Juliet's Surrender [Juliet's Tryst #2]

Prologue: The Solitary Woman

Ophelia Turner clicked on the old television to watch the nightly news. It shuddered on with a bang then whittled down to static, a relic of the past. Ophelia found herself feeling a strange kinship it. Two things growing very old together. Every night, the news was the same, filled with aerial shots of that ugly palace. There had been some sort of scuffle between the humans and the aliens. The news-station was sure that this meant that the Kyrions leave. There was talk of another attempt to destroy it. She wondered when humans would just accept that they had been invaded.

"Ophelia?"

The old woman jumped at the sound of her name, her neatly pinned curls fluttering with the sudden movement. The last time her husband had called her name was five years ago. It was shaping up to be such a nice evening, too. She had been awaiting with anticipation these last moments of lucidity. Dan Turner had been in the throes of dementia for the better part of three years. He had been getting treatment, but that mysteriously ended one day. She did not inquire further.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where's Jules? Is she coming home soon?"

Ophelia's heart jumped to her throat. Jules. What was she going to tell him? She had not spoken to their daughter for the better part of a year.

"Oh, Jules is just out for night with her friends," she called, scuttling over to his bedside.

"She had a playdate, with that nice Weber girl, didn't she?" Dan was laying serenely in the bed, a large smile on his face, eyes shining. He had the world figured out. Disgust grabbed Ophelia's throat.

"Yes, darling. She won't be home until the morning. She asked so nicely to stay."

"Sure, sure," Dan's eyes glassed over the way they did when he was starting to forget again. Ophelia stood over him, refusing to take his outstretched hand. Out of all the nights to remember, the bastard. His breathing evened out, and Ophelia walked out to continue to watch television. He would be dead in the morning. It was his time.

"Strange world, a documentary which releases next week, explores the changing biological makeup of Earthen plants. Kulon has the ability to interweave strands of DNA with living organisms. Emily Warlow, the director, is here to explain more," the news anchor's voice was cheerful. Juliet sat at the edge of a hotel bed, practically diving her nose into the screen, a rapt attention filling her body.

"Thank you, Diana. So by now, we all know that Kulon is regenerative and able to switch between a state of solid and liquid. The new research we have shows that it is doing so much more to our world than previously thought. It is able to disguise itself as a strand of DNA and essentially wrap itself around. Now, for the cases we study in the film, it does not seem to alter anything. But this has serious implications for what it can do to living animals."

The news anchor strangely contorted her features to hide her disgust.

"That was Emily Warlow, scientist and filmmaker of Strange World. Catch it here at-" Juliet clicked the television off.

Dee insisted that they take the plane back from the impromptu trip to Paris, to "get the fullest human experience". That also meant packing bags, and going to the airport. Dee left to arrange their bags be taken for them. Lugging them around was inefficient, apparently. She would be back any second.

The sparkling ring on Juliet's left hand demanded attention. It kept a slightly cool temperature, something which had taken some getting used to. Somehow, anyone who looked at Juliet would inevitably find themselves staring at the ring. This delighted Dee to no end. She would slide in a very cool, not bothered at all, comment about them being fiancés. In the city of love, this earned them ambivalence at best.

The door opened with a bang as Dee barged in, "We must leave now," she said. "We will miss the two hour mark to the airport. We will be late."

"We are not late, for the record," Juliet giggled and let herself be gently dragged out of the room even though she offered no resistance. As she shared a chaste kiss with her finacé, she knew. This was the last time it would be like this. At least, not for a long while.