Part 1

‘Only a few more days, and it will be ready to go,’ thought Queen Serena as she attempted to fix the Granilith. She had worked for weeks trying to fix the damn thing.  Her awful husband, Khivar, suspected nothing, or so she thought.

  “Serena! Serena! Where are you?” Tess called.

  “Just what I need, that idiot half breed,” Serena muttered under her breath.  She stood and made the Granilith disappear, then walked toward the twit’s voice.

  “I’m right here, Tess.”

  Tess whirled around and icily replied, “My name is Ava, for the last time!”

  Serena sighed and said, “Whatever, Tess. What do you want?”

  “Your husband wanted me to inform you that there’s going to be a party tomorrow in my and Kyle’s honor.  He expects you to be there,”

  “Thank you, Tess.  I wouldn’t dream of missing it,” Serena replied sweetly.

  Tess glared at her and walked off muttering, “My name is Ava, does she not get that?!”

  Serena shook her head and sat down.  It had only been a month since Tess showed up on Antar, carrying Zan’s child.  She’d named the child Kyle, supposedly after a boy she was close to on Terra (the correct name for Earth).  At first Serena was thrilled, her best friend Ava was back, but she soon learned that Tess was nothing like Ava.  Tess had betrayed Max, Isabel, and Serena’s brother, Michael.  It was so hard to think of them by those names, but that was what they were called.  Anyway, she just could not image how Tess could have killed their friend like that, and done all those horrible things to try and break up Max with his girlfriend.  Why was Tess so different from Ava?  She herself had been killed when Khivar took over their planet, but she was pretty much the same as she had been in her first life, though she was not a half-breed.  The main difference between her two lives was that past Serena had liked Khivar, but her present day self hated him with a fiery passion, though she was forced to marry him.  She’d actually been raised to marry him, all the years of her life.  If you wanted to be technical, Serena was only 9, but she liked to think the way the half-breeds did, so she though of herself as 15. 

  “Psst!  Serena!” a voice whispered.

  She looked around and saw no one.

  “Behind you!” the voice whispered again. Serena turned around to find herself face to face with her long time lover, Larek.  She grinned and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him.

  Larek kissed her back, then said grinning, “Your majesty, we must be careful while we’re inside palace walls

  Serena laughed and replied, “But of course my dear.  Besides, aren’t I always cautious?”

  Larek just smiled and shook his head.  “So, how’s the Granilith coming?”

  “I still need two days to fix it, but it wouldn’t take as long if I could get Rafe to help me.  The child does not want to do anything to upset his father, but I’m his mother, damn it!”

  As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted it.  The look of pain on Larek’s face was horrible. 

  “Honey, I meant, who he thinks is his father,” she said slowly.

  Larek looked at her and said, “When are you going to tell him that I’m his father?”

  “When he, Kyle and I reach Terra.  Then I’ll tell him, I promise.”

  “SERENA!!!” a deep voice bellowed.

  “Khivar! Damn him! I better go see what he wants.  I love you, Larek,” Serena called as she took off for their bedroom.

  “I love you, too” Larek murmured.

  Hours later, Larek lay in his bed trying to sleep, but all he could think of was Serena.  All of a sudden, the object of his obsession burst through the door, bruised and bleeding.

  With a look of horror on his face, Larek asked, “Darling, what happened?  What did Khivar do to you?”

  “It wasn’t him, it was that bitch Tess!  She said that she was tired of the way I treated her and that she wouldn’t have it anymore.  I didn’t know how powerful she was,” Serena sobbed into Larek shoulder.

  “That’s it, we have to fix the Granilith tonight so you can leave as soon as possible.”

  Serena nodded and the two lovers went back to the palace.  They worked through the night and fixed it just before daybreak. 

  “The safest time to leave would be during the party, when everyone is distracted,” Larek said.

  Serena thought for a moment, then agreed.  Larek had to leave for a meeting with the ruler of a neighboring planet, so Serena spent the day packing as much as she could.  When the party finally arrived, she was ready to go.  She put everything she had packed inside the Granilith and checked the countdown.  She had thirty minutes to go.  Serena ran to the nursery where Rafe and Kyle were playing.

  “Come on sweetheart, we’re going to go on a little trip,” she said to Rafe as she picked up Kyle.

  “Does Father know?”

  “Yes, sweetie.  Why wouldn’t he know?” Serena said nervously. 

  As they walked hurriedly down the hall, the red headed beauty sensed someone following them.  Serena turned around quickly, but there was no one.  She frowned and continued down the hallway and up the stairs. When they reached the hidden chamber, an arm grabbed Serena’s shoulder.  She shrieked and turned around.

  “Quiet!  I didn’t mean to scare you, darling,” Larek said in a quiet voice.

  Serena hit him upside the head and hissed, “Don’t do that, I thought someone caught us!”

  Larek apologized and helped the children into the chamber.  There was only five minutes left.  As they embraced for what was quite possibly the last time, Serena spotted Tess approaching.

  “Ah, hell.  The nitwit is heading in our direction,” Serena said.

  “Hello Serena.  Hello Larek.  What are you two up to?” Tess asked sweetly.

  “Plotting your demise.”

  “Very cute, Larek.  Have either of you seen my Kyle?  I left him in the nursery, but he’s not in there anymore.”

  “Maybe he got fed up with having an idiot for a mother.”

  “Shut up, Serena!” Tess shrieked.

  Serena glanced at her time teller and saw that she had less than two minutes to get rid of Tess.  She elbowed Larek and made a motion toward Tess.  Larek nodded and said, “Hey, does that man have Kyle?”

  Tess turned around and ran after the nonexistent man, screaming, “Come back here with my son!”

  Larek and Serena burst out laughing then embraced again.

  “I love you, Serena.  Don’t worry; you’ll see me in another form once you reach Terra.  Watch after our son, okay?”  Larek cried as he held his true love.

  Serena nodded and said through her tears, “I love you, too.  I’ll always love you.”

  They pulled apart and Serena walked into the chamber.  Moments later, the palace erupted as the Granilith shot upward, sending Larek’s only love into space.  He knew that she would be safer on Terra and that he would see her again through Brody’s eyes, but his heart broke because he knew that he would never truly see her again.

Part 2            Back