Royal Hearts (8 page)

By the time Paff woke up, a full day had
passed. He woke up feeling refreshed, but he quickly recalled the
impending war, which only brought back all the stress and worries
that had been subdued during sleep.

Halima, his wife, came into the room. “I
thought I heard you stirring. I brought you something to eat.”

She set a tray full of white apples and
oranges before him. “You need to keep your strength up.”

Despite the grim situation, seeing her
beautiful face brought him some joy. “Thank you,” he replied with a
smile. “Has anything happened while I was sleeping?”

“No. I have no messages to give you.”

He fought back the urge to groan. He didn’t
like the sound of this. Queen Ann was in trouble. He knew it. The
fact that Hathor hadn’t made contact with him either only
emphasized the perilous situation they were in.

He glanced at the clock by his bed.
Twenty-four more hours. If he didn’t hear from them by then, he’d
send out a search party.

“What can I do for you?” Halima asked,
sitting beside him.

He pulled her to him and held her, burying
his face in her neck. She was his strength. If it hadn’t been for
her, he’d never have the courage to face this. “You’ve done
everything already,” he whispered.

She returned his hug then rose to her feet.
“I’ll get your uniform while you eat.” She walked over to their
closet and pulled out his metallic blue suit with the Leader’s mark
sewn into it.

He took his time in eating his meal. He knew
he’d better eat now because it would probably be a long time before
he would have the chance to eat again.

***

Six years in the past

Lisa’s front yard

Beavercreek, Ohio

Planet: Earth

After Ann, William, Carson, and Lisa got
back, they decided to throw Lisa’s Frisbee around in her front
yard.

William was amazed at how well he remembered
everything that had happened the first time he went through this.
He knew when Carson would jump up to retrieve the Frisbee only to
miss and fall on his rear end. He remembered how Ann felt so
self-conscious about running that she’d just walk after the
Frisbee. He remembered the way Lisa threw the Frisbee so it went in
the opposite direction. It was so uncanny because it seemed like it
had happened yesterday instead of six years ago.

“I’m tired of this game,” Lisa finally said.
“Can we go into the house?”

“It is starting to get chilly out,” Ann
agreed. “I forgot to bring my jacket.”

“Good idea, Ann. Let’s go in,” William
said.

“Is this because I was winning?” Carson
asked.

“Yes, Carson. We’re all intimidated by the
way you fell flat on your butt,” William joked.

“I slipped! It wasn’t my fault the ground is
wet.”

“It hasn’t rained in days.”

“The sprinkler must have been on.”

“Sure it was.” William rolled his eyes. He
had forgotten how easily embarrassed Carson got over the silliest
things.

“Okay, you two. Break it up,” Lisa
interrupted. “My mom made her famous lemonade, so if you want it,
stop your bickering and get into the house.”

“And they say men lead the women in
relationships,” Carson whispered good-naturedly to William.

“Oh, I bet there are some planets out there
where women are the leaders and men serve them.” William smiled,
enjoying his insight into the universe.

Carson gave him a strange look but didn’t say
anything.

The four friends sat in Lisa’s living room.
William sat next to Ann on one couch, and Carson sat on the other
couch, waiting for Lisa to come back with the lemonade.

“You’ll love this lemonade,” Carson told
William.

“It is delicious,” Ann agreed. Then, turning
to William, she asked, “You go to school with Carson, right?”

Lisa brought four tall glasses of lemonade
into the room and handed them out.

“Yes,” William replied. “I’m a senior. I’m
thinking about going to college in Florida.”

Carson, who was taking a drink of lemonade,
swallowed it the wrong way and coughed. “Since when are you going
to college? I thought you hated school.”

William hid his amusement. He didn’t realize
his friend was so easy to throw off guard. “All I can say is that
this is a whole new me.”

“Are you serious?” Ann asked. “Where in
Florida are you planning to move to?”

“The panhandle area. Pensacola, to be exact,”
he said, knowing full well this was where her family would soon be
moving to.

“Wow! What a coincidence,” Lisa said. “Ann’s
moving there.”

“Oh?” William asked Ann. “When?”

“I don’t know yet,” she replied. “We’re
waiting for my dad’s boss to tell him.”

“It’s been about a year since she expected to
move, so it could still be another year yet,” Lisa added. “With any
luck, that will be the case, and she can graduate up here.”

He, of course, knew she would be moving in
September, but he didn’t say anything.

“Moving in my senior year isn’t something I’m
looking forward to,” Ann admitted. “It would be nice to finish high
school with my friends.”

“If she does stay here, are you still going
to go to college in Florida?” Carson asked, shooting him a pointed
look.

“I can always adjust my plans,” he replied.
“I don’t want to rush things. Let’s just see what happens.”

He noticed Ann blush. He hadn’t realized how
easy she had been to impress. So unlike Carol and some of his other
ex-girlfriends who made life difficult for him.

“I agree. We should just enjoy today while
it’s here. Whatever happens will happen,” Lisa said.

Carson glanced over at him.

William couldn’t help but wonder what Carson
was thinking. He also wondered if he should keep a close eye on his
friend. He suspected his friend might piece things together if he
wasn’t careful, and who knew what Carson’s moral code would compel
him to do?

***

Present day

Alpha Head I

Planet: Pale

Paff, Zak, and Jaz walked around the Security
Forces Gamma Division where Pale’s military force was getting ready
for the impending war.

“Be sure to prepare for Omin’s classic sneak
up from behind maneuver,” Paff told the head of the security guard.
“That’s what the clone used when he knocked Guard Rico unconscious
so he could escape.”

The guard nodded. “Will do, Leader.”

Paff turned his attention back to the large
room. Pale had advanced its weapon technology in the past year, and
he hoped some of the new weapons would take Omin’s clone by
surprise. It might be the one advantage that would get them through
the war successfully.

“Keep up the good work,” Paff said then
headed back to his office.

By the time he got there, Zak and Jaz were
waiting with two guards who were the most qualified to lead a
search and rescue mission. The four stood up as he entered the
room.

“I’m sorry to call you on short notice, but
Queen Ann and Hathor have been missing for forty-eight hours,” Paff
said, deciding to get right to the point. They were on edge anyway.
Why go through the pretense of formalities? “The last time we saw
them, they were on their way to Olympia to seek help from the gods
and goddesses who live there. They were acting on our behalf, and
that being the case, we need to send a search party for them. We
aren’t even sure if they made it to Olympia, but that is the most
logical place to start.”

“Do you know where Omin’s clone is?” Guard
Lino asked.

Paff shook his head. “Not yet.”

“If we find Queen Ann, we might find him,”
Zak said. “Omin made a threat to kill her. It’s looking more and
more like something he intends his clone to do.”

Jaz turned to the guards. “I will be going
with you on this search. How long will it take for you to get
ready?”

“I can gather a week’s worth of supplies in
thirty minutes,” Guard Lino replied.

“And I can get the spaceship ready in that
time as well,” Guard Falon added.

She nodded. “Good. I will get my own things
ready. Let’s hope we find her and Hathor on Olympia,” she said.

As the three left the room, Paff turned to
Zak. “What are the chances that she and Hathor made it to
Olympia?”

Zak frowned. “At this point, I would guess
they never made it.”

Paff was afraid of that.

Chapter Eight

Six years in the past

Dayton, Ohio

Planet: Earth

The next day, Hathor boarded another city bus
and paid the fare. Fortunately, Kent had briefed him on what to do
when riding the bus. Hathor felt so out of place on this planet. It
was hard to adjust to the automobiles and big stores. Earthlings
had a surprisingly busy lifestyle. Even the queen didn’t rush all
about like Earthlings did, and she was the busiest person on Raz.
Everyone seemed to be in such a hurry all the time. He didn’t think
he could handle it.

Thank goodness this trip was temporary. He
sat on one of the empty seats and braced himself for the initial
pull when the bus would start up again. The first time he felt it,
he nearly fell off his seat since he hadn’t expected it. But now he
was prepared and better able to handle it.

He opened the map he bought, with Kent
showing him how to make a purchase at the cash register, and
studied the cities of Dayton, Beavercreek, and Xenia. Those were
cities he remembered Ann talking about.

He found the street that the bus was on and
searched for it on the map, which Kent had helped him learn since
he hadn’t known about street signs before. Thankfully, Kent didn’t
ask him why he didn’t know how to do simple things like ride a bus
or buy something from a store. Perhaps Kent didn’t want to
embarrass him. Whatever the reason, Hathor would take it.

Hathor was on his way to Beavercreek. He
recalled that Ann had often gone there to visit her friend who
lived there. He didn’t recall the exact name but thought it started
with an ‘L’. And that, unfortunately, wasn’t enough of a lead to
find Ann.

As the bus continued through the city, he
allowed himself a few moments to miss his home on Raz. He missed
Katherine and how her face lit up whenever he walked into the room.
He missed the stroller rides he and Ann took Katherine on in the
evenings. He missed the beauty of Raz and the simplicity of life
there.

Most of all, he missed Ann and knowing she
loved him as much as he loved her. He forced back his tears. Would
his life ever go back to the way it used to be?

The bus stopped, and the driver called out,
“The mall.”

Hathor was tired of sitting, so he decided to
get off the bus. His search earlier in the day had taken him
through most of Dayton. And now, he was tired and hungry. Since
Kent had mentioned that malls had places people could eat, he
figured this might be his only opportunity to do so. After noting
that the bus arrived every half hour at this spot, he checked his
watch to make sure he’d be back by then.

He followed other people into the mall. As
soon as he entered it, he recalled the markets on Raz. This wasn’t
so unlike that. People were selling things all over the place, but
people here hurried to wherever they wanted to go. He didn’t
understand why they rushed about just to collect things to put in
bags. But then, there was no group singing or actors on a stage to
entertain the crowd. Though, he did note some music playing
throughout the place.

Someone bumped into him.

“Sorry,” a teenage boy apologized.

“Boy, you are one of the clumsiest people
I’ve ever met,” his teenage friend joked. “Yesterday at Lisa’s with
the Frisbee, and today you’re running people over. You’re on a
roll.”

“Whatever,” the boy replied in
irritation.

That was the last Hathor heard of the
conversation as they walked off. He turned his attention back to
studying his surroundings. He wanted to check some of the stores
out, but his growling stomach informed him he had to take care of
more pressing matters.

He found the food court without too much
trouble. He had never seen so many selections in his entire life.
It was like a huge banquet except people had to get the food
themselves instead of being served the meal. He studied the
pictures of the different food selections. He finally decided on a
sandwich shop since he figured it was hard to mess up a sandwich,
and he was familiar enough with it.

He watched the person in front of him order
the contents for his sandwich, finding it surprising people got to
choose what they wanted instead of just being served it.

“What do you want?” the employee asked as she
grabbed new plastic gloves and put them on.

He ordered the exact same sandwich that the
person in front of him had. That was probably his safest bet. If
the other person liked it, he probably would, too.

After he paid for his meal and took his tray,
he glanced around the busy food court for a place to sit. Most of
the tables were taken, so he grabbed the first one he saw that was
empty. He sat at a table that was next to the person who had bumped
into him when he first got into the mall.

He unwrapped his sandwich and tentatively bit
into it. To his surprise, he liked the taste. Encouraged, he sipped
his soda and found that it tasted good as well. Well, who knew? At
least Earthlings knew how to cook.

“Are you really going to go to Florida for
college?” the boy behind Hathor asked his friend.

“You bet I am,” his friend replied. “If I
don’t, I’ll miss out on my destiny.”

“What destiny?”

His friend chuckled. “Let’s just say I’m
going to finally get what I deserve.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Life hasn’t been very good to me. I’m going
to change all that.”