Align Ourselves

by Adrianna Schuh

  "Get away from her," he said, not even caring that she had the gun aimed at his head now. "Why are you doing this?"

  "What's it to you?"

  "I'm the fucking king. This is my palace. Who the fuck are you?"

  "Warren," she yelled, "I found him! Our little Earth king. Where are you keeping them? Where are our people?"

  Just as Lex was about to speak, another five guards ran into the room. They had their swords raised. But they didn't get a chance to use them.

  The gunshots from the woman's gun rang through the room, slicing through the five guards that had just come in. They dropped to the ground.

  Lex had turned, pushing Aria to the wall and shielding her from the woman's assault.

  After she stopped shooting, he turned and looked towards the front doors, where the guards lay. Some of them were already dead, but at least two were still alive. Aria could hear their screams, their moans.

  The look on Lex's face broke her heart.

  His eyes widened in shock, and he moved to go to them, but the woman trained her gun back on him.

  "Get away from him," Aria yelled, standing in front of Lex. "I'm Aria Dia-"

  But she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. She felt the force of the gun slamming into her temple. Her vision tunneled, and little black specks swam in her eyes.

  "Aria," Lex yelled, reaching for her.

  He grabbed her just as she tumbled to the side, bringing him down with her.

  "What the hell is going on here?" she heard Warren ask, walking towards them.

  "This man is the king, apparently. And his little princess tried to-"

  "Stop," a familiar voice yelled.

  Aria's eyes were trained on the ground. Her head hurt so much she couldn't even lift it to identify the source. She saw a pair of boots running towards her. Whoever it was stopped a few feet away. They took a few slow steps towards her and dropped to their knees a few inches from where Aria lay on the ground, half draped over Lex.

  Suddenly she felt a hand on each cheek, lifting her head up.

  "That's my daughter," Katy said.

  "M-mom?" Aria asked. She couldn't believe her eyes. Was her mother really there? Or had she been hit so hard that she was hallucinating?

  "That's Aria Diaz," Warren said.

  "I'm sorry, ma'am," the woman said, "I-I didn't know. She's dressed like them. And she was with him. I-I thought..."

  "Aria, honey, it's me," Katy said, searching Aria's eyes.

  "Mom," Aria said again, her voice breaking. "You're OK. You're here."

  She could feel the tears slipping down her face.

  "Yes, honey, I'm right here."

  "What are you doing? Why are you attacking us?"

  "Us?"

  "This is my kingdom. I-I'm the queen. Why are you doing this?"

  Katy looked confused. She looked up, meeting Warren's gaze.

  "We were told that you'd been taken. That you were being kept prisoner," he said, looking down at Aria.

  By that point, she could see clearly again. She tried to get up.

  "Aria..." Lex said from beside her. She grabbed his arm, using it to help herself up. He stood up after she did, keeping an arm around her waist.

  "What the hell are you doing? Why did you kill those people?" Aria asked. "They were innocent!"

  "Looks like she's been spending a little too much time with them," the woman said, pointing her gun at Lex again.

  "You fucking bitch," Aria spit. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Our guards will-"

  "Your guards won't do anything. They're all dead. We've stormed the palace from every side. And we have guns,” she yelled.

  "Edwards, that's enough," Warren said. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Aria. But this place is ours now."

  "Like hell! This-this place is ours! Our people-"

  "Our people," Warren said, raising an eyebrow. "You're one of us, Aria."

  "No, I-"

  "Lex!" someone yelled from outside the throne room.

  Aria looked up and saw one last guard running towards them. She didn't even get a chance to tell him to stop before Edwards shot at him. He dropped to the ground.

  And before Aria could stop him, Lex jumped forward towards Edwards.

  To Aria's horror, she shot at him too.

  His scream echoed around the room as the bullet sliced through his shoulder, just below his clavicle.

  "Lex," Aria screamed, running forward to reach him. To shield him.

  He didn't fall, but his hand went to his shoulder, coming away bloody.

  "Stop it," she screamed at Edwards, standing in front of Lex.

  "Aria," he said from behind her.

  "That's enough," Katy yelled, moving to stand in front of Aria. "Get your gun away from my daughter!"

  Suddenly Warren shot his gun at the ceiling, making all of them shut their mouths.

  "Aria, get out of the way," he said, moving towards them.

  "No," Aria said.

  "He's the king, you say? I'll make this easy. Accept me as your leader, bow before me, pack your shit and get out of here, and I'll let you live."

  Lex spit on the ground. "I'm not accepting shit. You want the palace? Take it. Kill me. I bow before no one."

  "Have it your way," Warren said, raising his gun.

  "Warren! This is madness! Stop this right now," Kieran Hunt yelled. Aria was a little surprised. She didn't know him very well, but he was a complete asshole from what she remembered.

  "Stay out of this, Kieran," Warren said.

  But Hunt moved to stand in front of Aria and Lex, right beside Katy.

  "Think about it. We know this isn't the only place with people. From what Ben said, there are multiple villages around here. More guards. A lot more people. Do you really think they'll stand behind you if they learn that you killed their king?"

  Warren paused to consider. "What do you suggest, Kieran?"

  Hunt glanced back at Lex, studying him.

  "Lock him away, for now. Wait until things settle down. We can decide later," Hunt said.

  Warren nodded. He motioned for two of the guards to come forward. "Take him to the dungeon," he said, nodding at Lex.

  The two guards pushed Hunt and Katy to the side. Katy reached forward to grab Aria to pull her out of the way, but Aria shifted so that Katy couldn't reach her. There was no way she'd let them take him.

  "Aria, please," Katy yelled.

  "Move aside, girl," one of the guards said, placing a hand on his gun.

  "No," Aria said through gritted teeth.

  "I won't ask you again."

  "Aria," Lex said from behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  She turned to face him. To her surprise, he pulled her towards him and hugged her.

  "Find Grace," he whispered. "Get her out of here."

  "I will," she whispered back, "I-I'm so sorry."

  He pulled back so that he could look at her. "I wish...I wish I would have met you sooner," he said, not caring if the people around them heard.

  "I'll get you out of this. I promise, Lex," she whispered.

  He nodded.

  "Lex, I-I-"

  "Let's go," one of the guards said, pushing Aria to the side and grabbing Lex's good arm. The other guard grabbed his other side, and he winced in pain.

  They didn't wait a second before dragging him away.

  "Stay down there, guard him," Warren ordered.

  Aria's I love you died in her throat as she watched them take him out of the room.

  Chapter 38

  She shook her head, trying to compose her thoughts. I'll tell him. I'll tell him when all of this is over.

  She couldn't think about what if. She had to find Grace. She turned to go, but Katy grabbed her arm.

  "Where are you going?"

  "I have to find my friends," Aria said, yanking her arm out of Katy's grasp. As happy as she was to see her mother, she couldn't believe what circumstances had brought them back together. How her mothe
r could be part of something like this.

  "Aria, I just got you back..."

  "I have to find my friends," Aria repeated, meeting her mother's teary gaze with a stern look.

  "Am I free to leave? Or do you want to lock me in the dungeon as well?" she asked, turning to face Warren.

  "Of course not, Aria. I'd appreciate it if you found your friends and brought them down here. I'm organizing my guards to go door to door in a few minutes."

  "Why?"

  "So that we can send all the others out," he said.

  "There are many more of them than there are of you," Aria said, narrowing her eyes.

  "That may be so. But we've taken all the entrances. And we have the guns. None of them will get in. And I've told my men to tell them that as long as they leave quietly, we'll let them live."

  "How very noble of you," Aria said. After that, she turned away, walking out of the throne room.

  When she was finally out of their sight, she took a deep breath and started running. She didn't know how much time she had, but she had to find Grace. She had to make sure that she was okay. It was what Lex had wanted.

  Aria ran to Grace's quarters.

  When she saw that the doors were already open, her stomach dropped.

  She went inside anyway, but she knew what she'd find; nothing.

  Grace was gone.

  She started running again. She had to find her friends.

  She ran through the palace, the cold air making it hard for her to breathe. She decided to head to Mara's room first.

  When she turned the last corner, she stopped short, noticing a group of people at the end of the hall.

  "Aria," Mara yelled, "What the hell is going on? We heard shooting!"

  Brent, Isla, Martinez, and Peter were all with her.

  "They've-they've taken the palace," Aria huffed. She was out of breath.

  "Who?" Martinez asked.

  "Your people," a voice behind Aria said.

  Aria turned, and the others did the same. Grace stood at the end of the hall, sword in hand.

  "Where's my brother?" she asked through gritted teeth.

  "Grace," Aria said, "We have to get you out of here."

  "Where is he?"

  "He's alive," Aria said, "They've taken him, but he's alive. They're going to make all of you leave. They killed most of the guards. We have to get you out of here."

  Grace turned to walk away.

  "Grace," Aria yelled, running towards the girl. The group behind her followed. "Didn't you hear what I said? We have to get you out of here! We don't have much time!"

  "I'm not going anywhere without my brother," Grace said.

  "It's what he wanted. He told me to get you out of here," Aria yelled. They were losing time; someone could show up at any minute.

  "Shut up," Grace said, "This is all your fault!"

  "What?" Aria asked.

  "He told you! He told you about who they were and what they'd done! And still, you pushed him! Pushed him to find them, and he did! And now they've come here and taken our home. I heard what their leader said, Aria. 'This land is ours now'?"

  "No Grace..I-I didn't-"

  Grace put her hand on her sword.

  "Grace, please," Mara said, moving to stand beside Aria. "Aria didn't do this. We-we had no idea..."

  "Yes, you did. All of you knew, but you were too blind to see it. And now I've lost-I've lost my home, my people. My brother," Grace said, her voice breaking at the end of the sentence. She shook her head. "He-he's my family. He's all I have."

  "I know that," Mara said, "We know that. But you won't be of any use to him right now. We need to get you out of here."

  "I'm not going anywhere without my brother," Grace repeated.

  "Fine," Aria said. She had an idea. "But at least let us hide you, for now. Just until things calm down enough for us to think of a plan, okay?"

  "Grace, come on..." Mara said, pleading.

  "Okay," Grace finally said.

  "We can hide her in our room," Peter said, nodding at Brent.

  "Take her there. Wait until the guards come by so that they know it's your room. And then lock the door and meet us in the throne room," Aria said.

  She wasn't sure how she was even standing upright. She felt tired and weak. And her head had begun to throb where Edwards had hit her. And she couldn't stop thinking about what could be happening to Lex, to the people in this palace at this very moment.

  Brent and Peter nodded and led Grace away. Aria, Isla, Mara, and Martinez made their way back to the throne room.

  On the way there, they reencountered the guards and stated their identities. Aria couldn't even look at the palace residents, roughly being ushered out of their own home.

  She knew there was no point in trying to fight it. It hurt, but she felt like it'd do them more harm than good.

  Her resolve almost broke when she saw the two women from the kitchen, leading the sleepy orphans from their rooms. She thought about how cold it was.

  Aria had to remind herself that the village below them would offer food, shelter. That was enough, for now. But right then and there, she silently vowed to get them all home. She'd die before she let their home be taken from them for good

  They waited in the throne room for hours. The sun had started to rise before all the people made their way back. Katy, Hunt, and Warren, along with a few others, asked what had happened to them. Aria didn't feel like talking, so she let the others repeat the story over and over.

  We were taken hostage by the Terra; they brought us here. Lex, let us stay. No, we weren't tortured, no, he didn't kill anyone. Yes, we're okay.

  A few things stood out to her, though.

  Like the fact that Martinez had been reunited with his father. A man who actually apologized to the group about what had happened. About how this was all a big misunderstanding.

  Brent and his mother reunited as well, but she was Warren's second in command. And she wasn't sorry. Not at all.

  Aria noticed that Brent avoided his mother's gaze the entire time like he was ashamed of her actions.

  Katy tried to explain things to Aria. About how she and Hunt fought Warren's rise to power. But they had been vastly outnumbered by the others.

  She told them about what they heard, how Aria and her friends had been captured by an evil king and taken to his land.

  "Obviously, we were very wrong. But...no one convinced us otherwise until we found you," Katy said.

  She didn't say it, but Aria knew. She'd pieced the puzzle together.

  Her people had heard about this place; they'd met Lex's guards all those months ago. But they chose not to believe. It was easier for them to understand and accept the story that Aria and her friends had taken by an evil man. They decided to believe that story.

  And when they got here, the first one of Aria’s friends they'd encountered didn't bother to tell them any different.

  Aria knew who that friend was.

  Ben.

  And he must have been spying on them. He knew that Lex had sent another party. All he had to do was wait.

  And he must have been watching for the guards to get ready to leave. Once he saw them, he must have come to the palace to steal the weapons and meet their people.

  And he must have let them all believe that they really were being held captive here. He brought them here and told them about all the entrances to take out all the guards at the same time. He led them to the throne room.

  Katy didn't say it. But Aria knew.

  Ben had the decency to look away, to look ashamed when he noticed Aria and the others staring daggers at him for being such a monster.

  Not today...not tomorrow...but one day, one day, you will pay for this, Aria silently vowed. She'd make sure of it.

  "We've secured the palace," Warren said from the front of the room. Half of the people in the room cheered. "Let's rest up. If you aren't on guard duty, I suggest you get some sleep. We have a long few days ahead of us. We need to prepare
the palace. As soon as everything is ready, we'll send some of our guards back for the remainder of our people."

  Aria tried to understand. Tried to believe that at least half of the people here were good. That some of them didn't agree with this. That some of them just wanted to find their kids.

  She could see a few of them scattered throughout the room, happily holding their loved ones.

  As for the other half...

  Aria had no words. She couldn't believe that these many people were okay with this. That they'd chosen Warren as their chancellor and agreed to this. Maybe the Terra had been right all along. They were invaders. Intruders. Monsters.

  What good did it do? Trying to see the good in people? Aria thought. Lex had said that it was one of the things he liked about her. But in the end, it only left her disappointed and full of regret. She tried to see the good in Ben, the good in her people.

  That's how they ended up in this situation.

  She knew there was no way that she'd be able to fall asleep, despite how worn out she was, without knowing that Lex was okay first.

  She made her way down to the dungeon, some medical supplies in her hands.

  "Let me through," she said to the guard standing in front of the door.

  "I don't think so," he said, shrugging.

  "That man down there, that's the king. And Warren wants him alive. The people here will never accept Warren, accept us if he dies. He was shot. I need to take a look at his wound," Aria said.

  "Do you have an order for that?" the guard asked, now sounding a little unsure.

  "I don't have a piece of fucking paper with the order on it if that's what you want. I was told to tend to the king.

  "Fine," the guard huffed. "Don't take too long."

  "I won't," Aria said.

  Chapter 39

  She made her way down the stairs that led to the dungeon, a little afraid of what she might find.

  Lex was the only person there, slumped in a corner.

  She ran to his side.

  "Lex," she said, taking his face into her hands.

  "Hey," he said, looking more worn down than she'd ever seen him.

  "I need to take a look at your wound," she said, pushing her personal feelings aside. He was a patient, and he needed to be treated.

  "Where's Grace?"