The Girl of Many Worlds | (Story formerly known as "Multiworldcial")

Prologue

Lester stood over his baby's crib, rocking her softly while singing a soothing Earth lullaby. She whined and shifted in his arms until sleep gradually overtook her—her eyes finally sealed shut and her breathing slowed. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead as he placed her face up in her bed.

He quietly tiptoed out of the room and shut the door—the coast was clear. Trudging downstairs to the kitchen, he grabbed himself a beer while turning on the baby monitor. He carried both out into the living room and plopped down on the couch. He placed the baby monitor on the coffee table in front of him and picked up the TV remote. He let out a content sigh as the screen flickered to life. He'd finally be getting his much needed down time.

His wife worked a longer shift than needed that night, just because she enjoyed Earth's work more than she did her other world's. He didn't mind being on baby duty. Truthfully, he'd do anything to please his wife. He felt her contentment even though she was a good miles away. The Connection between them remained strong.

He laid back for a while, his mind wandering a bit. The open window let in a cacophony of rustling leaves and chirps of crickets; they took his mind away.

They didn't have crickets back home. Granted, their Kingdom lay in a region of ice, so not very many crickets could survive there. There were crickets further south, though, and they sounded much different than the crickets on Earth. Their chirps were like rocks landing in a still pond.

He reminisced for a while more. He could've remained in those thoughts all night if it weren't for the static suddenly disrupting his peace. It was subtle at first, appearing and disappearing for only a few seconds on the TV screen. By the time he'd sit up to fix it, it would stop, allowing him to lay back again. This continued for a few more minutes, until the static covered every inch of the screen. Billows of smoke followed.

"What in the world?" He walked over to the tarnished piece of technology, banging on it slightly. It did absolutely nothing. He tried desperately moving each antenna around, to no avail. The static remained and the smoke got thick enough to choke him. Through coughs, he finally unplugged it.

He wasn't ready for the voice that suddenly sounded behind him. "Having trouble, brother?"

The hair on the back of Lester's neck stood up. The TV, shut off completely, showed a familiar figure in the background of the rounded screen. Standing upright, Lester regained composure and let out a heavy sigh. He faced his brother, who had a smirk plastered on his handsome face. His magenta eyes glistened in glee at Lester's worried expression.

"Mercury."

Mercury's smirk grew wider. "You know why I'm here, Lester." Of course he did. Lester was to die by Mercury's hands, just as their father did.

"Let's not do this, Merk."

Mercury's eyes darkened as a blue electricity seeped out from his veins, through his capillaries, and out his finger tips. He shaped the energy in his hand, forming what appeared to be a dagger. Lester swallowed. He'd been away from the Blue Light for some time now... he could hardly harness its powers—let alone shape it—in order to defend himself against his brother.

"Don't call me, 'Merk.'"

Lester was clearly on thin ice. He'd have to walk on egg shells in order to potentially escape with his life. Negotiating was his only way out of this awful situation. "What do you want?" Lester's voice was sincere. "The throne clearly belongs to you, so if you think I'm a threat, I assure you I am everything but."

Mercury ignored his comment and took a firm step forward. "You know what I did when you fled?" Lester said nothing, his heart pounding. Did he kill mother?