Courage Comes From Lies

Chapter 43: Devin

| 7:29 am that morning in the dining room of Heidi's house |

I sighed softly eating my breakfast with Leo. He looked at me mid chew and swallowed his food before speaking to me.
"Are you okay, Princess?"
I looked at him and sipped at my orange juice before answering. "I'm not sure. I believed Tara when she said she would only focus on getting out this new power. But part of me is telling me that I need to be there. I know my mother and I know Tara. Tara is impulsive and my mother is manipulative. If they clash heads before I have time to get there, I'm afraid I'll lose Tara before we both can feel safe again."
"That's understandable, Princess. But I don't think Tara will allow herself to fall into a deeper pit than she already has herself in before you can arrive. I think she trusts you enough to tell you what she really plans on doing."
"You could be right. And I don't doubt her. Not in the slightest. I'm just worried because she's basically trapped." I finished my breakfast and juice before sighing quietly. Catalina came in to take my plate and glass and brought them to the sink to be washed.
"Something on your mind, cariño?" She asked me as she began washing them. "You look a bit down."
"It's Tara. I spoke to her early this morning. She told me she plans on trying to unlock this new power she found out she has before facing my mother. And I believe her. But I also believe that she won't have time if my mother decides to wanna torture her for fun. I'm worried that she's in an even bigger mess than she realizes. She's impulsive. I can't have her running in head first."
"I see." She inquired. "Have you found out why she's there in the first place?"
"Es por su poder mamá. La reina le tiene miedo." Leo added in.
"Ohh I see. So your mother feels fear. That's interesting. Fear makes people act very irrational."
"Yes but my mother has been this way for as long as I remember. Even when I was the child that looked up to her, I could see she was twisted. I only fully realized it when she took my father and sister from me. Tara's already experienced this. My mother took her entire family and friends from her. Including her King, Alden. Tara is dead set on making my mother pay for everything she's done to us."
"And you're worried that with Tara's impulsiveness, she might end up getting herself killed?" Catalina asked as she turned the water off.
"Exactly... She's the first best friend I've had in years and the first person I've ever romantically loved. I can't lose her to the same person I lost my family to."
"I understand." Catalina said while drying her hands. "I couldn't imagine losing Heidi to the person that took everything from me either let alone at all. She's my world. How long would it take you to get there from here?"
I looked at her and tilted my head. "I'd imagine it would be a one and a half day trip with the FTL action."
"And how much do you think you'll heal before you're ready to leave?"
"Believe me, Mrs. Catalina, I'm ready to leave now. I can't afford to lose anymore time with this mission. How long does that tonic take to finish?"
Leo looked at me and said, "Its been nearly two full days since you took the tonic. It should be finished by tonight going into tomorrow."
"Then that's when you can leave. Excuse me, I need to have Heidi speak to Ryane about your weapons." She then walked out, leaving me and Leo in the dining room. I sat back ruffling my hair and looked at him.
"You understand where I'm coming from too right?"
"Of course, Princess. As I stated before, I also would not like to lose Tara. She's become a good friend of mine even if we haven't known each other long. I'd like her to be safe just as much as you. Shall I accompany you when you leave?"
"Yes please. It'd be nice not going alone."
"Yes Princess."
I stood up and looked down at him, him meeting my eyes. "I'm going to take a walk outside."
"Yes, Princess. Please be safe."
"I will." With that, I walked out the front door and looked up at the sky. The Ursa Sun hadn't fully risen yet due to Season Autumn so the sky was a beautiful light blue and purple with the stars still visible. I breathed in the cool air and started walking around the house's property. Their garden was gorgeous. Flourishing hibiscus flowers and lavender plants. I stopped to sniff at one before Heidi approached me with her sister. I stood back up to greet them.
"Hey, Devin. This is my younger sister Ryane Irenio. She's the one that's working on your weapons."
Ryane held her hand out for me to shake with a smile. "It's nice to meet you Devin. I heard it was my husband and Leo who found you in that wreck."
I shook her hand politely. "Please pass on my gratitude to your husband for finding me. I'm not sure where I'd be if I wasn't found."
"Of course", she replied to me. "Now. I'm working on both your pistols. They're now dual action with at least a 50 ammo mag. And the bullets are made to penetrate straight through the body so you're able to do some real damage. Let me see your hands."
I tilted my head looking at her but showed her my palms confused. She took them in hers and gently began caressing and feeling them, to my bewilderment. This went on for a couple of seconds before she let go.
"Okay. I've got an idea of how to make the grip more comfortable for you. Is there anything you want to ask or request of me before I get back to it?"
"Um... how will I get there? I'd imagine my ship was totaled."
Heidi looked at me. "You'll be taking one of my buggies. It also has the FTL action and you'll appear less conspicuous when entering the capitol."
"Thank you Heidi. I think that's all."
"Then why don't you head in and get some more rest? Catalina tells me you're leaving early in the morning so you need all the rest you can get. Go on, sugar."
I obediently went back inside to leave Heidi and her sister to talk. I passed Leo who was washing the rest of the dishes.
"Hello, Princess", he said to me. "How was your walk?"
"It was okay. I spoke to your aunt about my pistols then Heidi suggested I get more rest so I'm going to do that."
"Of course, Princess. Sleep well."
Walking past him to my room, I couldn't help but wonder about what Tara was doing. Maybe I'm worrying too much. Maybe she does have this all handled and I'm just being overbearing. I sighed climbing into bed and looked at the ceiling. Tara... I really hope you do. Because I can't handle all this worrying.