by Maia Starr
"Your father seems very hard to please. It must be hard growing up under him. Now go get some rest; you earned it. I will know more once Kuvo Bane returns,” he said as he patted me on the shoulder and walked out of the room. It was as though he was patting me on the back because my father refused to. But I was shocked that he knew that Executive Ambassador Cavell Novan was my father. I guess having the same last name gave it away. It was a bit embarrassing.
I took the King's advice and went to my bedchamber and threw myself on the bed. Before I knew it, I fell into a very deep sleep feeling safe for the first time in days. The exhaustion and torment had finally hit me. I needed the rest.
The days were long as they passed. I learned all that there was to learn about the castle. King Caspin had made sure that I had a tutor teaching me the ways of the Drackon. I learned about the hybrid Drackon, which the king was. It was important to know; he insisted upon it. I enjoyed walking the castle. It was like something out of an old English fairy tale. The castle was made of stone and the entire town below it was like a fairy tale village, but with modern technology. Their technology was far advanced compared to ours and it was an interesting mix to see how they coexisted with nature, but with the best technology.
I longed to see outside the castle and to see the animals of Mooreah. But I did not want to leave. I thought that at any moment Kuvo would send a communication and I would miss it. I thought that at any moment he might return and I would not be there to greet him. So I never strayed from the castle. I took dinner with the King every evening and he told me of some looming threat that he called the purists. They were Drackon that believed that the Drackon should stop mating with human females because it was thinning the blood of the Drackon. It was creating hybrids like the king. I could tell that this greatly troubled him when he spoke of it because he was in fact a hybrid. But he said the opposing purists group was small and so far just talk. He hoped that it would not turn violent, but the way he spoke about it let me know that he knew it was heading that way. As much as I enjoyed my time at the castle, I could not stop worrying about Kuvo and the rescue mission. It was my fault after all that he had to go in the first place and the guilt weighed heavily on me.
Before I knew it, two weeks had passed. There was no word from Kuvo Bane. I was very worried. I was sick to my stomach all the time. If anything happened to Kuvo Bane on this rescue, I would not forgive myself. It was my fault that he had to go back and get the crew in the first place. It was very strange considering that he had planned and executed a quick rescue for me. Now after two weeks, he had not returned, and we had not received communication. I feared the worse.
Every day I sat on the balcony of my room that overlooked the gates of the castle, waiting for his return. The day turned into night and he would not return that day. I grew very worried and anxious. Then the king had news for me that I did not like.
“If the rescue mission does not return in three more days, then you will have to be on your way back to Earth without them.”
“No, I refuse. I will not leave without them. Why would I do such a thing?” I said in response.
“Because, Ambassador, we do not know how long this mission will take. You have waited long enough and I do not want your embassy to think that we are keeping you here or it will cause suspicion. This mission could take a year for as all we know, and sadly we have not heard from them at all,” the king said.
“I will wait months. I will wait a year if I have to,” I said in a panic.
“I am sorry. I have already set the flight in motion and it is scheduled to leave here for Earth in three days. Let us hope that we hear something by then,” the king said as he walked away from me. I knew that his word was to be followed and I did not have a choice. But perhaps he was just scared of the purists threat with me being a human female and all. Perhaps there was already rumors that he was taking a human wife, and that wife was me. I could see why he would want me out of the castle as soon as possible.
I just did not want to admit to myself that perhaps they would never return, that the worst had happened. That Rubla Von or others on the outlaw planet gotten the better of them. It would be my fault. My stupid plan to run away had turned into a nightmare for everyone. It was then that I realized that my worry was more than just simple worry for friends. I loved him. I loved Kuvo Bane. I had fallen hard for him and thinking that he may never return and that he was possibly dead broke my heart. It was making me ill. Every time I thought about his death, my stomach would turn. Especially because it would be my fault. I was responsible for killing the alien weredragon that I was in love with. I was the worst human.
A few more days passed and the day had come for me to leave Mooreah on the massive military ship. I was in the great hall having breakfast with the king when the doors were thrown open and an aid came to the king side and shouted, “They have returned! Kuvo Bane has returned with the squadron!”
I jumped up from my seat and ran after the aid. Outside in the courtyard of the castle I saw the crew, Simon and Winfrey. I ran to them and hugged each of them.
"Oh! I am so happy to see you!” I shouted crying.
"We are happy to see you too. We are happy to be here, not with that lunatic,” Winfrey said.
As soon as I was done hugging them, I looked at the squad and I saw a Kuvo Bane. His arm was bandaged and in a sling. He was wounded. My heart went out to him. He looked worn, tired, and broken. I ran up to him and threw my arms around his neck as I jumped up to reach him.
"Oh! Kuvo! I thought you were dead. I'm so happy you are back. You have no idea how worried I was,” I said as I cried and pressed my body against his.
But he was silent. He was cold. He did not move. I took a step back away from him and looked at him. His eyes were stone cold. He nodded at me and just said, “I was just doing my duty. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see the king,” he said as he moved past me.
I could not control the crying that took over me. He hated me. He was disgusted by me. He had every right to be. I would not go after him I was just glad that he was alive. But there was no way that I could tell him my news now… the news that I was pregnant with his offspring.
The next day we were all on the massive ship back to Earth. I was surprised that Kuvo had insisted that he join us. There were enough guards on board to keep us safe. But he was loyal to his assignment from my father, to get me back to him safe. It was the only reason that he was going. He wanted to make sure that he finished his mission, his mission to protect me while taking me to Mooreah and then getting me back to Earth. I knew that after that, I would never see him again.
He had only said a couple of words to me since his return and they were words that were cold and of little meaning. He would never trust me again and I would have to live with that forever. My heart ached and I wanted to go to him. But he was never in the same room as me. Anytime I walked into the common room of the ship, he would walk out. It was unbearable. It would heartbreaking when I was carrying his baby. I could not tell him. He would be angrier with me if he found out. But I wanted to at least get a chance to explain to him why I had made such an arrangement with Rubla Von in the first place. He never gave me a chance, and it was eating away at me.
Chapter 8
KUVO BANE
The rescue mission was long, and it was hard. It started out in Cix, and then we tracked Rubla Von to Mzech. It was there that we, my squadron and I, engaged in a battle with Rubla Von and his men. We had found Simon and Winfrey. The mission was to rescue them at all costs, and the cost ended up being heavy. I lost two Drackon warriors in the battle. They died rescuing humans, all because Andrene had decided to take her destiny into her own hands and pull this ridiculous abduction act.
Seeing warriors die in front of me was the reason I had left the squadron battalion and my home planet in the first place. Now here I was, seeing it again, and it was all her fault. When she told me that she was the one behind all of it, I didn't think I could hate he
r more, but I was wrong. Seeing two of my warriors fall in battle because of her stupidity made my hate grow. But deep down inside of me, I knew that hate was anger for myself; the more that I was apart from her, the more I yearned for her. As the days went on and I thought death might be near, my thoughts turned to her. I would imagine her long hair in my fingers and her beautiful eyes looking at me. I could not shake it. I was obsessed with her. In battle, all I could think about was getting back to her. It was all that seemed to matter to me, and yet thinking about what she had done gave me great anger. It was a constant conflict inside of me and I didn't know which would win: my love for her, or my hate for her.
So when we were finally victorious and made our way back to Mooreah, the moment I saw her, I knew that I loved her. But I could never tell her that. I would have to get over it. I could never be with her after what she had done. She was not to be trusted.
She ran up to me and threw her arms around me with tears in her eyes. I believed that she was being genuine, that she really did fear that I had died. I believed that she really did miss me and her enthusiasm for seeing me was real. But I did not want to encourage her, so I was cold to her in return. I did not want her to think that things would go back to being the way they were before she told me that she was behind the capture. It would never go back to that; I needed to cut her off.
So as she threw her arms around me while telling me how glad she was that I was there, I was motionless. I said nothing other than that I needed to speak to the king. I did not touch her in return. I could tell that it hurt her, but I did not have a choice.
Now that we were en route back to Earth, I felt a sense of relief. It was almost over. My mission was almost over. It seemed like it was years ago that we had set out from Africa, and it had been only a few weeks. But soon I would have her safely back with her father, and my mission would be complete. I would leave his employ and go back to Mooreah, far away from her. Just a few more days. All I had to do was stay in my sleep capsule as much as possible, avoiding her on the ship.
"You can't keep avoiding me like this," I heard her say as she opened the door to my sleep capsule and let herself in.
"I do not want to see you. Get out of here," I said to her.
"Fine, I will after I say what I need to say," she said closing the door behind her. Now it was just the two of us in the private space of my sleep capsule. I didn't trust myself. But if I didn't let her say what she wanted to say, then she would never leave me alone. I just sat on the bed and stared at her.
"I have lived my entire life underneath my oppressive father. He does not let me have my own life. He treats me with disrespect. He takes my money from me that I have earned. I have traveled with him from embassy to embassy since I was a child, and he decided that I would become an ambassador representative and work under him when I begged to create my own life and work with animals, as I always wanted to. He has threatened me. He has not loved me.
“Yet he refuses to allow me to leave, always hunting me down and destroying any life I have created so that I come crawling back to him. I am his prisoner. I could not live that way any longer. I had planned an escape from him, one that would make him think I was dead so that he would not look for me. But when the mission to Mooreah came about, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to put a plan into action. It was a hasty plan and I did not think it through or do the proper research. I did not hire Rubla Von directly. It was through another contact, and I was assured it would go as arranged. I admit I was naïve and I can apologize millions of times to you, but at the time I would have done whatever it took to get away from my father. You will never understand it because you are a male and you have all the freedom in the worlds and galaxies. Do you know what it is like to not be in control of your own life? I cannot live that way. That is why I did what I did. Thank you for not telling King Caspin Rykor about my mistakes. That is all,” she said as she turned and walked out of my sleep capsule.
I felt the sting of guilt hitting me. She was shaking with emotion when she was telling me, and I had to restrain myself from hugging her and comforting her. I understood what she was saying. I could make some sense of why she would do anything possible to get out from under her father, mostly because I had met him. I had seen the way he treated her. But her plan was very dumb, very dangerous, and very selfish. But when you are faced with so much emotion and little time, you make brash decisions; I knew that best of all.
But it wasn't enough for me; I still had to stay away from her. We would both be better off without each other. “Just finish the mission Kuvo,” I told myself.
Finally we arrived on Earth at the embassy in Africa. As the ship opened and Andrene walked down the ramp, she was met with loud applause. Everyone was seeing her as a hero; I was seeing her as a naïve girl. I could tell that she was restraining tears and faked a smile as she waved. She looked at me. I looked away from her.
An hour later, I was in her father's office. It was a private meeting between her, her father, and I.
"I am glad you have returned, Andrene. You have proved yourself on this mission as ambassador. This will look good for both of us,” her father said to her. I noticed that he had not hugged her, or said any word of concern. He didn't say things like, I'm so happy that you are alive, or, I was worried I would never see you again, like a parent should. Instead, he was treating her like a colleague.
"Thank you, father,” she said coldly.
"Thank you, Kuvo Bane, for rescuing her from the outlaws. I never give in to ransoms. If they had asked for one, I would've denied it. Give a ransom to someone like that and they will only ask for more and more,” her father said. I looked at him with disgust over what he was saying. I could not hold my tongue any longer.
"Are you saying that you would not pay a ransom for your daughter’s life?” I asked him.
"No, I would not. As I just said, I would pay it and then they would ask for more. So I would never pay it at all.”
"But you have millions; even if the ransom was a failure, at least you would be trying to get your daughter back and you wouldn't miss any of the wealth,” I said moving closer to him. I was trying not to be so dominant, but I was going to quit anyway and he was pissing me off.
"Kuvo..." I heard Andrene say.
"No, it is fine. Let the Drackon speak,” her father said.
"Your daughter is priceless. Any amount of money should be paid to get her back. She is the strongest woman I have ever met, and maybe if you showed her some respect and love, you would see it too.”
"I don't think I need fatherly advice from you, Drackon,” he said.
"No, I'm not offering you advice, but I am threatening you. You will let Andrene live her own life. You will release her accounts to her and let her live anywhere that she wants, doing any profession that she wants. If you do not, I will let this entire embassy know exactly the type of father that you are. I will say that a ransom was asked for and that you refused to pay it. They will see that you have treated the woman they now consider a hero like a worthless piece of trash. You will lose your career. I'm not going to repeat this again,” I said as I stormed out of his office.
I did not wait for a response from him. I did not need a response. I said what I needed to say; it was what Andrene had needed to say to him long ago. She feared standing up to him and I understood why. But I could not stand there and let him talk down to the woman that I loved. I could not stand there and let him tell her that she was worth nothing and that he would not pay a ransom to get her back, that his money was more important than her life. No, I was not going to let her stand there and take that abuse. It was then that I realize that I had been abusing her as well. I had been punishing her for her mistakes. I was no better than her father, and I hated myself even more for putting her through it. She was so fragile, even though she was strong. I had to make it right.
Chapter 9
ANDRENE NOVAN
I could not believe the words that were coming out of Ku
vo's mouth. I never expected anyone to stand up to my father, especially not him. Not only was he standing up to my father, but he was doing it for me. He was standing up for me, telling my father the things that I should have told him long ago. Things that I had tried over and over again to tell him, but he would not listen. No matter what I said or what I did. Hearing him say that he would not give up a ransom for me stung more than anything. He was saying that I was worthless, and that money was more important to him. Even though there was no ransom, because that was not the case, my father did not know that. But here he was admitting that he would not take any action toward getting me back if there was an abduction with a ransom. It hurt.
But when Kuvo began to stick up to my father, my heart began to mend. Perhaps there was hope for us after all. Maybe I would be able to tell him that I was caring his offspring, my secret baby that I had kept to myself.
After he had stormed out of my father’s office, I said nothing to my father. There was nothing left to say. I walked out of the building hoping to catch up with Kuvo. But I could not find him anywhere in the embassy. I was scared that he had left. I went to my apartment and felt comfortable in my home surroundings. I took a deep breath of air and sunk into the couch. Then in the distance, I heard a familiar sound. It made my heart beat faster and put a smile on my face. I went out into the hallway and climbed the stairs all the way up to the roof. There I saw them, I saw the beautiful elephants that I thought I would never see again. It brought tears to my eyes and I could not control the crying. The floodgates opened and happiness of seeing the elephants mixed with the sadness of being pregnant was overwhelming.