Galaxies Apart

Not my King

TW: Implied destruction, self starvation.

A huge explosion goes off in the peripheral vision, and Avni immediately turns in the direction of the window to see smoke and fire rising from the beautiful blue crust of her home planet. The impact must have been huge if it is visible even from space. Her breath staggers and goosebumps erupt on her skin at the realisation that millions of innocent lives - kids, youth, old - are dead in a snap of a monster's fingers.

She cannot help but think if their fate was decided because of her temper, if he wiped out one or both of the countries because of her mistake, if blood of millions of her brethren is now on her hands. She shivers at the thought.

She should have kept her mouth shut when he asked to. Now, how many mouths were silenced on her account?

A bloody picture with weeping, wailing, maimed people fills her conscious. Screams of agony and pain block out all other thoughts and voices as all she sees is death and destruction. Her lips quiver as sobs refuse to leave her mouth. Bile rises in her throat, suddenly making her nauseous, but she doesn't dare to move.

Guilt and anguish courses through her, engulfing her, drowning her. She feel disgusted at herself, at what she has done.

Loud, echoing laughter over the speaker breaks her guilty trance. She blinks multiple times.

That monstrous alien! He's laughing?

He irks something deep inside her, some hidden emotion that makes her want to claw his insides out to avenge the pain he inflicted upon millions of humans. And honestly, she's not a violent person.

"I should record your ghostly faces, Oh Goddess!", his voice is laced with mirth, lacking any shame or guilt for killing innocents mercilessly.

"Still don't want to play along with my games peacemaker?"

Avni doesn't respond to his jab, her face is blank, voice dead in her throat.

"Come on, you're no fun!"

He sounds expectant, amused but suddenly his voice turns cold and serious, losing all mirth.

"I think that's all for today. Just remember, this was only a teaser. If you ever cross me again, it's going to be so much worse."

The screen turns off immediately, speakers go silent and the third panel slides back in place, shutting the window back to their world.

________

One week later, Avni sits sulking in her alloted quarters on the spaceship, staring off into endless space from her bedside glass window.

All male humans were paired up in twos and alloted shared quarters, and the three women humans were alloted smaller, independent ones. They aren't tied up or secluded, they are free to move around in their section of the spaceship, eat freely in the dining area, or socialize as they please.

Avni, however, refuses to leave her quarters. A couple of times when she left them, she was at the receiving end of accusing glares or pitiful looks, and she doesn't have courage to face either anymore. Her food is delivered to her doorstep daily, but she cannot bring herself to eat. Her appetite is practically dead, and she constantly feels guilty and sick of herself.

"So many innocent deaths on my hands, I don't think I can live with myself after this", she whispers to herself as she continues to wonder when that alien will decide to finally put an end to the torture and set her free.

"It wasn't your fault, Avni."

She turns towards the source of the voice and find Xi Chang standing at her door. His usually condescending black eyes shine with compassion today, as he runs a hand through his short, black hair and walks towards her bed with cautious steps. She looks away from him and concentrates back on the vast expanse of the universe instead - dark, scary, and endless - exactly how her life feels.