In Our Stars

Run To Safety Chapter 9

Queen Larissa 

Unfamiliar voices echoed in the distance. Stirring awake in a state of dream her opened to a bright starry sky. Slowly she rose from the grass that she once laid in. Dusting of her clothing that she now looked at didn't seem to be hers. A blue big ball gown going to the floor graced her body. This was definitely not something that she would wear. Touching her hair that never looked as tamed in her life without professional help she felt the crown that sat on her head. Gasping she removed the heavily jeweled tiara on her head admiring the craft.

Suddenly she started feeling as though she was no longer alone. Looking up at the sky she knew that she was far away from home since she could see another planet very close by.  Panic began to grab hold of Melody as there was a sound in the distance. Suddenly a yellow pair of eyes locked with hers from a near by bush. Whispers rushed in her head causing her to freeze. A voice came to her clear without looking away from her predator she heard a shout saying RUN!!!
Without hesitation and lack of direction she ran as fast as she could. Darkness followed quickly behind her swallowing up everything. A roaring rumble with in the darkness that she knew would be her demise if she only stumbled.
Her heart slammed against her chest painfully and her breathing was choppy. Legs begging her to stop accompanied with a pain on her side she felt like her lungs was about to collapse. The eerie laugh filled the air around her that gave her motivation to run a little faster.

The voice that beckoned her to run shouted above the hum in her ear,"TURN LEFT!!!" Without hesitation she did as she was told trusting the voice to help her escape the monster behind her.

Unmistakable sound of water was heard near by when the voice became a whisper, "I will never lead you wrong princess. Trust me..."
The wind caressed her and blew her hair behind her. Finally she found a clearing with daylight just a few steps away but there was something welcoming to her about the space. The humming was now louder with the whispers that seemed to be now cheering. A frustrated growl sounded behind her but she did not dare to look back. With renewed determination her speed picked up again ignoring her aches from  running. Finally she was in the light and she turns to face the dark monster she falls backwards still inching away. He could not enter the space she marveled.

A bright golden light descended before her and soon the darkness pulled away leaving a peaceful garden. The warmth cloaked her and Melody felt safe. "Princess... Your destiny awaits..." the familiar golden figure announced.
"Find me..." she whispered with a smile and out stretched arms.

Waking up she opened her eyes slowly. The ceiling that greeted her were her very own in her room. Sighing with relief she turned to her left to find Aiden sleeping in her arm chair that was pulled closer to her bed. By the soft rise and fall of his chest she knew he was asleep. Why was her here and why did she feel this weird feeling about him? She took the opportunity to look at his handsome features that she recently tried but failed to ignore.

She inched closer and looked at his sleeping profile. Bleach blond hair that was a bit curling from its length. Almond shaped eyes with a defined chin paired with pink lips. His aqua eyes held dept like a calm deep ocean - he was awake before she realized. A deep blush took over her face and she felt like she needed to find a hole to hide in. He noticed she was checking him out and she felt mortified. How long had he been watching her watching him? Closing her eyes she said a silent prayer, God take me now but couldn't ignore that the whole zoo was loose in her stomach because of his breath taking smile.
For what seemed like an eternity he holds her stare, she couldn't look away she just drowns in the aqua pools. He moved slowly as though he is approaching a wild animal that might bolt. Coming closer to her almost touching, "welcome back to the land of the living," he whispered showing dimples on his cheek. Melody for the first time saw Aiden's first smile since he arrived.
His smile was breathtaking but something in it held pain that a part of her wanted to wipe away. Taking a closer look at him she saw something in the way he looked at her - fear... Almost immediately his expression changed as though it was all in her imagination. Taking a breath she sighs and smiled back at him. "Thank you." Creasing her brows together the thought struck her, "where is everyone?"
He looks at his watch and says, "it's 2 AM. Everyone's asleep."
"Why aren't you asleep?"
"I was asleep," he simply smiled.
"I'm sorry that I woke you a-and for your loss..." she whispered. His face for a minuet shows a shadow of mixed emotions. He relaxed his expression once again and bows his head avoiding her eyes.
"Thank you."
Without thinking it through she found herself hugging him. Her heart tugged at him with a feeling that she could not describe a knowing feeling. Stunned at first but he quickly reacts by holding her to him. A feeling wrapped around them that they both had never experienced before sending shivers to her skin. Aiden breaks the hug abruptly, "you must rest..."
"You must need to rest as will but I don't wish to be alone. Please stay with me."
He seemed deep in thought and motioned to resume his sitting position in her comfy arm chair.
"As comfortable as my over stuffed chair seems I think you need a good night sleep. There is enough room for us both," she giggled putting her hand to her mouth.
"I must not," he answered, "it's improper for us to share a bed."
Frowning at his words she decided she wasn't having it!
"I don't care! If you must stay with me you must be comfortable. You've been through enough and on Earth we do not treat our guest in this way."
To tired to argue with her he simply walks over to the bed and stayed on the edge of the bed turning his back to her. Smiling at her little victory she thankfully fell into a dreamless sleep.

Aiden's POV

This time Aiden was awake before her and he patiently lay on the bed waiting for her to wake up. How could he feel so much tenderness for another being even though there was so much sorrow in his heart. When he was a boy he remembered his mother's voice that calmed him then and still, in memory calmed him now. She was the guiding spirit and voice to everyone that ever came in her path. Larissa, the queen of Methuselah was the very heart of the planet she made the world as magical as it really was. 

Closing his eyes tightly he remembered his mother's smile and the way her platinum hair would glow in the sun light. The memory of her laughter brought a smile to his lips, she always had a bubbly laughter that seemed contagious. Larissa was very powerful and he had no doubt that she could have single handedly kept the world alive even without the king his father with whom he had a strained relationship with. His father was driven on pressuring him into the role as future king and heir to the throne in which he has no wish for. His sister who was mostly quiet but wise would make a better ruler than he would ever be to Methuselah but their father would not hear of it and pointedly told his mother that she spoiled him. Aiden knew that their father loved them dearly but he was stuck in the old ways and would never change. Now because he would not listen to his queen they both paid with their lives. 

What was of his world now? Most of his people perished and who were captured are now enslaved by Orrin. Queen Larissa always told him that he would have a huge part to play in a war of the universe and his father took it that he would do so by being the future king of their planet. He always asked his mother why she would tell his future in this way but he always trusted her visions as they were never wrong. She would never tell him because she always said that changing fate could cause such ripples in even the most insignificant detail that she was careful about telling others about choices. She was as wise as she was powerful and had the ability of sight including defense magic and as of the age of 5 they too were schooled in their magic. Not everyone had the same power and most times you can manipulate more than one but it was uncommon to have more than two when he as a royal blood line had mastered all of his abilities. 

He was no king! He was a warrior and wanted to fight when Orrin came to their world as his first thought would be to destroy the demon that called himself a God. Anger began to make his body shake while he lay next to Melody. The things that he wanted to do to Orrin given the change was unimaginable by any sane person. It took every once of his being to reign in his anger that also fused with his magical abilities. A bright light illuminate the shadowed room interrupting his thoughts abruptly. He shielded his eyes for the first second of the assault of the brightness of the light. Slowly it began to dim and he slightly moved his arm to find the source of the light. To his surprise the light was coming from Melody's medallion on her chest that rose and fell on her chest as she slept. 

He reached out and lightly held the small pendant in his left hand and looked down into her face that caused the light to dim to nothing. Suddenly she jerked her body pulling away from him with fear on her face. Cupping her face in his both palms to reassure her, "you are safe. It was all a dream."

Her body was visibly shaking as though she was still unsure to trust his judgement. Aiden had the sudden urge to hug her to himself which to his surprise she welcomed pulling him to the bed with her. They did not speak but as their emotions collided he felt protective of her, something that he could not explain to himself because he did not know this person. He always knew himself to be a carefree person that broke classes and never took anything in his life serious but his mother that he dearly loved. This girl that clung to him as though her life depended on it now gave him strange feelings. Though her beauty made him speechless and his life had changed - he had changed from the carefree boy to the man his father possibly always wanted in a son there was a pull that could not be explained. Every time he saw her it made him feel more drawn to her. Why was she so special? She was his fated he knew but there was something else, something that made him feel tingles. He decided at that point that he would find out at any cost. He was not going to lose someone that meant something to him again although a part of him was afraid to embrace her.

Maybe it was time that he spoke with his mother's most trusted friend Melina. His mother always had a reason for everything and if she jumped her children 300 K light years and entrusted her children to this woman who seemed so kind, then there was also a reason behind it. The queen was not impulsive as her son although she sacrificed herself to pull all her magic to them to ensure their safety there had to be an answer to all of this and he was not one to disappoint his mother especially on her last wish.