The White Lion Princess

Blackout

Flashback~~~~~

It was the late evening on Earth. The sun was slowly setting over the horizon, painting the sky in a beautiful array of reds, pinks and purples. It was a perfect picture of peace.

I sat on the edge of a cliff watching the beautiful scene. As I smiled at the setting sun, I felt someone grab my small hand. My eyes lit up when I turned to see who was holding my hand.

It was Keith. He turned to smile at me.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He said in such a soft tone. I nodded.

"Yes, it's a shame that I won't be able to see such a sight when I leave." I replied. His smile turned to a sad frown.

"Do you really have to leave?" He asked. I nodded again. I didn't want to leave, but I had to find the other Palidans.

"I've explained it all before, haven't I?" I said sadly, "I have an important task to complete. My three months with you ends tomorrow."

He quickly jumped to his feet in shock.

"But you can't leave!" He shouted, "I don't want to be alone again!"

I looked up at his tear filled eyes and stood up. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him, and he did the same to me. It was so warm.

I felt safe in his arms.

"I understand you're feelings, Keith. I don't want to leave either, but I must."

"Will we ever meet each other again?" He asked, his voice almost begging me for the answer we both wanted.

I nodded pushing my head further into his warm chest.

"Someday, we'll meet again. Either here on Earth, or somewhere in the stars." I answered.

"So, like in space?" He asked.

"Yeah, we'll meet again in the near future. But, it won't be a safe reunion."

"What do you mean?"

"When we meet, I can tell that when we meet, something terrible will happen and we'll go through many hardships."

"That won't happen!" Keith declared, "No matter what, we'll see each other again and nothing will hurt, as long as I'm by your side."

I gasped, shocked at his declaration, but my shock turned to relief as I hugged him closer to me.

I'm sure that my tears had soaked into his shirt, but he made to sign that I should let go.

"Can you... keep a promise to me, Keith?" I whispered.

"Of course... anything." He whispered back.

"Can you promise... that if I'm in trouble... you'll protect me?"

"Of course I-"

"But..." I cut him off, "If I tell you to stay away, for your own protection... will you stay away?"

We stayed in silence for a little while, my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest as the silence continued.

Finally... Keith gave me his answer.

"Okay," he said, "I'll stay away if you tell me to, but if I find out that you're in serious trouble, I'll come running to protect you."

We stayed like that for a little while longer. By the time we let go of each other, the stars were already shining in the sky.