In the Arms of the Dragon Princes

by Jessica Miller

  It was only when I heard him shouting back, defending himself, that I raced down to join him. I was as much a part of this as he was. It wasn’t fair to leave him to tackle it alone.

  “Wait…” I cried out. “Wait a moment…”

  “I will get to you,” my dad snapped. “Your little tryst has wrecked everything!”

  The shouting went on for ages. We had absolutely everything thrown at us that cried, hard. I’d known the aftermath of sleeping with Ricky wasn’t going to be smooth, but I hadn’t quite expected it to get this bad.

  “Anyway,” Marie finally said, shooting a glance at my dad. “We made a decision last night. Because of this, we are not going to go through with the wedding. We’re going to break up,” I shot her a knowing look, certain that there was much more to their break up than me and Ricky, but she gave me such an evil glare that I kept it to myself. “Ricky, you and I are going to return to our old home, where we lived before here.”

  “In Raymont?” he yelled.

  “Why not?” she insisted. “You’ve finished school now. There’s no reason for us to remain.” I could sense that he wanted to look at me, but neither of us was brave enough to follow through on that desire.

  “…and Talia,” Dad intervened “You need to go back to boarding school today. I can see that you’ve already packed your bags, and I’ve contacted the school. They are willing to accommodate you now.”

  I tried to argue, but he was having none of it. As the rest of the rant continued, I felt my heart fall into my shoes. I’d been so looking forward to the future, not that long ago, now it had been taken away from me. There was no chance for me and Ricky if he was being taken miles away me, and I was being sent back to school.

  We would have to break up. Sure, we could keep trying, keep doing the long distance thing, but if we weren’t together, it would never last. We’d only been together a short while, not long enough to have built any solid foundations, and things would only go from bad to worse with us. It could never end up successful – there was just too much stacked against us.

  My heart shattered into a million pieces, as I realized that I was losing everything.

  *****

  Ricky

  I insisted on dropping Talia off at the train station. Everyone argued against it, but I was going to do it anyway. Her dad came along too, but he had given us just a short time alone, which I used to kiss her and make all the promises in the world.

  “I’ll wait for you,” I insisted. “We’ll be in touch all the time. I’ll come and see you at weekends…”

  “No,” she shook her head, with tears in her eyes. “We can’t. It won’t work. We always knew that this was a short term thing.” She was saying things to push me away, hoping that I would agree, just to make things easier for us both. She didn’t mean a word of it, I could tell by her expression, but before I could argue anymore, her dad was back by her side, ushering her on the train. “This is goodbye,” she whispered, as if that was the conclusion to it all.

  I waved to her sadly as the train pulled out from the station, knowing that life was never going to be the same for either of us again. But I also knew that I wouldn’t sit back and let her slip through my fingers. As soon as she found out how dedicated I was to her, she would come around too, I just knew it.

  We would make this work. We had to. I was in love with Talia and I couldn’t let her go.

  *****

  Epilogue

  Talia

  One year later…

  The last year had been hard at first, but things were finally settling down now. I felt defeated and destroyed when I had returned to boarding school alone, but Ricky had soon made it clear that he wasn’t letting me go, and his endless pursuit of me had gone on to make me the happiest girl alive.

  He’d moved away from his mom almost right away and rented a small apartment near me, starting up his own business running a bike shop. It had been a struggle for him at first, but now he was very successful, and getting better. His reputation had followed him, and people were keen to buy from the bad ass king of the racetrack Ricky – even if he was nothing like that version of himself anymore.

  I had tried to resist Ricky at first, to do the right thing, but when it became clear that our parents were never getting back together, I gave in and allowed the both of us to be happy. They had both moved on with other people now, and were very contented about it. They were almost pleased for us too – if not a little scared that it might all go wrong. We’d both been given a warning about our relationship, but that didn’t matter to either of us. We had each other, and that was all that mattered.

  We were perfect for one another. We would go the distance, I was confident of that. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought.

  I was doing well for myself too – about to start a college education, working towards becoming a doctor. Things were looking up, and life was great.

  Most importantly, we had each other, and we had love. It had been complicated, but we got there in the end. Soon I would become his wife, then we would have children. I imagined us with a big brood of smiling kids, in a house with plenty of love.

  The future looked very bright indeed.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 34/40

  Alien’s Bride

  The bright morning sunshine tickled her soaked flesh, but her mind was still adrift, lost in another realm of space and time. She could hear the gentle lapping of the sea, which seemed to relax her tired muscles and clear her chaotic thoughts.

  “The Warrior King has made his decision,” the announcer had said to the congregation of Martians gathered in the enormous glass dome of the planet’s central city.

  Her heart had skipped a beat as she’d leaned in closer to listen. About a thousand other hopeful women had done the same.

  “He has chosen… Gemini!” he’d finished.

  She’d almost fainted upon hearing her name. Suddenly, a huge spotlight had been turned to her.

  Something cold brushed against her feet, making them wet. The memory of the big event in the dome vanished from her head, replaced by nothingness. What’s going on?

  There it was again- a loud, crashing sound followed by coldness wrapping around her ankles.

  Her eyes flickered open, but were immediately blinded by intense brightness from all around. She closed her eyes, although she was now fully awake. She could feel the fatigue rolling in, along with the aching in her shoulders, arms, and legs. Actually, her whole body seemed to be exhausted. The pain was tolerable, but more bothersome was the fact that she did not know where she was or how she’d gotten there.

  One moment, she had been enveloped in joy and pride as the chosen bride of the Warrior King. And then the next, she was lying on the sandy shores of an unknown island.

  She opened her eyes again, revealing their unique beauty and depth. This time, they quickly adjusted to the sunlight that bathed the entire island. She forced herself to a sitting position, just as another wave crashed onto the shore and washed up toward her. Her alertness was back, but not her complete memory.

  “Shit, how did I get here on planet Earth?” she whispered with combined fear, shock, and worry as she now recognized the natural elements from photos and videos that she had studied while in the academy.

  Apparently, she had somehow come to be on a beautiful beach that looked deserted at the moment. She knew that such natural wonders were currently quite rare on Earth.

  Looking down upon her body, she saw that she was still wearing the special dress she had carefully picked for a special occasion. It was a plain, long dress in red with a high slit on one side. It looked like a casual cotton dress for Terrans, but was actually made of a different kind of material that was more suitable for Mars. It’s a good thing the fabric was also waterproof so only her skin had gotten wet.

  “Am I just dreaming?” she asked aloud, puzzled. She tried pinching herself and immediately felt the pain. “I guess not…” She figured she had somehow ende
d up in the water and had just washed up on shore.

  She straightened up, trying to focus. She again remembered what she’d considered the happiest moment of her life- the announcement of the bride. How could she get married to the Warrior King if she was on a different planet? Her heart sank as the disappointment and frustration settled within.

  “I have to get back to Mars!” she declared, standing up and looking around for any clue as to how she was supposed to return. Perhaps there was some portal that she had accidentally entered.

  Her planet was the nearest neighbor of the Earth, so it should be a breeze to get back, right? She walked slowly toward one side of the lengthy stretch of the beach, trying to figure out what to do next. “I need to get back,” she repeated to herself as she walked. “I want to be Queen.”

  On her planet, it was always a great honor to be chosen as the next Queen of the Warrior King. Whenever a new decade arrives, the Big Announcement was made. All the young ladies would gather at the central dome, hoping to be picked. Everybody who could fit inside would often flock to witness the event.

  Every ten years, after living in power, influence, and wealth, the Queen gets replaced. Nevertheless, she would forever be part of Martian history.

  Gem felt her heart constricting as she began to panic. What if she never got back? Would they choose another Queen? She had been overjoyed when she’d finally stood face to face with the King. Rather than thinking of the kind of wedding she would be privileged to decide on, such as what most of the previous queens had been first preoccupied with, she had already started noting down her plans for the planet and for their people.

  Her speed did not seem ordinary for a Terran, so she was able to reach one end of the beach in a couple of minutes even without running. Weird, she thought as she remembered that their planet’s gravitational pull was supposedly lighter than that of the Earth. But then she realized that perhaps it was due to her unique body makeup. Maybe it was reacting differently to the Earth’s atmosphere.

  She stopped to look around, surveying her surroundings. There were sand dunes with a dense forest behind them. And then there were majestic mountains in the background that she had never seen in actuality before.

  For a minute, she paused to admire the scenic view. “Just as I thought, Earth is so beautiful up close,” she whispered. This was nothing compared to mere images.

  If only she’d been transported here at another time that did not have any conflict with her life on Mars, she would have been thankful for the opportunity to explore an amazing planet teeming with life for numerous years already! After all, she had always been aware of the existence of Terrans, who were the only known life species similar to Martians in their entire galaxy.

  “Woof, woof!”

  Gem turned around to find a small, adorable creature with four legs wagging its tail as it ran toward her. She recognized it at once as an Earth canine. It had soft, golden hair and was excitedly bouncing up, trying to lick her hand. She couldn’t help laughing.

  Then suddenly, it gave a few barks and turned around moving in the other direction. It seemed to be asking her to follow. And so she did.

  As they neared the opposite end of the beach, she was surprised to see that this was the part of the island where there were huts and cottages among the trees. It was obviously a village and she grew excited about meeting actual inhabitants of Earth.

  From what she had observed so far, she guessed she had not just been transported to planet Earth, but might have actually gone back in time!

  Is it possible? she thought, racking her brain for memories from that evening when she had met up with the King in his palace.

  The little dog barked excitedly, disrupting Gem’s thoughts. She turned toward the sea where the dog was facing. Three boats had just arrived. One of the men climbed down from his boat and eagerly jogged to meet the dog midway.

  “Hey, there,” he greeted the dog, crouching down and scratching the animal’s head and ears. “How are you? Did you miss me?”

  The dog barked and wagged his tail gleefully.

  Gem watched them, feeling both amazed and amused by their obvious connection. At the same time, she could not help admiring the strong physique of the man, which was common among Martian Warriors. But this human had tanned skin, unlike the pale color of Martians. And there was something else about him that seemed to grip her heart in a way she could not understand or interpret.

  To her astonishment, the dog then appeared to lead him to her. He stood up and that was when she had a good look at his handsome face. He had round brown eyes, moist and reddish lips, and a somewhat pointed nose. There was a dimple on each cheek that made him look even more attractive when he was smiling. Strands of his dark hair fell on one eye, but he immediately brushed them away.

  He walked toward her, his smile fading a bit as the relaxed, happy expression on his face changed into one of bemusement.

  Suddenly, everything else seemed to fade into the background as she was transfixed by the good-looking man in front of her. They were about the same height, although his muscular body definitely shadowed over her lean one.

  “Hi,” he said uncertainly. “Are you… lost?”

  Hearing his voice made her heart flutter a bit, which was baffling. For some reason, she was at a loss for words. She knew their language very well, but the way he was making her feel at that very moment was something she had never experienced before.

  *****

  “Hello,” was all she could utter as her eyes drank him in.

  “Only a few of us live around here, and I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” he said. He extended his hand toward her then. “I’m Cliff. You are…?”

  “My name is Gemini,” she replied, shaking his hand as she had seen done in videos of Earth when she was in school.

  “That’s a nice name,” he said with a smile, the sides of his eyes crinkling. “Quite rare. Where are you from?”

  Planet Mars, she answered silently. But aloud she said, “I’m from the city. But to be honest, I don’t know how I came to be here.”

  He cocked his head to one side, giving her a strange look. Her features were very human, but her eyes were a deep shade of purple with twinkling specks of silver. And her very fine hair in mixed tones of brown and orange, braided to her waist, must be odd too even for someone from the city.

  “Well, for your information, you are here at Moonrock Beach right now. What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked, still in a friendly tone despite her apparent out-of-this-world appearance.

  “I woke up on the shore and I was soaking wet,” Gem told him honestly. “But I took a walk along the beach, so the sun has dried me up already. That’s when I met your dog.”

  His tiny pet barked and then leaped to lick her hand. She smiled down at him.

  “He likes you,” Cliff said.

  Gem just smiled at him.

  “I think we might have to jog your memory a bit,” Cliff told her, his voice laced with concern. “But in the meantime, you can stay at our house. We might have to alert the police too, in case they get a report for some accident in the sea or for a missing person…”

  “Oh, no, don’t do that,” Gem said quickly. “I mean, I actually do remember something now…”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes!” she said. “I just, I wasn’t sure at first… But I believe I was sent here by someone who didn’t want me around.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  Gem was just inventing a story, but saying what she just said did seem to shake something in her recollection of that night at the palace.

  After her meeting with the Warrior King, Eman, she had been led to her bedroom by one of the servants. But upon entering, she’d been surprised to find another woman inside.

  “Hello, Madame,” the woman had greeted her. “I just delivered the King’s gift for you. Congratulations.” She had left in a hurry, and that was when Gem had noticed the gif
t-wrapped package on the bed.

  Cliff’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. “Are you okay, Gemini? If it’s difficult for you to talk about it, it’s fine. I understand.”

  Gem’s eyes focused on him again. “I’m sorry,” she muttered, looking down.

  “Hey, it’s alright,” he said, sounding cheerful again. “No worries. Come on, I think you need to change into something more comfortable. You’re probably hungry too.”

  “Not really,” she said. “But thank you for your kindness.”

  She followed him quietly to the nearby village. He lived in one of the bigger cottages that had a nice, artsy shop in front. She couldn’t help appreciating the display of handcrafted items made of shells, wood, dried leaves, and other natural materials. There was also a handful of framed paintings that depicted scenes of the beach.

  “You like art?” he asked when he noticed how she had stopped to admire the items on display.

  She nodded, picking up a tiny wooden sculpture of a dog. “Did you make this?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Cliff said, approaching.

  She didn’t realize he was standing right behind her. Surprised by his answer, she turned around at once and was taken aback by his closeness. She caught a whiff of his salty scent mixed with a hint of his musky aftershave. It was invigorating.

  “I, uh… think… it’s really beautiful,” Gem said, finding it hard to construct her sentence because of their proximity. She couldn’t really understand why her heart was pounding wildly and her thoughts seemed to have gotten jumbled up.

  “Thank you,” Cliff said. “You can have it.”

  “What? No!” Gem said, shaking her head. “I want to pay for it.” She realized then that she didn’t have anything to pay with. She was, however, wearing a necklace that had a real diamond pendant. She took it off and handed it over.