The Eternal Flame

Chapter 5

I could hear Hanasi sigh softly in the background and hear my brother swear under his breath. Other than that, the whole room was still; as still and as silent as a graveyard. My father's anger filled the room like a roaring flood. His blue eyes became like storm clouds, and his body tensed so badly that you'd think he was about to spring and strike faster than you could blink. Those eyes, that body language, were directed right at me. I knew I shouldn't have said it. That I shouldn't have been so quick to anger and say such spiteful words; but I couldn't stop myself.

Ula and I push ourselves till there is nothing left in us, and then we push more. Doing things that no normal person could possibly endure. Our people often looked at us in awe when we would finish a simple training session that would even have the adults gasping for breath, and there we stood not even breaking a sweat. We continue to push ourselves to be stronger, faster, smarter, not for our own sakes, but the sakes of our people. We don't push because we like it; we push because we know that our planet will need a strong queen to lead them. To be able to defeat anything that would threaten our way of life.

Luna... Ula started but I stopped her.

I know. I know...

Just as my father opened his mouth to speak, or yell. But instead, he sighed.

"Prophase you are right. You didn't ask for this. But you will do what is needed to be done. I will not hear another word otherwise." And with that, he walked out of the throne room without another word.

ZZZZ

My Panpad began to go off. It was silver, the shape of an oval, at the bottom, it was a small circle that was flat. The Pampad was beautiful, it was coved in blue spirals, all elegant and delicate. I went off on my dresser I picked it up and watched as one of my friends, Techa's face flashed across the screen. I tapped lightly on the screen and her figure popped up into the air.

Though we kept a lot of our old ways, we were adapting to the new technology in the universe.

She was a pale gray, bright purple eyes, not the irises either, the whole eye. She wears clothes that clung to her like a second skin. A bright metallic shirt that looked as if it were chocking the life out of her breasts, and it stopped just above her belly button, and black paints, with the same bright metallic on the side of them. Her long silver hair was down instead of its usually high ponytail that she kept it in.

"Techa, what do I owe this call?" I asked smoothly. This girl was always up to something. And by something, I meant trouble, and she enjoyed dragging me along.

"Hey little Princess, what are you doing right now?" I lifted an eyebrow at her.

"Talking to you I believe," She snorted.

"Other than talking to me, of course," I shook my head.

"Nothing, I was most likely going to get another of few hours of practice in." that was if I could avoid my sisters and Hanasi.

Not likely. Ula said through the bond.

"Perfect. That means you can come with me to the new club, it's called 'The Falling Star', and I don't want to go alone."

I groaned. "You know I don't like clubs that much,"

"Luna!" She exclaimed, dragging my name longer than necessary.

"What?"

"Please, please will you come with me?" I sighed.

"Why not go with one of your stepsisters? I thought Teckla was our age," I said thinking out loud. She narrowed her eyes at me. And, not that I would ever admit it to her face, it always made me uneasy when she did that.

"Not everyone can get along with their step-siblings like you can Luna." She snapped. I inwardly flinched. Bring up Techa's stepfamily was not always a good idea. Though her mother had passed away two years before her father had married her new stepmother, it still hurt her deeply that her father had tried to replace her mother. The main reason why Techa and her stepmother, Techsha, never got along was that Techa wasn't fully, Techdo, instead of marring a full-blooded Techan like her grandparents wanted, her father married a Salasha.

Which explained why only Techa had bright purple eyes where the rest of her family's eyes were a darker gray. Those two races could barely tolerate each other. Both thought they were better than the other. Where Techan's relied more on their machinery to guide them through life, Salasha where more about using their hands to do all the work. Techan's thought that Salasha's were a primitive beast, while Salasha's thought that Techan's were pampered and spoiled to the point where they might die out if left without tech. Which is why Techa couldn't stand living with them, because she was not full Techan, and a lot of people treated her badly for it.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to bring up negative feelings." She only nodded.

"So, does that mean you'll go with me?"

I sighed. "Will I have to pick you up or will you meet me here, so we can go together?" I asked.

She grinned. "I'll be over there in a few moments." Then her figure disappeared. I shook my head and went into my closet and chose something to wear. When I walked out of my closet, Techa was sitting on my bed. She didn't change the outfit that she was wearing, just added swirling silver earrings.

She looked me up and down before saying.

"I don't know why you just let your servants dress you," I rolled my eyes.

"I've told you over and over before, I can dress."

She scoffed. "And look at what you're wearing," I looked down.

I was wearing a dark blue dress that hung down to my knees, with star blue earrings and necklace. It was simple and easy to fight in, which I knew we might be doing. Because Techa could draw a fight to her without even trying. She shook her head and went past me and into my closet. I sighed and let her do what she wanted. She was going to do it anyway, so I just sat down on my bed. She came out of the closet. She had the cloths draped over her arm and handed them to me. I went into the closet and put them on. I raised my eyebrow at her as I walked out of the closet. The front of the skirt came up to my mid-thigh and was a dark blue, while the back of the skirt went all the way down to my knees and was see-through. The shirt that she gave me was the same as hers only it was white. She had given it to me some time ago, but I never wear it. How she found it after I hid it deep in my closet is beyond me.

"Yes, now you're ready." She said as she nodded in approval. I looked down at Ula and she just simply shook her head.

I sensed something behind me and I turned and grabbed it. In my hand was Techa's little bird. She had made when she was just a child; she had named it Tink, why? I have no clue. Its entire body was silver. With a slime nettle like beck, its sharp wings like raisers, sharp talons, and large red on black eyes. Though it was not bigger than my hand, it was still deadly.

"Sorry about that, Tink," I said to the small creature. It merely tilted its head to the side and flew over to its master.

"Tink said 'you are forgiven'," Ula said as she walked up next to me. The fact that Ula understood it was creepy, there was no way it could form words or even sounds. Techa ran over to me and grabbed my hand and raced to the door. Just as she was about to open the door there was a knock on the door. Techa looked at me with a tilt of her head. I shook mine.

"Open," I said as Techa moved back so she won't get hit by the door. In walked one of my oldest friends since childhood, a tall man named Rain, and a few other guards. They were all dressed for a night out.