The Cross in Our Stars

Chapter 17

The commotion all around her is muffled, running in slow motion and out of focus as she stands still, only able to stare at her mother's spitting image. A sister? How had she not known? Why had she not known?

"I'm so sorry to have taken so long to see you, but I knew this would happen." 'This' being old memories and sadness at seeing her face. Andira sees Nira blinking slowly, nodding through her sniffling. She squeezes her hands firmly once in support. "We can go somewhere, and talk, but there's something I need to take care of." Cold, light brown eyes turn to Madison, who's watching the touching scene. The hard gaze reminds her of how she got into this situation. A cornered mouse accepting its fate as its hunter advances on it, Andira looms over Madison with a scowl.

She snaps her fingers twice, and two guards from the shield wall come into the circle, leaving the others to make up for the gap. They grip onto her upper arms and lead her out of the circle, calling for a path to be made. Andira loops her arm through with Nira's with a warm smile, leading her to the small group of their family in the distance.

The remaining Mi Tal Nej break up the crowd, urging them to return to their homes until further notice, adding that no one is allowed to leave. Louis weaves through the villagers to catch up with the guards escorting Ria to confinement, standing in their path.

"I'd like a bit of time with my daughter, if that's alright?"

They give each other uncertain glances, not wanting to disobey orders, but now aware of his status. Ria turns to her escorts. "Don't worry. I know where confinement is. I'll be there."

"I'll take her myself," Louis adds, seeing the guards nod and salute them before they leave. As soon as they turn their backs, Louis stumbles back, peering down and seeing only Ria's hair. The rest of her is buried in his chest, breath hitching between sobs.

"Ammi..." Her grip on him is stronger than a vice, afraid of losing him in plain sight again.

He wraps arms about her, placing a kiss atop her head. Hearing cautious footsteps approach, Louis turns to his right, finding Josh a little more than an arm's length away. The guilt on his face and the tears that cascade down is all the apology he would accept. Lifting a hand to him with a tearful smile, Louis invites him, which is accepted without hesitation. He whispers how proud he is of his son, knowing he would've reacted the same way.

Over a decade in waiting, and he finally feels whole again as he holds both his children.

"I've missed this," he says more to himself, thinking it would be many more years before he could hold his children in this way. "There's much to discuss." Reluctantly he pulls them away, wiping away their tears before looking to Ria. "Ask Ren to come home." He looks over their shoulders and sees his wife approaching with a somewhat dazed Nira. "He needs to meet his mother-in-law."

--

Mugs of hot tea are in every hand as they all sit together, as a family, in the living room. Josh and Nira in the single seats, with the couples occupying the long couch. Andira smiles around at them, soaking in this moment. An arm wraps around from her right, allowing her to lean into her husband's warmth. Her eyes go to Nira, who naturally couldn't help but to stare with glazed over eyes.

Realizing that she'd been caught being so rude, Nira blinks out of her reverie and speaks. "I'm really in awe of you two. I don't think I would've been able to keep my mouth shut for a whole five years," Nira says from her favorite chair, cozy with a blanket across her legs. An attempt to excuse her eyes being so fixated on the woman. Her aunt. That she only met less than an hour ago.

Ria laughs at the statement. "Yeah, she's like a leaky bucket!" Laughter fills the air, causing Nira to facepalm at the truth while smiling.

"We had to fix the cut cuff before we could put our plan into motion, which took so long. A lot of the precious metals needed to repair it aren't in their original form on this planet. It took a while to combine," Louis explains as he casts a glance to Ria, who mumbles an apology under her breath. Ren, from his seat on the floor by Ria's legs, nudges her discreetly with a shoulder at hearing her mumble, receiving a hand on his shoulder in reciprocation.