Surviving my Scholarship

Conclusion

"Mrs. Galloway," I hiss. "Please be quiet. We are trying to sneak in."

"Sorry dear," she looks at me ashamed. "I am just so excited to do something like this again."

Again? I shake my head moving forward and under the gate. My small group of women follows behind me. They obviously were better trained than Mrs. Galloway. At least they are silent in our travels.

I slip the servant entrance open and slide inside to the throne room where the queen is waiting for a scheduled meeting with her daughter. Or so she thinks. When we charge behind the drapes towards the throne, we are met with half of her arsenal pointed at us.

"Do you really think me that stupid," the queen scoffs from the balcony above us. "My daughter would never make an appointment to see me. She knows better than to do that. I would kill her on sight. You make a terrible imposter. I think I would know my own daughter. You are definitely not her."

It is then that I, well someone who looks exactly like me, walks from the door of the balcony to the queen smiling at her. What is going on here? That looks just like me?!

"What is this some type of trick," the queen calls out in outrage. She takes a swing at me, well the me on the balcony, and I seem to flicker a second. "AH!" She screams out as second me aims and shoots her in her head. She lands to the floor with a thud. Then, I vanish.

"Hold on Violet," Pierce kisses the top of my head again before gently rubbing the top of it. It hurts, but in a way it is the only comfort I have now. It is Pierce's way of saying he is here for me now and always, or at least I hope that is what he is trying to convey. I couldn't deal with another Pierce rejection. I am sure it would kill me. Well if this giant gaping hole in my stomach doesn't do it first. I can't believe I got shot! Over what? A planet. No! Not even a planet. A moon.

A drop of cold wetness drops on my head and my eyelids flinch at the unexpectedness of it. I haven't been able to open my eyes since the explosion. I am exhausted. The darkness that surrounds me feels heavy and warm. It would be so easy to just give in to it, but I promised Pierce I would fight and hold on until he could get me to safety. I promised. At least, I think I did.

I awoke to an impact. Trying to shift my weight upward, I assumed we needed to hurry to get out of here before they blew up our tiny craft. I am still shocked we both fit in, in the first place. Two strong hands pushed me back down with a shushing noise that only irritated the angry wasps in my head.

"Violet," Pierce's deep soft voice penetrated the piercing sound in my brain. "We are safe now, but we can't go back." Ever? "Well eventually this will all die down but not for a long time." Did I say that out loud? "Yes, Violet. Can you open your eyes?"

It took way too much effort, but they opened. It was like I forgot how to use my eyelids or something. The bright lights that attacked my pupils made me cringe again. I blinked a million times before I adjusted enough to see the battered Pierce before me. The blood had dried to his face long ago. He looked like a hero from a bloody action movie. He had healed my wounds while I was unconscious but I could still feel the muscles cramp with their newness. It hurt as if still an open wound.

"Where are we," I ask as Pierce helps me adjust in the small space. Glancing out the front of the craft, I recognize it instantly. "Is this the JFK airport? Are we on Earth?"

"Yes to Earth, I have no idea what the name of the shuttle landing strip is," Pierce grumbles while rubbing the back of his head. People start running towards the craft and I quickly realize they see nothing out of the ordinary. Not a craft that is charred and beaten beyond recognition.