When the spinning finally stopped, she found herself lying on red satin sheets. Her memory of the Earth had somehow been taken during the move across time and space..
“Ugh!” a deep grunt came from beside her.
Gem turned around and saw a slightly older man stretching beside her, as if he had just woken up too. She quickly sat up in shock and climbed out of bed. That was the only time she noticed that she was in that same luxurious bedroom inside the palace where she had been assigned after getting chosen to become the next queen.
Why the hell is the king sleeping beside me? she wondered with confusion and alarm. No, no, no… Did something happen between us? How did I let that happen?
Suddenly, the king stood up too and stared at her with an odd expression on his face. With his face blanketed in confusion, he looked around the room. “What am I doing here?” he asked aloud.
Gem shrugged. She was just as confused.
“I feel like I’ve been asleep for a long time…” the king said.
“Me too,” Gem admitted. “What’s your last memory?”
The king was still wearing his classic robe in red and gold. He stood towering above her, shaking his head in disbelief. “After the announcement at the dome, I had you sent here in the palace. Then that same day, you had disappeared. Some were saying you had run away, but I did not believe it. Nobody would say no to such an honor to be my wife and to be the queen of this planet.”
Gem nodded profusely, suddenly feeling ashamed and even more puzzled. “I… I’m so, so, so sorry,” she whispered, casting her eyes downward and refusing to meet his gaze.
She felt his hand on her chin, lifting her face upward. Reluctantly, she followed and looked into his eyes.
“Don’t worry, Gemini,” he said. “What’s important is that you are here now. We must get ready for our wedding.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Gem whispered. “And I promise you I’ll be the best wife and queen you can ever have.”
***
TWO YEARS LATER
“Rise and shine, Queen Gemini!” somebody said in a jovial yet formal tone of voice.
Gem sat up in bed and saw a Martian lady who was apparently an assistant in the palace. “The Warrior King is waiting for you in the dining hall.”
Gem sat up, looking confused. She felt like she had been somewhere else for a long time, but could not quite remember it. All she knew at the moment was that she was living in the palace as the Warrior King’s 4th wife.
“Would you like a milk and honey bath, Your Highness?” the assistant asked, helping her up from the bed and leading her to the adjoining bathroom.
“Uh sure,” Gem answered uncertainly. As the special bathing supplies and procedure were being prepared, she closed her eyes and tried to picture what had happened over the past few days. Images of herself working with different Martians across the planet came to mind. She seemed to have been busy with several projects.
“What’s your name again, Miss?” she asked the assistant.
The young lady looked at her oddly, but answered politely. “My name is Mikana. I have been your personal assistant for two years now since you got married to the king. Are you okay, Queen Gemini?” She genuinely looked concerned as she paused from pouring the milk into the bath tub.
“I’m fine,” Gem told her, although she herself was not convinced. She felt like there was something that was out of place. She remembered the announcement at the dome clearly when she’d been picked as the bride. But from that time up to the present, everything seemed to be just a haze.
As she dipped into the milk and was scrubbed with a special skincare formula made with honey, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She was deeply disturbed but couldn’t quite understand. When she closed her eyes and tried to relax, she suddenly pictured a breathtaking stretch of sand beside a vast sea. The sky was painted with a lovely blend of colors as the sun was beginning to set.
Her eyes popped open. There was no such place in Mars! Where did that image come from? She looked at Mikana. “Tell me, what year is it now?”
Mikana again gave her a puzzled look. “It’s 1133, Your Highness.”
“Did I ever go near the sea or to some sort of beach during the past two years?”
“Not that I know of,” Mikana replied. “There are no beaches here on our planet that are safe enough to visit.” She opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it again.
“What is it?” Gem insisted. She could feel that the lady had something important to say, but was hesitating.
“Um… I might get in trouble for saying this,” she started with a seriously distressed expression on her face. “But last year, while you were out, there was a strange man who barged into the palace looking for you. He… he appeared to be crazy, talking about having lost you at sea or something like that.”
Suddenly, the vision of a handsome man with dark hair, a dimple, and gentle brown eyes came to her. “What happened?” she asked in alarm.
“The Warrior King got angry at him,” Mikana said hesitantly. “He, uh, ordered us all out of the room. But I heard him tell the crazy man to go back to Earth and never come back. The man said he would never leave without you.”
“And then what?” Gem asked, her eyes widening and her heart beating fast. Somehow she knew that this was someone who was important to her. She dreaded the answer.
“We really don’t know what happened afterward. The man just disappeared again.”
Silence followed. Gem tried to retrieve the memories in her head. There were some blurred images of herself with a human male on Earth. But she could not quite remember.
She went through that day like a zombie. While on auto pilot, she did all her rightful duties as the queen. However, her mind was drifting somewhere else. She felt as if there was a huge chunk of her that was missing.
There was only one way to find out what it was. She needed to go to Earth and find out if she’d actually been there some time before she had gotten married to the Warrior King.
*****
Gem knew the Warrior King would never allow her to go to Earth, especially if he knew something about a previous experience she’d had there that he wasn’t telling her. Thus, she timed her escape during his long trip to another galaxy. She bribed one of the palace’s pilots to take her.
She had done her research and only had three beach destinations in America that she was targeting. Based on the snippets of memory she’d been getting, she’d been able to check out which possible areas she ought to go to.
The first one was already destroyed, although there was still some semblance of what probably used to be a beautiful beach. It’s 2039 on Earth, after all. Some natural areas of the planet had supposedly deteriorated already.
She took her time exploring the ruins of a village, her heart constricting as she thought of the inhabitants there who’d probably suffered and even perished. But she felt it wasn’t the one she was searching for.
The second one looked very similar to what she was looking for. She walked down the shore and found sand dunes on one end of the beach, though they did not look as impressive anymore as those from her memory. She stood there, just feeling the cool breeze on her face. Somehow, in spite of the slight changes in appearance, the place seemed to make her feel at home. She decided to stay a while longer.
She thought that perhaps exploring the entire island could shake her memory and trigger something from the past. So she walked around the rocks and sand dunes, heading back to the main beach. But as she did, something caught her eye--- a little piece of wood lying near one of the big rocks. She picked it up and turned it around in her hand. It was a nicely crafted sculpture of a dog.
“You like art?” she could almost hear his voice asking her. It came from a man she cared for in the past.
An image of him filled her mind, this time clear and vivid. She was offering her diamond necklace in exchange for the wooden sculpture of the dog.
“Cliff,” she whispered in alarm a
s she recalled the only man she had ever learned to love. “How could I ever forget you, Cliff?” Tears began to fall down her cheeks as every little detail of the times they had spent together came flooding back. I must find him.
She ran to the other edge of the beach, toward the cottage she had learned to love and call as her own home. The art shop was still there, but it was almost empty. She went inside and found a much older-looking Chelsea staring off into space.
“Chelsea!” she exclaimed in panic. Something in her heart told her there was something gravely wrong. “Where’s Cliff?”
Chelsea looked up and immediately recognized her. An expression of anger combined with sadness flashed across her pretty face. “He went after you, Gem…” she said in a soft voice. “A few months after you had left, he went after you… and now he’s gone…” Her shoulders began to shudder.
“W-What do y-you m-mean?” Gem stammered, afraid to hear her answer.
“He had this wild idea that you’re from another time and planet, because he said you used to talk about Mars and about your apprehensions in your sleep…” Chelsea said, her voice trembling. “Then… then… he had this weird-looking watch in his hand before he disappeared. And then the next day, I just found him in his room… he was… he wasn’t…”
Gem’s heart constricted and her eyes widened as she realized what Chelsea was trying to say.
“I kept waking him up, Gem…” Chelsea whispered. She shut her eyes, shaking her head. “So many years have already passed, but that vision of him is still fresh in my mind…”
“Noooo!” Gem screamed. “He’s not dead!” She crumpled to the ground, quivering in disbelief and shock and pain.
The following day, she was back in the palace even before the Warrior King could call and discover that she had gone. Apparently, he had just arrived at his destination. After answering his questions automatically and without any emotion, she went back to sulk and cry in the privacy of her bedroom.
But after a week of moping and weeping, she began to think more clearly. She realized that if she could go back in time again, maybe she could somehow undo the damage. She could still change the present and the future.
When her mother came to visit her in the palace, she cried in her arms. She revealed everything that she had discovered, and the older woman understood.
“You can still fight for your love, my dear daughter,” she said. “I’ve always believed in the power of love, even if it is not accepted here in our society. You were fortunate to have met a man who made your heart beat in a different way, someone who made you feel truly alive and happy… Go and do what you have to do…”
Gem nodded, her eyes red and puffy from having cried so much over the past weeks. She realized that what she’d shared with Cliff was too special not to attempt saving. It was indeed love that we had, perhaps in its early stages, she thought painfully.
After that realization, she resolved to be stronger and braver. While the king was still away, she secretly sought and met up with different experts on time travel. She tried to trace the woman who’d left her the gift-wrapped package that had brought her to Earth in the first place. But the woman could not be found.
All the Martians whom she’d talked to were afraid to help her because the king might discover their involvement. But just as she was about to give up, she found one woman who seemed to sympathize with her situation.
The elderly woman’s name was Serendina, known for her research and inventions on time travel. “I do recall a former research partner of mine, Doctor Kross, telling me that he had sold a time travel watch to a desperate woman,” she shared with Gem. “Maybe that was the woman who gave you the gift and sent you back in time to Planet Earth.”
“But what about the king? Where did he get his to travel back to me?” Gem wondered.
Serendina’s voice dropped down to a lower level. She whispered, “I believe he took it by force from Doctor Kross. You see, we were able to create only three pieces, which we had agreed to keep in secret until the right time comes that they can be used for salvation of our planet or even of the universe. But that rich woman was able to blind the doctor with her money. When the king found out about it, he tried to buy another. But Doctor Kross refused, and he’d kept denying about it. So…”
Gem waited for her to go on, terrified of what she was going to say next. She knew how the Warrior King could be brutal when he wanted to.
“Doctor Kross had suddenly disappeared right after he left me a message about the king. I ran away. I did my best to hide, but I believe the king never learned about my involvement. Or maybe he didn’t care anymore when he had you back already.”
“You have the last piece, right?” Gem asked, wide-eyed with desperation and hope.
Serendina hesitated, but eventually nodded. “The Warrior King is a strong man with plenty of connections,” she warned Gem. “If you defy him, he will want to capture you all the more and might even lock you up for life. He needs to protect his pride and honor, having chosen you as a wife. He can’t possibly lose you after picking you from the throngs of available Martian women.”
Gem nodded sadly. “I know.”
“I can help you get back to your man with the use of the last time travel watch.”
Gem’s eyes filled with tears, her heart soaring with gratitude. “Thank you so, so much…”
Serendina simply said, “I hope it helps.”
Gem nodded. “I know it will!”
Serendina’s eyes suddenly clouded over. “However, you must know that the Warrior King can and will go after you wherever you hide.”
Gem was beginning to feel frantic as she absorbed the wise woman’s words. She thought hard about it, then said, “I just want to save Cliff’s life, perhaps keep him from going after me somehow. I will dispose of that watch and then I’ll go back to Mars.”
“It’s worth a try,” Serendina said, shrugging.
“Let’s do it please,” Gem pleaded. “Give me the last watch. Send me back to the time before the Warrior King came to Earth.”
*****
Something wet and slippery was licking her all over the face. When she opened her deep purple eyes, she found herself face to face with a little, adorable dog. All at once, she knew him. I can remember!
“Hey, what are you doing there?” It was Cliff approaching after his dog. He had a big smile on his face and looked handsome, relaxed, happy, and very much alive.
Gem sat up, drinking in his appearance. Her heart felt like it would burst from too much joy and relief upon seeing him.
“When I got up, you weren’t there anymore beside me,” Cliff said. “Everything okay?”
Gem was still just gazing at him with immense happiness and gratitude. And she could not believe that this time, she could actually remember everything. Perhaps her mind was getting accustomed to time travel.
Quickly she climbed to her feet and threw her arms around him.
Surprised, he laughed, but hugged her back nevertheless. “What’s up?”
Her throat felt dry and constricted from unshed tears. “I…I’m just so happy… to see you…” she whispered hoarsely.
Cliff chuckled, still holding her. He gazed into her eyes. “Gem, you’ve been seeing me every single day since you got here.”
“I…I’m just happy,” she repeated, embracing him again.
He held her tightly, caressing her hair and back. “I’m glad you feel that way,” he whispered. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made my life.”
Gem wanted to cry. She tried to hold back the tears, knowing that she should just be content seeing him alive and happy at that very moment. He would not be for long when she left for good, but she knew he’d recover. What’s important, was making sure he was safe and would stay that way forever.
“You know what?” Cliff suddenly said, his face brightening. “Since we have no guests today, let’s take the day off and just have fun. Just for now, let’s not worry about anything, alright?
”
Gem smiled despite her heavy heart. “I’d like that.”
They spent the whole day together swimming and building sandcastles, trekking through the woods and collecting some fruits, and then riding bikes into the sunset. It was nothing like Gem had ever experienced, and she found herself falling for him all over again.
When night fell, they lay down on their backs on the sand dunes, just watching the stars quietly. He held her hand and squeezed it, and they lay like that for a long time, with their fingers intertwined and their shoulders touching.
“Thank you, Cliff,” Gem whispered with a smile.
“For what?”
“For all the new experiences, for being so nice to me, for showing me how beautiful the Earth is…” she said, just speaking from the heart with all honesty. “And most of all, thank you for caring and making me feel special.”
Cliff turned to her and they faced each other on their sides, simply gazing into each other’s eyes under the moonlit and star-filled sky. “I don’t just care about you, Gem. I don’t just like you too.”
Gem’s heart began to hammer against her chest. She yearned to hear him say the words that she had never ever been told by anyone.
“I love you, Gem,” he murmured, caressing her face with the back of his hand.
Gem felt her heart soar, teeming with love and passion for the man in front of her. “I love you too, Cliff,” she said.
He leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips, and she closed her eyes to savor it. She yearned to imprint every little memory in her mind so that she will never ever forget anything even after she returned to her own time and planet.
As they headed back to the cottage, she had the urge to reveal her real identity to him and tell him the whole truth. But she couldn’t very well do that now and ruin the beautiful evening. It would feel so much like she was betraying him. But then again, she would also be hurting him when she went away. Why did it all have to be so complicated?
She kept looking around while they walked, wary of the surroundings. There seemed to be no sign of anyone from Mars suddenly coming or appearing.
In the Arms of the Dragon Princes Page 111