Courage Comes From Lies

Chapter 31: Tara

What I remember from this night... I was asleep. Trapped in a nightmare on loop... Each time it replayed it was always the same thing.. Starting off as the day I lost them... First our King. Then my parents. Then Eric and Kendall... Everyone I'd ever held close to my heart.. murdered by that bitch. Then it switched to Devin and I in a battle with a monster while she watched in a stadium. The Queen was sly and made me choose between my life and Devin's, after having her captured during our fight. I did my best to try and get around the monster I believe was a supernatural. But it wouldn't give me an opening. Whatever I tried it just threw me back to where I started. And all I could hear was Devin screaming at me to surrender because I stood no chance. And right before I lunged at the supernatural with my blade I ended up right back at the beginning of this torture..
I sat up in my crate, completely exhausted. Another sleepless night on this crappy spacecraft. The crate was absolutely impossible to sleep in regardless but this dream made it ten times worse. And then, I heard it again. The same sound I've been hearing everyday since being on this thing. A light metal tapping, twenty-seven steps exactly, followed by the latch door to the room my crate is in being undone and opened. And that guy, Leo, standing in the doorway with a dish of food for me.
"Hello Tara" he said to me like usual as he walked in, shutting the door behind himself and sitting criss cross in front of my crate.
"Hey", I responded back watching him. It's been about three to four days of him coming to sit with me while I eat.
"How did you sleep?" He asked me opening my crate. "I'd imagine its hard to sleep in a small crate like this." I just looked at him as he said this.
"Not at all" I said sarcastically as I climbed out and sat adjacent to him. "It's every girl's dream to fall asleep and wake up in a tiny wooden crate at the bottom of a ship taking her to her death. Thanks for asking though."
He smiled at this reply and slid my food towards me along with a juice pouch this time. "You're quite quick with your responses aren't you?"
I picked my plate up and started eating. "There's always an answer to stupid questions" I said to him carefully eating. "It's called sarcasm."
"I suppose that's true. At least partially. Other times stupid questions aren't answerable. But someone as quick thinking and "sarcastic" as you would find a way huh?" He smiled looking at me. I just looked back at him chewing then swallowed my food.
"What's your deal Leo?" I asked setting my plate down. "I know you told me you wanted to be my friend because we'd be seeing a lot of each other with you being my delivery boy and all but you're being sort of uncomfortably nice to me as if we were childhood friends." He looked at me a bit confused then let out a soft sigh sitting up straight. His entire expression changed from relaxed to a bit serious. This made me tense just slightly as he began to speak.
"I was actually hoping you wouldn't ask me that again. I was hoping you'd just accept my hospitality because nobody else here gives you anything less than property treatment. But I suppose since I did say I'd like for us to be friends, it's my obligation to tell you my real reasoning." He looked at me which made me sit up straight tensing more. "First of all. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable in any way. It was not my intention. The ship's data tells me your original goal was to make the queen pay for what she did to your family and friends correct? She invaded your kingdom, killed your King then murdered your parents, older sister and two best friends."
I nodded slowly. "So?"
He met my eyes. "The reason I immediately apologized after hearing what happened to your loved ones is because she did the same to me. I lived in an Ursa Minor mini galaxy. In a city called Reimus. I was eight when she invaded my city. She killed my birth parents, my two older sisters and my baby brothers." My eyes widened as I listened to him.
"So... your entire family was taken from you by her as well.." But.. that doesn't explain why he's here. So I asked, "How.... did you survive?" He looked at me with a straight face but his eyes showed all the sorrow and pain he felt from thinking about how he lost everything he held close to him. Like me..
"I pledged my loyalty to Queen Yolaris in exchange for her sparing my life. She had me prove my worth by ordering the murder of one of her guards. And ever since that day I've been working under her. Praying each night that my parents and older sisters would forgive me for working for the woman that murdered them. I doubt they would but.. there's nothing I can really do about that is there? This was nine years ago." I just looked at him in silence. He looked at the floor with a blank expression but his eyes told me everything.. He's still in so much pain after nine years. Without thinking I found myself pulling him into a tight hug. He looked at me a bit confused.
"Why.. are you hugging me, Tara?" He asked me, his arms hanging at his sides. I just held him tightly.
"I can see the remorse in your eyes. You're hurting so much because of her. I understand exactly what you're feeling. I wish I could've done something too. I wish I could've saved my family. I wish I was more useful in a situation like that. But that won't bring them back." He swallowed a bit.
"There's.. no need to get so emotional over it..." I shook my head just holding him in my embrace.
"But it's always nice to be held by a friend." He looked at me a bit surprised.
"You consider me a friend now?" I pulled away and looked at him.
"Like I said. It's nice to have a sense of positivity in this room after being alone. And if that positivity can't come from you, I'll step in as your friend."
He blinked looking at me and all at once, his eyes welled with tears. I just pulled him back into a tight hug and allowed him to cry against me. This felt nice. Being able to comfort somebody like this.