me into the house. “I worried if you had time to think about all of this you would be upset. I would not blame you if you wanted to stay far away from us now that you know who we are.”
Delilah and Marshal came in the room. Jai probably outranked them. It would be strange to think of them as servants to the princess instead of her parents.
Delilah brought me a glass of juice and I watched as Jai poured one drop of the Densinne in it. I was amazed again at how delicious it tasted.
“What's this like by itself?” I asked.
“It is kind of bitter actually. It enhances whatever food it is in, but by itself it tastes horrible,” Delilah answered.
“How soon will it work?” I asked.
“Almost immediately for us, but it did not take effect as fast for you the first time. It will probably work much faster this time since you've had it before. Do you hear anything yet?” Jai asked.
I listened for a bit and soon heard their thoughts. Delilah thought about what foods she liked the best with the Densinne added, and Marshal disagreed, insisting something else tasted better. Amira sang a song in a language I'd never heard before, as Jai translated the words into English for me. It was about a creature similar to an alligator he described, who was the king of a swamp until a small bird chased him out.
“
I hear you. It does work fast,
” I said in my mind to see if they could hear me.
“There aren't any weird side effects like last time. No headache or weird echoes.”
“You had problems the first time?”
Jai asked.
“Yeah at first, but they went away really fast. This time, nothing,”
I said.
“I wonder why it did that to you?”
Amira asked.
“
If you will excuse us Princess, we will get back to work,
” Marshal thought.
“
Thank you both. We will call you if needed,”
Amira answered.
I watched as they left then wondered what to do next.
“How about we go sit, and we can tell you more about us and where we come from.” Amira took me by the hand and led me to the couches in the front room.
I sat next to her while Jai sat on the loveseat by himself across from us. I struggled to keep my thoughts to myself about our seating arrangements, but couldn't help feeling disappointed.
They took turns telling me more about their planet. Jai told me fun stories about when he was a boy, climbing the trees in his family's orchard. He had fallen from the tree and landed on a basket full of a fruit similar to our peaches here. He had to walk back to his home with the slimy, sticky fruit all stuck in his pants making him walk stiff and funny.
I giggled, trying to imagine it and then told him about a time I'd gone fishing with my dad and grandpa as a little girl. After catching my first fish, I wouldn't touch it for the picture my dad wanted to take for my mom. I backed away from it and fell into the lake and ended the trip wearing my dad's undershirt.
“I haven't liked fishing ever since.” I shook my head.
Amira shared a story about how she had hidden in the Throne Room from her tutor who wanted to teach her about the way to properly talk to the dignitaries she would meet in her duties. She'd hidden well enough the tutor couldn't find her. She soon fell asleep and when she woke up, the Throne Room was no longer unoccupied. Her father was in there having a meeting with the dignitaries from a neighboring planet.
She knew those meetings were important, so she tried to stay quiet and wait until he was finished before she went back to her rooms. After waiting for a while, she needed to go to the bathroom. Deciding to leave her hiding spot under the covered chair, she ended up crawling under the dress of one of the visiting dignitaries. The lady panicked when she felt something brush up against her leg, stood up, and screamed, making everyone in the room stop what they were doing to see what had happened.
Amira had bolted out of the room, but her father had seen her in the chaos. He eventually found her and had a long talk about it, but Amira had been so frightened of that lady when she was introduced to her formally later that night, she started crying.
“As I have grown up and have gotten a chance to know her, we are now good friends, but for the longest time I was afraid of her,” Amira said.
We took turns telling stories, trying to beat each other with the funniest or the scariest or the most embarrassing experiences. I also spent some time trying to teach them how to talk without sounding as formal. After a while they improved, but they still didn't talk like normal teenagers. To assure them, I said, “It'll take a while, but you'll get it soon. If anyone asks, you can just say you went to a private school in Europe where your
real
dad lives.”
After a few hours, I noticed the clock and excused myself to go home. “I'd better not push my parents too far. I think I'll go home and get dinner ready.”
“Would you like to do something tomorrow?” Amira asked.
“Well, my parents have one rule about Sundays. Since it is the only day they don't have their nursery open, they have reserved it as a family day. We go to church and then spend the day together.”
“Do you do fun things?” Amira asked.
“Depends on what you think fun is. We do a nice dinner together and try to play a game or work on a puzzle or something. Sometimes we go for a walk or a drive up the mountain.”
“Enjoy your day with your family. We'll see you Monday,” Jai said.
“See ya. Thanks for a fun day.” I was beginning to enjoy Amira, feeling more and more comfortable with her. I was getting more unsure of how to act with Jai though. It seemed natural to hold his hand when he offered it. I wanted to flirt, but didn't know how and didn't want my thoughts to give me away. I didn't even know how long he would be around.