Once Upon a Child of the Stars

Twelve- Remembering

The moment the words came out of my father's mouth my jaw dropped. My stomach instantly began to do back flips from thinking about seeing the Hellians again. It had been almost a decade. I wondered if they even remembered me. 

My emotions turned to anger quickly when I had realized they had made the decision without me knowing. 

"How long has this been in the works, Father?" I asked, making sure my eyes showed my anger. 

"Two months, maybe a bit more," he said, sounding a bit guilty for keeping the information behind closed walls. 

"Am I coming with you?" I asked giving out a sigh. 

"I was hoping you would accompany me, yes," he said with a shy smile. 

"I will consider it," I said firmly. 

"We need to know who is coming by tomorrow evening so we can report back to King Xavian on how many rooms we will need," my father added and I gave him a swift nod. 

"Very well. I am going to change and go to the training room," I stated before turning and leaving the room. 

I will admit I was shocked and still very angered that my father kept such crucial information from me. He knew I was training to rule the kingdom and he should have told me everything from the start. 

I made my way back to my bedroom and close the door, locking it before turning away from it. I stand for a moment, taking a deep breath and sighing it out. 

I look over to my bedroom window, the same one I once climbed out as a teenager. The window that lead me to my peaceful spot, and the spot that I shared my brief time with Prince Raegar at. The memories flash through my mind, memories that I promised myself I would never forget. 

I then think to Raegar telling me he would show me around his planet, and that now I would have the chance to see him once more on the planet he lived on. I would be visiting Hellian for the first time if I chose to go with my father, and that made my stomach nervously turn. 

I shake out of my thoughts and return to my task at hand. I pull out my training gear, a black short sleeve fitted shirt and black fitted pants for maximum comfort and mobility. The color just added to my mystique, or at least that's what I told myself. 

I exit my room and climb the stairs down to the training areas inside the castle's belly. There, my father waits for me. His back is turned to me, and a flash of memory reminds me of the day Raegar and his family left and my father turned his back and walked away with the most anger I have ever seen on him. Once again, I bring myself to reality. 

"Father," I say flatly. He turns to me and nods. 

"What type of training would you like to do today?" he asked. Instead of instructing as he felt fit, he would now ask me what I felt I needed to work on as I had already been trained heavily for the past years. 

"I think I would like to go for a run and then maybe some sparring," I answer with a smile. My father's face lights up as well as he always loved to run together. It was our way of venting and having some father-daughter time. 

"Very well. Let us go outside for a run," he says before leading me out of the training area. 

He guides me outside of the castle and around the back until we make it to the forest entrance and the trail I once snuck out to with Raegar. I look at my father in curiosity.

"I thought it would be a nice time to show you the forest areas. The trail is mostly flat so running it should not be an issue," he explains but what he does not know is that it is not my first time on the trail. 

Though I have not been able to bring myself back to the magical location I spent time with my short time friend, I often think of that day. It was one of the best days of my life, and I will always recall back on it. 

"Lu?" my father's voice brings me out of my thoughts, causing my head to whip in his direction. 

"Yes?" I ask, trying to cover up my blatant zone out. 

"Are you alright with taking the trail? We can lap the castle if you'd rather?" he asks, curious concern showing through his facial features. 

"I want to do the trail," I answer. He gives a nod but his face holds curiosity still. 

A second later I take off running, and my father's strong heavy footsteps are close behind me. Before long, he is by my side and I can not help the smile that graces my face. He returns my smile as we continue to run.

"This way," he instructs as he comes up to a path that leads off the main one. We continue to run until the path ends and we come out to a beautiful clearing. 

The flowers are magically colorful and seem to shimmer in the daylight. The sky was the most magnificent blue hue, crossing the entire sky from treetop to treetop. No clouds covered the vast blue sea above us, leaving the scene one of pure beauty. 

"Wow," I say in an almost whisper. "This is amazing, Dad," I say, my eyes tracing all of the different flower species evident in the large clearing. 

"I thought this would be a good place to get all of those thoughts off of your mind," he says as I feel him walk to my side. "I know you are unsure about coming to Hellian with me. Why that is I have yet to conclude," he says. 

"It's just that I befriended Prince Raegar all those years ago and facing him again..." I pause for a moment. "I am just afraid he has forgotten me or something. Or perhaps he is angry with me for my antics all those years ago," I admit. What I keep within me is that I am not only nervous to see Raegar, but his older brother as well. 

Now king of Hellian, Xavian has always caused mysterious feelings within me. I have not even seen a photo of him in years, and I wonder if he has gotten even more handsome with time. 

I remember the way he held me in his arms when he caught me from falling to what could have been my death. I remember how his dark purple eyes grew darker when Vivica and Freya bullied me in school and how he stood up for me. 

"It will be fine, Princess. You can come with me and if you chose to do so you may not even speak a word. You'll be by my side the entire visit, I assure you. Please. It would mean a great deal to me if you accompanied me," my father pleaded. I let out a sigh of defeat. 

"Alright. I will go to Hellian with you," I say.