by Dani Hoots
He looked at me, grinning. “He didn’t tell you the truth? Hmm, this is interesting indeed, your lover not giving you all the information.”
Did he just say lover? What was he talking about? “My what? Who are you?”
He bowed. “I am Michael Dansolf, once her majesty the Empress of Cartref’s second in command,” he looked up at me, his gaze meeting mine. “Once your second in command.”
“You’re... what?” Pain engulfed everything. The coronation, the crown, everything was coming back. I grabbed my head and knelt down. “No, that’s impossible! I can’t be—”
“You aren’t. Not anymore. Because I had you assassinated,” he said nonchalantly and shrugged. “Or at least I tried. I used a Galaftn poison, so they would be blamed and the war could start. Although you didn’t die, it did work. All your people hate them and want them to be destroyed.”
I remembered. It had felt like acid in my body, the poison. Just like it did now. Someone had needed to hold me down. “You tried to kill me? Why?”
He knelt down next to me. “Isn’t it obvious? I wanted what you had. And you never listened, you had these ideas of equality and peace between the Galaftns, all from your stupid lover,” he made a gagging noise as he stood up and paced the office. “Pathetic. They didn’t deserve it. So I did something about it.”
The memories flashed through my mind, faster and faster. The Galaftns, the mermaids. That’s who I kept seeing in my visions, the Galaftns. They were the people from the water. I remembered now, we were talking peace. There was to be a treaty signed. I didn’t want war, not then, not ever. It wasn’t me, I liked discussing options and coming to an agreement. I wasn’t like the Emperors before me, I wasn’t like my father and his father. I hated letting my people die for what I thought was no good reason. I had vowed to never be like them. I would keep that promise.
The poison was taking over my body. Maybe it wouldn’t matter now, I was probably going to die. After everything, this was how I was going to die. Typical, I had never been lucky, starting with being born in this blood-lusting family, then having to take the crown at such a young age. It was beginning to come back to me, all of it.
And Emmerich, I remembered the day I found him. The only luck in my life.
But Michael had said lover. That couldn’t be right, could it?
“What did you say about...” The pain was starting to be overwhelming, and I gasped.
“What’s going on with you?” Michael asked as he looked down at my misery. He seemed to be enjoying it.
I glared up at him, as if he didn’t know. “With every recovered memory comes pain. Something to do with that poison you gave me. Seems to have never left my system.”
He laughed, enlighten by the news I had told him. “Well, this is quite the development. That’s why he hasn’t told you everything, isn’t it? So you wouldn’t be in pain,” he bent down to my level and whispered into my ear. “I will just have to be the one to fill in the gaps then, won’t I? That boy appeared a few years back, out of nowhere, in the palace. We were going to execute him for trespassing and not having an identification chip, but you decided to talk to him instead. Next thing I knew you were sleeping with him, because I guess that’s what you do with foreigners,” he seemed almost... jealous. “You never did tell me where he came from, every time you ignored the question and said it wasn’t important. But I had to figure it out myself, what kind of second in command would I have been if I didn’t know who my boss was in bed with,” he paused, licking his lips. “Then I figured it out. He was from, an entirely different planet. Who would have thought.”
“It was you, you figured out where it was and sent me there. How?”
He chuckled. “I had you two watched. Listened as he talked about a faraway land. There wasn’t much about you two that I didn’t find out. He tried to understand how he did it, you know, writing down notes. I had my men solve it and, well, you know the rest.” He stood up and walked around his desk. “He filled you with ideas of peace and humanism, and all that crap, so you decided instead of raging war against the Galaftns, you were going to make peace. I couldn’t let that happen, I just couldn’t.”
I shook my head. “Why? Why does it matter to you? Wouldn’t you rather have peace?”
He slammed his fists on his desk. “Because they are the enemy! They have always been the enemy! Because of one boy you decided to debase our kind! It was too much, I couldn’t let you rule.”
I was amazed. “You’re insane.”
“Serving you made me this way,” he said cold-heartedly.
“I trusted you!” I shouted. For an instant I remembered, I remembered all the things we had done, side by side. “We grew up together. You were my best friend!”
“How time changes, huh? Did your parents ever tell you how my family came to be your second in command? It was because of that war,” he jabbed his finger at the painting I had studied earlier, the one with the man with ginger hair. “That is your great grandfather pillaging my family’s land. We used to have a providence on the other side of Cartref, until he came and conquered it all. My family tried to fight but they were outnumbered. They had no choice but to agree to a treaty, and after years of complete obedience, your great grandfather made my great grandfather his second in command. And since then, we all have served at your family’s side. It was the only way to survive and not be killed for simply living our lives away from your family’s rule.”
I stared at the painting. That was my great grandfather? It was starting to all come back, along with more pain. I winced. “But he isn’t me.”
“No, he wasn’t. He would have conquered the Galaftns. That is why you are at my mercy, just as it always should have been.”
“Then wouldn’t you want peace with the Galaftns?” I asked. It didn’t make sense. “Why would you want to do to them what my grandfather did to your people?”
“Because they don’t deserve peace! If my people couldn’t survive, neither should they,” he explained.
“You are willing to kill innocent people because you think it will make the past any better? You are wrong, these people shouldn’t suffer just because your family did. We can finally make amends, we can finally create a world of peace!” I exclaimed.
He let out a brief sigh. “Don’t you see, Angela, that isn’t possible. Peace just isn’t possible in this world and I am not going to be on the losing side again. I am taking control, just like it should be. My family should have won the war, not yours.”
“I will give you anything you want, Michael,” I begged. “Please, just let me live. Get me to a doctor and we can work this all out. Your people can go back to the providence and I promise you peace...”
“Lies!” he shouted, making me jump. “You grandfather also promised us peace if we submitted. Instead our people were practically made into slaves. We aren’t suffering like that again. No, you have to die. You must suffer for what they did.”
I shook my head, not believing what he was saying. He was blaming me for something that happened before I was even born. It wasn’t fair. “How could you do this to me? We have been together for so many years. You know I’m not like them.”
“It’s easy, really,” he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. My heart felt like it had stopped in my chest. He was going to kill me this time, and there was nothing to stop him. “Just like this.”
There was no way out of this, I knew. I was a dead woman. All my questions had been answered and I was going to die. Just like that. I could never apologize to Rick, I wouldn’t see my cousin again. It was over and Michael had won. There was no way I could beat him, not in my condition. I could barely move.
Rick had risked everything for me and I had repaid him by running into the enemy’s hands. I felt like such a fool. My head hurt so much and I was confused and didn’t know what I was doing. Everything was a swirling mess and I couldn’t make it stop. Now it was going to end and I wouldn’t have to suffer any longer. That was one good th
ing, I supposed. But I wasn’t ready to die, I didn’t want Michael to win. I didn’t want to make my people suffer because I had failed them. I didn’t want to make Emmerich suffer because he had risked so much to bring me back. Because not only was I the true ruler over this place, but he also loved me.
And I loved him.
“Goodbye Angela.” The sweet way Michael said it made me cringe. “It was great seeing you one last time, even though you don’t quite remember me. I will try to return the favor and forget all about you.”
I closed my eyes, ready for the end. I didn’t want to see it coming, I didn’t want to have to face it. Maybe I was a coward and that was how I had gotten in this mess. I didn’t want to start a war. Did that make me a coward? No, that made me be a person who always looked for another way. Someone who never gave up trying.
Instead of the sound of a shot being fired, I heard a door slam open, hitting the wall and splintering.
“What the?!” Michael yelled. I opened my eyes to find Emmerich pointing a gun at him. He had found me. He had saved me yet again.
“Let her go, Michael,” Emmerich demanded. “No one has to die today.”
Michael moved his gun away from me, shaking his head. “How do you do it? How do you always manage to interfere with my plans? Why can’t you just go back to where you belong!”
Emmerich made his way over to me. “See, that’s what you don’t understand. I am where I belong, Michael. I belong at Angel’s side.”
“No, you both belong in a grave. You are the one who put ideas of peace and prosperity in her head, made her think she could rule this land without war. You made her into the coward that she is,” Michael spat. “It is despicable.”
“War has never brought anything but pain, you of all people should know that,” Emmerich knelt down beside me. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “No, the poison is spreading. I can barely move.”
“It’s too late,” Michael laughed. “The poison is no longer dormant in her body. She will be dead soon enough and I won’t have to worry about you ruining my plans. I will have won.”
“Angel, let’s go!” Emmerich grabbed my hand. I heard shots coming from the hallway as guards flooded into the room. They moved towards us with guns raised.
Emmerich pulled me towards the windows and aimed at the window with his gun. He couldn’t be serious, did he really think we could jump out the window?
“Aren’t we hundreds of feet up in the air?!” I yelled as Emmerich shot out the window. Glass shattered in every direction. I blocked the shards from hitting my face.
“Makes it all the more fun to jump!”
He pulled me out the window and into the open air. I screamed as he wrapped his arms around me and we tumbled down. I hit something hard. But not as hard as it should have been if we had hit the ground. I opened my eyes to find Elwood standing over me.
“Hey beautiful, did you miss us?” he smiled. He really tried to lighten up every situation, didn’t he?
I didn’t respond, but glanced around to find myself in the vehicle I had seen earlier. The one I had seen not flowing with traffic, before Michael walked in and tried to kill me. Isaac was flying the craft. All three of them had come to rescue me. Man, Rick worked quickly. Good thing he did or I would have been dead. As it was, it was a little too close for comfort.
“What... what?” I began as I tried to stand up, shaking. I didn’t quite make it, but collapsed onto the floor. Elwood hurried to my side.
“Are you all right? What’s wrong? Did Michael hurt you?”
I didn’t answer. I had almost died. Again. It was a lot to take in, especially after jumping out of a window. Maybe Elwood was right, I was way too trusting of Emmerich. We had jumped through a window.
“Poison. It’s not dormant anymore.”
Elwood’s eyes widened. “What? What happened?”
“Love to explain but we have to get out of here before he sends his men after us,” Emmerich pushed a button closing the door of the hovercraft. Elwood still knelt next to me, feeling my wrist for my pulse.
“Your pulse is fast. Emmerich, we have to get her out of here!” Elwood called.
“I’m on it!” He sat down at the controls and pushed the craft forward. “Hopefully we can before...”
The craft shook.
“Too late,” Isaac said.
I glanced out the back window to find a dozen vehicles following us. All dark in color with the palace’s symbol on them. I took a deep breath, thinking there was no way out of this. I watched lasers come flashing out from each of the craft. Our craft shook again. Crap.
“Emmerich, what are we going to do?” I asked in a panic. I started coughing uncontrollably. Why did I never get a moment to catch my breath, even after almost dying?
“Elwood, help her into a seat! You both need to strap in for what we are going to do next,” Emmerich called back.
I felt Elwood help me into a seat. I felt dizzy, barely able to focus on what was going on around me. This poison stuff sucked. I promised myself that if I survived, I wouldn’t never let myself be poisoned again. That was doable, right?
I was strapped in and Elwood quickly buckled himself in as well. He whispered something under his breath and shut his eyes. I wondered for a moment why he did that but before I knew it, we went into a wild series of barrel rolls. I clutched the straps, afraid that I would fall out. I shut my eyes tight as we twirled around and around. There was that nauseous feeling again, the one that hadn’t gone away from the last time I flew in a craft. I was too weak to throw up though, that was one plus in all this mess.
On top of everything, my head still ached, sweat still poured off my head, and I felt as if I was going pass out at any moment. Memories were coming back in a rush. My mother, my father before they were killed in an accident when I was five. Generations and generations of my family ruling the planet, going to war with any other civilization they found. Colonizing the moons, colonizing another planet in the system. I couldn’t believe it, I was the daughter of all this war, all this blood. I didn’t want any of it and when they died, I thought I wouldn’t have to face that death. Years later, I became that Empress of Cartref, after much training of course. Many of my family’s servants and top commanders helped. Including Michael, who was always at my side.
He was my best friend growing up, always there for me. How could he betray me like that? How could he just decide one day that he would kill me and take my spot as ruler of this planet?
Elwood should have been next in line for the throne, not Michael, but he was a rebel like Emmerich. I wonder what Michael did to take the throne, how he got the people to turn against the royal line without having to kill Elwood. Maybe he had tried to kill him and Elwood got away with Emmerich. There was so much I had missed in the last year and I wanted to put the pieces together. I tried to think it all through but the pain kept building up.
It was what I had wanted, though, wasn’t it? The memories to come back, no matter the pain. I regretted ever thinking that, the pain was too much to bear. I wasn’t even sure I was going to survive it all, this poison and the craft attacking us.
Our craft rolled again and again. I kept my eyes shut, not wanting to see the world spin around us. Suddenly we dropped and flew down low, into the city. I opened my eyes to find buildings swishing by.
“Stay away from the pedestrians!” I shouted at Emmerich. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, not if I could help it.
I heard Emmerich mumble something as he brought us back up into the sky. I understood why he wanted to fly low, trying to lose them in the traffic and the maze of buildings. But if something happened to a bystander, I would never forgive myself. That just wasn’t my way.
We flew up again. I could see the wall surrounding the city just ahead. We were almost out of the city and above the ocean. Shots hit us again, shaking the entire craft, and I could hear alarms coming from the cockpit.
I glanced at Elwood, he had his eyes shut
and was whispering some kind of prayer under his breath. That was not reassuring. I looked up at the cockpit and swallowed down the bile. “Is everything all right in there?” I shouted at the cockpit.
“Fine and dandy!” Emmerich answered. “Might explode at any second, other than that fine!”
“I would really appreciate it if you fixed that!” I said back.
“Alrighty, will do my best!”
The craft shook again and I was sure that we were done for. The beeps from the cockpit were getting louder and now there were red flashing lights, too. I could feel the craft shuddering and not wanting to stay in the sky.
Why could nothing ever be easy?
Then it stopped. No more shots were being fired at us and eventually the lights and beeping stopped. The ride started to smooth out and I glanced back to find the vehicles following us had turned around and left. I blinked a couple of times, half expecting it to just be my imagination. No, they were turning around.
Had they just given up? No, it couldn’t be that simple. I waited for them to reappear and destroy us for once and for all, but they were gone for good.
Wanting to get a better look, I unbuckled my straps and stood up. That was stupid of me, really. Everything went blurry and I collapsed back to the ground.
“Angel!” Emmerich rushed to my side. I watched as Elwood unbuckled and grabbed a med kit. “Stay awake, please.”
“My head, too much,” I gasped as I started to lose my vision. After all that, was this really the way I was going to go? No, I wouldn’t allow it. I had to overcome this, especially after everything I had gone through in these past few days.
But the pain was overwhelming.
Everything became a jumble as I heard Emmerich and Elwood shouting. I felt someone pull me back up onto the seat. Fingers forced my eyes open and I could see a bright light.
“The poison,” I heard Elwood say. “Michael must have known it was going through her system. That’s why they gave up on us. He knew there was no reason to come after us.”
“Please tell me you have a cure,” Emmerich said as I felt him stroke my hand.