Vengeance

Chapter 3

I stood at the far end of the main room with Atticus and Jadis, listening closely as the doors opened and a ramp was lowered to the ground. Almost immediately, I heard a rough masculine voice calling from below. I thought his voice shook from anger, but as I listened, I realized it may have been something else.

"State your purpose for landing on planet Earth."

"We come with a request for your leader," I heard Lorelei's voice, shaking a little with nerves. I knew she was still a little nervous, but not nearly as much as she had been a few hours prior.

"We decline your request. You have no right to land on planet Earth uninvited."

There was a beat of silence before I heard Lorelei speak up again, her voice firm. "I am Princess Zara of planet Zucar. Refusing me the right to land on this planet is against our treaty. I will declare war if I am turned away."

I mentally applauded her acting, and I was instantly glad she was the one I had picked to carry out this task. Her voice was higher than the other guards', closer to my own, and easily believable to be a teenager's. On top of that, she was able to put away her nerves and carry out the task at hand with little hesitance.

It was the guard's turn to pause. A few seconds passed before I heard shuffling and muffled whispers. I let out a slow breath as I twitched anxiously near the back door, waiting for the right moment to sneak out. I never had a good time trying to stay still. My body insisted on being in constant motion.

"I apologize, Your Highness. I am new here, and I didn't recognize you. I am Kai of camp Scorpion, rank one, strength. I politely offer you a guide to meet the Majesties."

I had no idea what the words after his name meant, but I recognized the change in his attitude. I glanced over as Jadis tapped me and pointed toward a crew member who was beckoning us towards the door. It was now open, and I realized that the guards had shifted to the side during their talk. We were now hidden from their view.

I nodded my thanks to the crew member and gestured for Jadis and Atticus to follow me. The ramp was too loud to be stealthy, so it wasn't lowered. Instead, I took a step closer to the door and jumped as softly as I could to the ground, wincing at the soft crunch. The other two followed as I moved forward warily, my eyes searching and ears listening.

Atticus waved a hand to get my attention and pointed toward a row of Earth spaceships. They were rougher and not nearly as sleek as ours, but they would provide good cover to help us sneak away unnoticed.

We walked as fast as we could while making as little noise as possible. I admitted it was fairly difficult to accomplish with the rocks crunching beneath my shoes. I tensed and got ready to bolt when I heard a shout behind me.

"Stop! What are you doing?"

I glanced back and felt a stab of relief when I saw the guard's eyes locked on the crew member who had descended after us. We were further around the back of the ship than the crew member, and he hadn't seen us yet. I urged Atticus and Jadis to keep walking and we soon made it behind the nearest ship.

"Apologies, Sir. I only meant to check our fuel."

"Allow me to accompany you." It wasn't a request.

I silently applauded the crew member's fast thinking and crept along the side of the Earth ships. Jadis nudged me and pointed to the ships, her face displaying exaggerated disgust. I let out a quiet snort of amusement. Compared to our spaceship, theirs was ugly. I had noticed some guards observing our ship with fascination as we snuck past, and it was clear why.

I thought that maybe they would try to replicate our design. I couldn't wait to hear about the attempt. It looked a lot simpler than it actually was, and I doubted the Earthlings would be able to accomplish it anytime soon.