From the Stars

Chapter 23: This is Over

A few loyal soldiers had stayed by the Queen's side and, as we came within talking distance, their spears were aimed at our chests.

I smirked. They wouldn't throw the spears unless their Queen commanded it, and something told me that she was far too angry to think that rationally right now. And besides, we'd planned for this.

"Amazing battle, Your Highness," I said as the four of us came to a halt. "A shame that it didn't really go your way."

The Queen's face was pink with anger making her usually white skin match her hair. It was the only time I'd actually seen any colour in it.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Queen Orphia spat each word through her teeth. She seemed to be shaking with the restraint of not grabbing one of her soldier's spears and hurling it at me.

I held my hands up. "I did exactly what you asked!" I said, with perfect innocence. "I retrieved the Gratia and the Cognitionis. Was I not supposed to?"

The Queen's anger slipped. "The Cognitionis?" she asked. "How do you know of that?"

"Was I not supposed to?" I said. I wouldn't tell her about the vision. It was clear that she didn't truly understand the full extent of the Gratia's power.

"What. Did. You. Do?" The Queen again spat through her teeth. A wicked whisper that almost made me laugh. She'd betrayed us. Tried to kill every single person on this planet. She deserved to be angry.

"Oh nothing much," I said. "Me and my friends here just did what you asked us to do, and then my family helped me reprogram the Gratia so that I could get you off this planet before you could, you know, kill everyone."

The Queen looked at my friends as if noticing them for the first time.

"I never said that you could invite anyone on your mission," she said, shooting daggers at each one of my friends.

"In all fairness," Anita said, stepping forward and flipping her dark hair over one shoulder, "you never said that she couldn't."

"She's right," said Belle, also coming to stand in line. "I'd say that the Queen was very unspecific in what Scarlett was and wasn't allowed to do."

"Yeah," Stan said. "So can you really blame her for getting a tad confused?"

The Queen was shaking so hard that I thought she might explode if we pushed her any further.

"You're dead!" she screamed. "You're all dead!"

She lunged for the spear of the soldier to her right and, eyes burning with hatred, she threw the cold metal using the full power of her body, aiming straight for my heart.

With a bang, the spear was blasted straight out of the air.

"You may have back up," I said to the Queen as she gaped at where the spear had been only moments before, "but so do I."

I looked over to my left, to see Grandad William, slowly lowering the gun that had belonged to him since his days in the police, and making his way towards us, along with the rest of my family.

There was my dad, my brother, Mum and Tina all walking towards us with guns of their own raised before them. But none looked as victorious as my Aunt Linda, leading the family, a pistol also in her hand. A pistol that was aimed directly at Queen Orphia's head. She finally knew who had killed her husband all those years ago. She finally had the answer to a question that she'd been asking for years. She finally had someone to blame.

"I suggest, Your Highness," I said, taking a step forward until I was looking up at her beautiful face that was contorted into a mask of horror, "that you run to your ships and leave this planet behind. Unless, of course," I said, tilting my head to the remnants of the Martian's weapon, "you want to end up like your enemy."

Queen Orphia stepped away from me. Her three guards standing to attention behind her.

"This is not over," she said.

"I think it is," I replied.

My family came to stand in line behind me, their guns all pointed at the Queen and her guards.

"Go," I said.

Without a word, Queen Orphia turned from me, her Generals following her lead, and stalked off the battlefield. Dad, Grandad, Mum and Aunt followed them. They would make sure that all of the Venusians and Martians had left, and would escort the Queen to her awaiting ship.

"Well," Stan said as the Queen disappeared from view. "That went well."

I simply sat on the floor and laughed until I was hoarse, my friends, brother and cousin following my lead. I was so tired. And this whole mess was finally over.