Part 19
As the sleepy group ate breakfast, Serena studied her sister and Max. She noticed that Michael was eyeing them suspiciously as well. The look they shared clearly said that something was up.
Unable to stand his curiosity anymore, Michael spoke up.
“Maxwell, what’s going on with you and my sister?”
Max and Liz started, surprised to discover that there were other people
in the room. After Michael’s
question registered with them, they both turned bright red.
“What are you talking about?” Liz asked innocently.
“Oh, come off it, Liz! We know something’s up.
Serena and I can sense it, remember?”
Liz sunk in her seat and squeezed Max’s hand.
“Might as well tell them now,” she muttered.
“What? Tell us what?” Alex asked.
Max looked at Liz, and then turned to their friends.
“Well, you see, we’re kinda…engaged.”
“What?!” Michael and Serena hollered in unison.
“Oh my God, Oh my God!” Maria shrieked.
“Married?” Alex and Isabel murmured.
“Cool!” Kyle and Rafe exclaimed.
“Congratulations, your majesties,” Brody and Cera said.
After the comments died down, Max added, “She’s also going to adopt
Kyle and be his mother.”
“Really? That’s great. You’ll
be a much better mother than that tramp, Tess,” Isabel said.
Liz grinned. “Thanks,
Izzy.”
“Have you two even thought about this?” Michael demanded.
“Of course we have, Michael. We’re
going to get married next month after Liz turns eighteen.”
“Where?”
“Las Vegas.”
“Wh- you know what, I don’t even want to know,” Michael mumbled.
Serena gazed at her sister with tears in her eyes.
Liz noticed her and asked, “What’s wrong, Serena?”
“Nothing,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
“No, tell me, sis.”
Serena sighed. “I just
can’t help but think that I may not be around to see you get married. Do you think that I could maybe perform the Antarian joining
ceremony so that you’d be married in one way before I die?”
All Liz and Max could do was nod.
“Alright, then. Brody, I
need eleven candles. Make that
twelve,” she said as Valenti walked in. “Once
you have the candles, give each one of us one.”
Brody searched the house and returned with the candles.
“Good. Everyone get in a
circle, but Max and Liz go into the center.”
“What’s going on?” Valenti whispered to his son.
“Max and Liz are about to get married Antarian style and I guess
we’re helping.”
Jim raised an eyebrow in surprise, but turned his attention back to
Serena.
“Michael, you and I will go around the circle and light everyone’s
candles with our powers, but don’t light Max and Liz’s.
Serena stood directly in front of the couple and said, “King Maxwell,
do you profess your undying and true love to my sister, Elizabeth? Do you
promise to keep her safe from harm and remain true for eternity? Do you promise
to put her first and trust in her judgment? Do you promise to be as great a
father as you can to your children?”
“Elizabeth, do you profess your undying and true love to my King,
Maxwell? Do you promise to keep him steady and remain true for eternity? Do you
promise to put him first and aide him with decisions? Do you promise to be as
great a mother as you can to your children?”
“By the stars above me, I promise to fulfill my duties as a wife and
keep Maxwell steady and happy.”
Serena held her hand over their joined ones and the Royal seal appeared
on their wrists.
“This
symbol marks you as one for eternity. To
give our love and support to Maxwell and Elizabeth, I ask that their friends and
family light Maxwell and Elizabeth’s candles.”
When
the candles were lit and everyone’s flames had touched Max and Liz’s, Serena
continued. “As the Royal
protector and sister of Elizabeth, I now pronounce you husband and wife and
proclaim Elizabeth as reining Queen. You
may kiss the bride.”
The
kiss that was shared between the husband and wife brought tears to all of the
women present. It was sweet, yet
filled with passion and unimaginable love.
Serena turned her head and her eyes met with Larek’s.
They smiled sadly at each other and turned to admire their King and
Queen.
“They’re
so happy,” he whispered.
“They
deserve to be after all that they’ve been through.
I just I was going to be around long enough to see them grow even
happier, and to see Liz as Queen. She’s
going to be great.”
“Yeah,
she will,” he agreed as a song started to play.
The
newlyweds began to dance as the words to “Come What May” started.
Max looked at Liz and softly sang,
”Never
knew I could feel like this
Like I’ve never seen the sky before
Want to furnish inside your kiss
Everyday I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing
Telling me to give you everything
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you, until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day.”
Liz took over.
“Suddenly
the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn’t seem such a waste
It all revolves around you.”
Max joined her.
“And
there’s no mountain too high, no river too wide
Sing out this song and I’ll be there by your side
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide
But I love you ( I love you), until the end (until the end) of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day
Oh come what may
Come what may
I will love you (I will love you)
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day.”
“I meant that, Elizabeth Evans.”
“So did I,” she replied.
Serena smiled and glanced back over at Larek.
“I have to go, sweetie,” he said.
“I know, just be waiting for me when I pass on.”
“Serena, if I have anything to say about it, you will not be joining me anytime soon.”
Serena just shrugged and watched her love disappear again. She looked over at the happy faces of her friends and family and couldn’t help smiling. Little did they know that their happiness would be short lived.
Part 20
After giving Max and Liz several hours to “celebrate” their union, the gang regrouped in the living room to discuss tactics.
“Serena, you know them the best. What
are their weaknesses?” Max asked.
“Well, I know Tess’ weakness is Kyle and the Valentis.
Nicholas is cocky and arrogant to the extreme, and Lonnie and Rath are
just stupid. A mind warp can easily
fool those two. Khivar, however, is
complicated. On one twisted level,
I’m his weakness. I know that he
loves me, but would kill in a heartbeat if he had to.
I’m really not sure what his true weakness is.”
The group gave a collective sigh, but Michael squeezed his baby
sister’s hand reassuringly.
“Liz, how well versed are you in your powers?” Serena asked suddenly.
Liz thought for a moment. “The
fanciest stuff I can do is make a shield and astral project, but I had help with
that.”
Max turned to stare at his wife. “Since
when can you make a shield?”
“I did it when we were captured. Rafe
was really pissed off after he came to and was flinging things around the room
with his powers. A letter opener
came flying at me and I just put up the shield.
I didn’t even think about it.”
Max nodded that he understood and Serena said, “Do you think you could
do it again?”
Liz nodded. “Yeah, I’ve
done it once or twice.”
“Good. What about you,
Kyle?”
Everyone turned to look at him in surprise.
“Uh, I can do a shield, make power blasts and freeze stuff. My mind warps are still pretty weak.”
“What? I still don’t get what the hell is going on with you,” Maria
mumbled.
“That’s a long story that we can discuss later,” Kyle said with
finality.
“Its must be one hell of a story,” Michael remarked.
Jim just looked at his son and had an uneasy feeling that he knew how
Kyle had powers.
“Okay,” Serena continued, “that helps.
We’ll definitely need your help. Li-
what was that?”
“What?” Liz asked in confusion.
“I think I heard a twig snap on the left side of the house.”
“How the hell did you hear that?” Michael asked.
Serena shrugged. “I’ve
always been able to hear, see and smell things far away.
Oh God, it’s them. I can
smell Khivar.”
“Shit! What do we do?” asked Jim.
“Liz, Maria, Jim, Alex, Brody and Rafe, go hide in the walk-in closet
at the end of the hall. If we need
any of you, I’ll call you telepathically.
Go, now!” Serena ordered.
Alex,
Maria and Liz kissed their significant others and ran after Jim, Brody and Rafe. Serena turned back to the others.
“I
think its time the king began issuing orders.”
“Right. Cera and Kyle, you two watch the left side of the house and
guard the garage entrance. Izzy and
Michael, you two take the back; Serena and I will take the front.
Be careful and watch each other’s backs.
Go!”
Receiving
their orders, the troops crept to their stations to wait for the enemy.
The wait was not a long one.
Part 21
“Where are they?” Max hissed at Serena.
Serena rolled her eyes. “Chill
out, I only heard them like five minutes ago.
They’re probably doing last minute strategizing.”
“Oh,” Max said sheepishly.
The warrior beside him shook her head and concentrated on listening for Khivar.
Within seconds, she heard noises coming from the bedroom to her right.
“Shit, they must be going in through a window.
Let’s go,” she whispered.
Max and Serena kept low to the ground as they crept to Brody’s bedroom.
Serena listened for a moment and confirmed that all five were in the
room.
‘Okay troops, they’re in Brody’s bedroom’ Serena said to
the others telepathically.
‘Hope that didn’t make them shit in their pants’ she thought,
giggling.
Max looked at Serena and whispered, “We’re like five feet away from
our enemies and you’re giggling?!”
“Sorry, couldn’t help it.”
Several seconds later, the Calvary arrived.
“Jesus, Serena. That
little telepathic thing scared the shit outta me,” Michael mumbled.
Serena had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
“It seems kinda weird that they all came through the same entrance,”
Kyle whispered.
“I heard them, they think that only Brody, Rafe and I are here,”
Serena replied.
“Ambush?” Cera asked.
“Ambush,” confirmed Max.
With that, Serena flung the door open with her powers and they all put up
their shields.
Khivar and his followers turned to face his wife and her friends.
“Serena, nice of you to join us.”
“Eat me! No wait, you’d enjoy that.”
Rath snickered at that and was sent a death glare from Tess.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Michael muttered.
All hell broke loose with his words.
Serena and Max went after Khivar, while Michael took on Rath, Isabel
attacked Lonnie, Cera launched her assault on Nicholas, and a very pissed Kyle
concentrated on his goal: to beat the shit out of the girl he once called a
sister.
Though
Khivar took a good beating, he inflicted loads of pain on Max.
Serena was lucky and didn’t get it nearly as bad as Max so she took
care to hurt Khivar as much as possible.
“You’re not gonna win this time, husband,” Serena
growled as she threw him through the air.
“We’ll
see about that, wife,” he spat out.
While
Michael, Rath, Lonnie, Isabel, Cera and Nicholas were also beating the shit out
of each other, the most interesting battle was between Tess and Kyle.
“Why
are you fighting their battles, Kyle? You’re not on them, you’re human,”
Tess said as the two circled each other.
“Newsflash,
bitch, it is my battle,” he said before he shot a blast at her.
“What
the fuck?” she exclaimed.
“Azarn
Law of the house of Sero, here to beat your ass,” he said with a mock bow.
“You
little bastard,” Tess hissed as she launched herself at Kyle
Amidst
the confusion and flying fists and balls of power, no one noticed that Liz had
entered the room, determined to get her revenge on Tess.
That
is, no one noticed until Liz sent a deadly jolt of power at Tess that knocked
the bitch to her ass, totally devoid of life.
All movement in the room ceased as the shocked warriors stared at Liz. Isabel took the opportunity to finish what she was doing and
snapped Lonnie’s neck. Lonnie’s
companions were too shocked by Liz to do anything about it.
“Liz,
honey, what are you doing here?” Max hissed.
Liz
just continued to stare at Tess’ body and only looked up to lock eyes with Khivar.
“Rayana,”
he murmured.
Liz
just nodded and the two groups continued to stare each other down.
After what seemed like an eternity, Nicholas shot a blast at Liz, and
what remained of the enemy tore out of the house.
“This
isn’t over, Serena!” Khivar called over his shoulder.
Serena
fought the urge to run after him and turned to her injured sister.
Max already had her head cradled in his lap and was trying to connect
with her.
“No,
Max. You’re in too bad of a
condition. Let me heal her,”
Serena said softly.
Max
began to argue, but was silenced by his brother-in-law’s look.
He nodded his head in acceptance. Serena
knelt before her sister and connected.
When
Cera saw that her “mother” was in good hands, she collapsed to the floor.
Kyle was immediately at her side.
“Cera,
what’s wrong?”
“Nicholas,
the little prick. He did something
to my head and it hurts so bad.”
“Let
me see if I can help,” Kyle said as he put his hands on her face.
The
two quickly connected and Kyle was able to find the spot where Nicholas had
“kicked” Cera. He healed as
best he could and pulled out of the connection before he lost concentration and
accidentally let Cera see flashes from him.
“Wow,
Kyle. How did you do that?” Cera
asked in wonder.
“Like
I’ve said, it’s a long story.”
The
two continued to gaze into each other’s eyes until they were brought out of it
by Serena’s shriek. Her shriek
also brought Isabel out of her thoughts.
“What
is it? Is Liz okay?” Max asked, totally panicking.
“Yeah,
I’m fine,” said Liz as she sat up.
“What
is it, Serena?” Michael asked his little sister.
“Oh,
um, can I talk to Max and Liz alone for a sec?” Serena stammered.
“Sure,
we’ll go get the others,” Iz said.
Serena
nodded and the other four left the room.
“Sis,
how did you do that to Tess?”
“I’m
really not sure. I came down here
determined to at least help kill her and I just felt this boost of energy,”
Liz replied.
Serena
grinned at the information.
“What
is it? Liz is okay, right?”
“She’s
better than okay, she’s pregnant,” Serena replied with a twinkling in her
eyes.
“Pregnant?”
Max and Liz exclaimed in unison.
Serena
nodded. “With triplets,” she
added.
“So
when am I due?” Liz asked, trying to keep her head straight.
Serena
arched an eyebrow. “In a month,
like all Antarian pregnancies.”
“Mary, Mother of God,” Max muttered before he hit the ground, out cold.
Part 22
“What happened to Max?” Maria asked as the others joined Max, Liz and Serena in Brody’s disastrous room.
“Good Lord, my room. Those
bastards will pay for this!” Brody shrieked as he surveyed the damage.
“What was that for?” he asked after Maria slapped his arm.
“Max is lying unconscious on the floor and all you can talk about is
your room?!”
“People pass out a lot around here, I’m used to it!” Brody shot
back.
“Enough! You’re making my headache worse,” Max groaned as he sat
up.
Isabel rushed to her brother’s side.
“Max, what happened?”
'Can I tell them?' Max asked in
Liz’s head.
Liz looked up at him, startled.
'Max?
' Yeah, babe. I’m here.'
'Wow, this is incredible.
How are we doing this?'
'I don’t know, but Serena could so I figured that we could as well.
Anyways, can I?'
Liz grinned. 'Of
course.'
“Well?” Michael asked impatiently.
“Well, Liz and I have another announcement to make.”
“I think I’d better sit down,” Michael, Maria and Cera said in
unison.
“Here goes…Liz is pregnant.”
Michael rocketed out of his seat and looked ready to explode.
“Wait, there’s more,” Serena said with an amused look on her face.
Michael glared at his youngest sister and turned back to his other one.
“What
else?”
Liz
drew a deep breath and said, “Well, its going to last a month like all
Antarian pregnancies. Plus, I’ve
having triplets.”
“Oh my God!” was the collective response.
While the rest of the group sat in stunned silence, Serena once again
burst into giggles.
“Are you okay, Serena?” Max asked.
“I’m fine. Do you
realize that in a month’s time you will be the father of a two-month-old child
and three newborns? You’re parents are going to get a kick out of that!”
Max and Liz went green.
“She’s right; they’re going to kill you!” Kyle exclaimed.
“Speaking of killing,” Isabel said, “you did quite a number on
Tess. Would you care to explain to
the class?”
“Finally! I thought I was the only one who wanted to know,” Maria
said.
Kyle sighed. “Fine, I
might as well tell you all now. You
know how my mother left when I was little?” Everyone nodded and Jim flinched. “Well, there was a reason.
She was an alien.” Jim paled, but didn’t say anything.
“She contacted me a few weeks ago in my dreams and explained
everything. Mom said that she was a
close friend of Mara’s. Mara sent
her here seven years before the four of you hatched so that she could keep an
eye on the pods. She came to Earth
with no intention whatsoever to get involved with a human, but that all changed
when she met Dad. They married and
had me. Mom was also a friend of
Sero and Via, the rulers of another planet in the same system as Antar.
They were Az’s parents. Graner
killed Az the same day as the rest of the Royals.
Since they had been unable to recreate him, they begged Mom to put his
essence in me while she was pregnant. She
did, but to insure my safety, my powers would not show until I connected with
her, but I guess Max worked just as well. Anyways,
for a while everything was perfect, then Khivar found out that she was here.
To protect my father and I, she returned to Antar and made us think that
she’d just walked out.” Turning to his father, he added, “I’m sorry she never
told you and that I didn’t either. I
just wanted to protect you.”
Though he was crying and totally upset, Jim nodded and embraced his son.
The others just watched the father and son with awed expressions on their
faces.
“I wanna be an alien now! I feel so left out,” Maria whined.
“Me too,” Brody agreed.
“What about you, Alex?” Maria asked.
“I already am one. Cera
did raise me from the dead, after all.”
“Guess it’s just you and me,” Brody said, putting his arm around
Maria.
“Great,” Maria muttered sarcastically.
Part 23
“Damn it!” Khivar exploded as he flung several chairs across the room with his powers.
Nicholas and Rath flinched, but knew better than to say anything.
“That damn Rayana has interfered for the last time.
She’ll be the first to die.”
Nicholas nodded. “Of
course, Khivar.”
“Don’t ya think it’s a little strange that lil’ Lizzie suddenly
became so freakin’ powerful?” Rath asked.
Khivar and Nicholas turned to stare at him.
“The idiot’s right,” he muttered to himself.
Khivar was silent for a moment, lost in thought.
An idea dawned on him.
“Maybe she’s pregnant,” he suggested.
Rath snorted.
“This should be interestin’.”
“Goodnight, Kyle,” Liz whispered as she lay the baby in the new crib
in her room.
Liz turned to her husband.
“We need to tell our parents in the morning.
I don’t like having to sneak the two of you up here.”
Max nodded.
“Neither do I. Hey, do you
think there’s any pie left downstairs?”
Liz grinned.
“Of course, I’ll be right back.”
She gave Max a quick kiss and headed downstairs.
Liz bent over to look in the refrigerator and jumped when she felt arms
go around her waist—arms that didn’t belong to Max. She whirled around, ready to attack, only to find herself
looking at a surprised Sean DeLuca.
“Jeez, Parker, I’ve been gone for three weeks and this is the welcome
I get,” he said playfully, leaning in for a kiss.
Liz quickly sidestepped him.
Sean frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Liz sighed and looked anywhere but Sean.
“What’s wrong? Are we not together now or something?” Sean asked,
getting upset.
“No Sean, we’re not together anymore.”
“Why?”
“Max and I, well, we’ve gotten back together.”
“What? The guy broke your heart more than once and you’re dumping me
for him?! I don’t see why you put up with that dick,” Sean said in disgust.
“Don’t you dare talk about my husband like that!” Liz hissed,
immediately on the defensive.
Sean’s eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped.
'Liz? You okay?'
'Yeah, but Sean’s here.'
She could feel Max’s frown through their connection.
'Why?'
'Did I forget to mention that I never broke it off with him?'
'LIZ!'
'Sorry. The whole thing
between you and me didn’t start until he had left for California.
I was too caught up in us to talk to Sean. Don’t worry; I know how to take care of him.'
'Right.'
“Sean, are you okay?” Liz asked.
“You’re married? Since when?” Sean hollered.
“Since today,” Max answered from the top of the stairs.
He joined the other two and wrapped a protective arm Liz. Sean just shook his head.
“How the fuck do you get so lucky, Evans? You screw over and abandon
the greatest girl in the world time after time, and the minute I leave, not only
do you win her back, but also you marry her! There’s something really strange
about everything that involves the two of you and your friends and I’m gonna
find out what that is. Believe
me.”
With that, Sean turned on his heel and stormed out of the café. Liz leaned into Max and groaned.
“Sometimes I really can’t stand him,” she mumbled into Max’s
shoulder.
Max laughed and turned to start up the stairs.
“C’mon, let’s go see if our son is asleep yet.”
Liz’s face lit up at those words and started up the stairs. Her smile vanished when she heard a throat clear above her.
Max and Liz looked up to find Jeff and Nancy Parker staring down at them.
“I think you two have some more explaining to do,” Jeff said.
“Shit,” Max and Liz muttered in unison.
Part 24
“We’re waiting,” said Jeff impatiently as he and Nancy watch the two teens pace in front of them.
'Might as well call your parents and get this over all at one time' Liz
said in Max’s head.
Max grimaced.
'Yeah. Be right back'
Max left the room and entered Liz’s.
Jeff and Nancy looked at Liz questioningly as to why he suddenly left.
“Max went to call his parents. They
need to hear this as well,” Liz said quietly.
Nancy raised an eyebrow.
“Jeff, can I talk to you for a second?” she asked as she pulled her
husband into the kitchen.
“What do you think is going on with them?”
Jeff stared at her.
“You mean besides the fact that they’re aliens?” he asked dryly.
“Of course! You heard them, they have a son.”
“They were talking about Kyle and unless I’m mistaken, Kyle is the
product of Max and that blonde alien tramp.”
“But Max said ‘our’ son. It’s
not like they incapable of hiding something like that from us. What if Kyle is really Lizzie’s?”
“I highly doubt it. Look,
just wait until they tell us what’s going on before you start freaking out.”
“Freaking out? I am not freaking out!” Nancy shrieked.
Jeff sighed, but was cut off by Liz’s voice calling, “Mom! Dad! Diane
and Philip are here!”
“Since when does she call them by their first names?” Nancy hissed.
Jeff shrugged and led his wife back into the living room. After greeting each other, Diane asked, “What’s going
on?”
'Ready?'
'As I’ll ever be' Max mumbled.
“Mom, Dad, Jeff, Nancy, we have some things to tell you.
Um, this morning Liz and I kinda…um…we…uh…” Max looked to his
wife for help.
“We got married. Married
by Antar law, at least,” Liz finished.
All four parents started, but Max held up his hand.
“We have two more things to tell you before you speak.
First of all, Liz is adopting Kyle so that she’ll be his mother in
every important way. Since Liz
killed Tess this afternoon she won’t be a problem.”
The adults stared at the petite and sweet girl in shock.
“The other thing you need to know is that…I’m pregnant with
triplets and due in a month,” Liz said in one breath.
A stunned silence fell over the room.
'Well, they’re awfully quiet'
'Yeah, the calm before the storm' Liz replied.
Max gave her a nervous half smile and squeezed her hand.
Finally, the silence was broken.
“Yo, Lizzie! Your window was open so I thought I’d—Oh, hi Max,
everyone,” Ava said as she walked into the room.
The adults just stared at her.
“What’s their deal?” Ava asked.
“We just told them that Liz and I got married yesterday, that Liz
killed Tess, and that Liz is pregnant with triplets.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “I’m
impressed.”
Liz grinned and hugged the pink haired girl.
“What are you doing here, Ava?” she asked.
“Well, I heard Khivar and his peeps was givin’ yous hell so I thought
I’d drop by and see if I could help out.
I didn’t miss the fight, did I?”
Max smiled wryly. “Well,
the only ones dead are Lonnie and Tess. That
still leaves Nicholas, Rath and Khivar.”
Ava nodded and said seriously, “I also heard about ‘Rena.
How’s she doing?”
Liz sighed and shrugged. “I
don’t know. She’s so stubborn
and won’t let us help her. How do
you know her?”
“She knew Zan and kept in regular contact with him.
That’s why he refused to go to the summit—she told him not to.
I talked to her quite a bit, but we never told Lonnie or Rath that we had
a connection to Antar. We kinda
figured they’d freak.”
“Yeah, they probably would have,” agreed Liz.
“So, how long are you here and where are you staying?”
“I thought maybe I could stay with you, if it ain’t a problem.”
Liz and Max looked at each other.
“I don’t know, we’re probably staying with Michael tonight. Could you deal with staying there?” Max asked.
“Sure, I ain’t picky. Alls
I need is a place to sleep and I’m cool.
S’ok if I put my stuff in the Jeep?”
Max nodded. “Yeah, I think
we’re done here. Our parents need
time to digest this,” he said, motioning at the still silent adults.
Liz and Ava nodded, bid the adults goodnight, got Kyle from Liz’s
bedroom, and the four walked out the front door.
The adults just stared after them.
Diane was the first to speak. “What
just happened here?”
“I think we’ve lost our little kids,” Nancy whispered.
“That’s for damn sure,” Jeff and Philip muttered in unison.
Part 25
**Serena’s Dream**
“Larek?” Serena cautiously called into the dark bedroom.
No response.
She frowned and lit up the room with her powers.
The sight before her made her gasp.
The room was covered with hundreds of Yamadas (think red roses) and the
ceiling had vanished, making the twinkling stars above her visible.
Serena began to cry as Dian vines (think ivy with tiny white flowers)
snaked up her walls, covering them. She
cried further when the back wall of her bedroom turned into a giant waterfall,
its ruby red waters making the soothing sound she loved so much.
The light she made vanished and was replaced by the soft glow of candles
floating in the air.
“Do you like it?” Larek asked, walking up from behind to slip his
arms around her waist.
“I love it,” she whispered.
Larek smiled and waved his hand in the air. Music that Serena had never heard before began to play.
Till my body is dust
Till my
soul is no more
I
will love you
Love you
“Earth. In the future.”
Serena
didn’t even bother to question it.
Larek
turned her around and whispered, “Dance with me.”
All
Serena could do was nod.
Till
the sun starts to cry
And the moon turns to rust
I will love you
Love you
The two melted together as they danced,
completely in synch.
But
I need to know
Will you stay for all time
Forever and a day?
And I'll give my heart
Till the end of our time
Forever and a day
And I need to know
Will you stay for all time
Forever and a day?
And I'll give my heart
Till the end of our time
Forever and a day
Till the stars fill my eyes
And we touch the last time
I will love you
Love you
I will love you
Love you
I will love you
Love you
When the song was over, Larek brought his love over to sit on the bed, then knelt before her.
“Serena, I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you. I’ve always known we were soul mates and I can’t imagine living my life without you. So, um, will you marry me?”
He pulled a diamond and sapphire headband (think hippie/Indian style, only fancy) and put it on her head.
“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” she cried.
Larek smiled as his fiancé wrapped her arms around him. He had everything he’d ever wanted.
**End dream**
“Oh God!” Serena moaned as she awoke.
She’d been dreaming about the night Larek proposed to her in her last life. Just thinking about it made her miserable.
“What’s wrong, sis?” Michael asked from the doorway.
Serena looked up at him with a crushed look.
“You can’t live without a heart, right?”
Her brother could only nod.
“What happens when my body realizes that?” she asked as her voice cracked.
Michael rushed to her side and held the small girl as she fell apart in his arms.
“God, I want to die! Just let me die!” she cried into his shoulder.
“What about your son? Liz? Me? We’d be devastated to lose you, Serena.”
Serena gave a small laugh.
“I’m as good as dead anyways. If the disease doesn’t kill me first, Khivar will. I just wish it would happen soon,” she mumbled.
Michael sighed and closed his eyes.
‘What am I going to do with her?’
A knock at the door interrupted the sob fest.
“Liz’s here,” the brother and sister said together.
Michael pulled his baby sister to her feet and they went to answer the door.
“Hey guys—Ava! What are you doing here?” Serena asked in surprise.
Ava grinned and hugged the sickly girl.
“Just came by to check up on you and to kick some ass!”
Serena smiled.
“Its good to see you in person finally.”
“So, what are you four doing here at this time of night?” Michael questioned.
Max and Liz looked at each other, and then turned back to their friends.
“Well, we need a place to stay tonight.”
“Oh. I guess you two dropped the bomb on your parents.”
They nodded.
“How’d it go?” Serena asked, curious.
Liz shrugged.
“I really don’t know. Ava showed up and we left before they even had a chance to recover from their shock.”
“Yeah, thank God Ava showed up when she did. Otherwise we’d be screwed.”
Ava beamed proudly.
“I knew I had to be good for something.”
Liz caught Serena’s eye and saw the pain and devastation behind her happy façade and made a mental note to talk to her about it later.
“So, yous gonna let us crash here of not?”
“Oh, yeah. Come in, make yourselves at home, mi casa es su casa.”
“So cornball,” Liz and Ava muttered and grinned at each other.
“So,” Ava said after she sat down on the couch, “what’s up?”
The other teens looked at each other and laughed.
“Let me go put Kyle down in Michael’s room and I’ll tell you all about it,” Liz said.
She returned shortly and sat in her husband’s lap.
“Well, it all started on a trip of Max and mine to the desert one night…”
The group was unaware of the three pairs of eyes watching them from across the street.