Pyth's 365 Journal

[pythonesque]

Hey-o. My plan for this is to use the prompts to write a novel! I've participated in National Novel Writing Month the last few years, so I plan on this carrying over into it next month (November) :3  

[pythonesque]

October 1: New Beginnings

Arlenn was on her way to her brother's in the middle of the night. It was dark out, a full moon ahead and stars out, but that was the only light for miles. She was on her dragon-horse, Maloy, and was thundering across the countryside, her face set and on a mission.
Arlenn was 17-years-old, lean and short and somewhat boy-ish looking. Her mousy brown hair was spiked with turquoise highlights that matched her eyes. She was pale and freckled heavily on her face, arms, and hands. She wore light armor in greens and blues, just in case. Maloy was a great, black, long haired horse. He was strong and fast and extremely dedicated to Arlenn.
It would take most of the night to get to her destination, her brother's home far in the country. She wouldn't stop until she got there, as long as Maloy held out that long. She had faith that he would, never tiring on long trips before. It could be a dangerous trip, though. Her land was full of poverty, which made for thieves and desperate individuals, and full of strange, dangerous creatures, especially at night. A few times, she say eyes in the woods and fields around her, but Maloy was large enough that they thought twice about attacking and they were gone before they could.
Halfway through the night, they stopped near a bridge. Arlenn carefully hopped off Maloy, patting him gently on the muzzle and speaking softly to him, thanking him. She trudged down to the river's edge, Maloy following, and bent down to drink some water. Maloy followed suit. A moment later, there was a splashing across the shore. Arlenn straightened up, drawing her sword. Her eyes scanned the darkness, searching for anything.
"C'mon, Maloy, we should leave," Arlenn said softly. She patted his shoulder and they cautiously began to turn around.
When she did so, something shot out of the water and wrapped around her ankle. It's hand was webbed and barbed, the barbs sinking into her ankle and beginning to drag her towards the water. She cursed and contorted her body, sword still in hand, and jabbed at the hand. She saw glowing green eyes just below the surface of the water, and that was all. It seemed impossible for something to be there yet still hidden with how shallow the water was.
Maloy whinnied and stood on his hind legs, snuffing angrily. However, he was scared of the creature and of hurting Arlenn instead of stomping on the creature. Arlenn struck again, this time cutting herself loose. She scrambled up the shore on hands and knees, quick enough to get away, and hurried back to the road. Looking back, she saw the creature splash back into the water with a frustrated shriek.
"That was close," Arlenn panted, looking down at her ankle. It was one of the more exposed parts of her armor, since it was at a joint. She was bleeding and limped slightly, but was all right. Maloy nudged her arm and she stroked his muzzle comfortingly, "Let's go. We can take it slow for a bit, get a little break that way."
It was dawn when they came thundering up the last pathway to the house. It was in the midst of an orchard and garden, trees full of fruits and fields full of harvest around it. Her brother was a light sleeper, but was on his own schedule out here.
"Go sleep or graze, Maloy. We'll probably be here for a day or two before we leave again," she told him, pressing her face to his muzzle. He neighed and trotted off, knowing the area well.
Arlenn went up to the door, knocking lightly. She had a key, but still felt weird just intruding like this without any warning. She hoped he'd be up, either still awake from last night or happening to wake early, both of which were possible. It took a few minutes, but the door swung open.
"Arlenn?" the man asked, sounding concerned. He resembled her, with the same long face shape and long, straight nose, but was about seven years older. His hair was darker and curlier, cut in an undercut and sweeped messily to the side. He, too, was pale and even more heavily freckled, spending his days outside, and had deep blue eyes, "What are you doing here?"
"We have a problem, Asten," Arlenn said, looking a nervous.
"A ... problem? Is everyone okay?"
"For now."
"What? You're making me worried."
Arlenn let out a long sigh, "You should be. Let's go sit down, okay?"
"Yeah..."
Arlenn followed Asten through the house. They sat down in the livingroom, Asten staring at his sister with concern.
"The Galaxy has declared our planet obsolete," Arlenn said nervously, "We have six months to vacate, or to improve our conditions, or we'll be cut off..."
"What?" Asten gawked.
"The ruling was a surprise. It showed up in Dad's papers last night..." Arlenn continued, "It says our living conditions were sub-standard for the average citizen and they wouldn't continue to have us in the Union if we kept it up. The choice is ours, they said..."
"But that means... They'll take our Orbiter, right?" Asten asked, still in shock. The Orbiter was the only thing that kept them in rotation around the sun. They had been knocked off course by a meteor years before, when Asten and his twin brother, Ajax, were young and before Arlenn was born, "Everyone will die..."
Arlenn nodded solemnly, "And we don't have the resources or the allies to move everyone, either."
Asten ran a hand through his hair, eyes going wide.
"We need your help," Arlenn said softly, "You are the Celestial Prince."
Asten's brows furrowed and he laughed gently. He'd traveled the stars for a few years, after he ran away from home and his princely duties at eighteen and before settling down in the country a few years ago.
"Do they still call me that?" he asked.
Arlenn nodded, "Ajax is the Earth Prince."
"What are you?"
Arlenn looked suddenly nervous, "I ... don't have a title."
"I don't know how to be a prince," Asten shook his head.
"We don't need a prince. We need someone who knows what's out there and how to talk to people and how to fix this."
"I don't know how to fix it!"
"Asten, shut up! You need to listen to me. We can't do this without you. Mother and Father are still stuck in their own ways, even now. They think that we need to stay out of the problems of the Union, but look where that got us? Ajax is great for the people, for trying to make that connection we need, but he knows nothing of other cultures! And I've been stuck in that stupid castle all my life - I'm not as brave as you are."
"I think you are," Asten mumbled.
Arlenn sighed, "That's not my point, brother."
"I know, I know. You just ... caught me off-guard. Of course I'll help. Of course."
"What do we do first?" asked Arlenn.
"Contact people. I know people, at least..."
"Asten?" a voice asked, soft and a little eerie. They both looked to the doorway, to the man standing there.
He was pale, not humanly so, but a crisp white-blue color. His eyes were wide and white, too. His lips were dark blue as was his neatly cut, shoulder-length hair. His figure was mostly human, too, but with strange, wispy, elongated qualities. His fingers were long and light, his torso and legs were, too, and his shape was subtly feminine. His feet didn't quite touch the ground, even if they looked like they did, instead hovering slightly above it.
"Hello, Remm," Arlenn greeted him warmly.
"Something is wrong," he said, tilting his head and looking confused.
"I'm sure you know what it is," sighed Asten.
Asten had brought Remm home with him after his travels. They had met, fallen in love, and that was that. Remm had no real home and no real family, so he decided to be with Asten. He was human-like in basic structure, but had strange mental powers that Asten and Arlenn and everyone else lacked. He could hear thoughts and see what was happening and what was to come, at times. It was never much, but little ideas of things. Still, it often weirded people out, part of the reason that Asten was so far from home now.
"Yes, I heard," Remm nodded, meaning he heard their thoughts about it as he slept, "I saw Arlenn approaching."
"Come, sit. Maybe you can help," Asten said and he listened, sitting next to Asten and gently putting a hand on his leg, "What do you think?"
"They need Asten," Remm agreed, softly, "It will be mostly Asten and Arlenn, protecting the kingdom."
Arlenn blinked. She hadn't been expecting that. Most of her life was being the princess, someone more for show than for action, despite her secret learning of things like space, fighting, and so on, often through Asten. Asten glanced at her.
"What do we need to do?" Asten asked.
"All I know is that Asten and Arlenn must leave here, before it is too late. It will be difficult and dangerous. I will come."
"I'll go send out some letters," Asten said, standing up and realizing he did have to take charge. His parents weren't going to do it, scared of other worlds and cultures. He knew that the Galaxy and the Union had sour feelings about them all along, and that they had wished for the Princes to take rule soon. That made Asten uneasy. Despite his lack of trust and faith in his parents' rule, he still loved them. He, Arlenn, and Ajax had always thought their parents rule to be off, casting people who didn't fit the mold off, rejecting other worlds' request at being allies, limiting opportunities, ...
"Arlenn has been traveling all night?" Remm asked, cocking his head. He always made Arlenn smile and she was happy her brother had found him. Asten stopped and watched them both for a minute.
"Yes," she nodded, "Maloy is outside, somewhere. I hope he doesn't bring any of his meals close to the house..."
"Maloy is welcome, too," Remm nodded, "Arlenn is hungry, though? And hurt?"
"Hurt?" Asten asked, growing worried.
"Ah, right. That," Arlenn said, looking down at her ankle. It was swollen and still bloody, "There was a kappa or something in the water. I'm all right."
"I will take care of Arlenn," Remm announced, "Go attend business, Asten."
"Yes, love," Asten smiled slightly before heading upstairs to where he kept his technologies.
Remm attending to Arlenn, first cleaning and bandaging the wound, and then setting out food for her. She didn't realize how hungry she was until then. She ate and talked with Remm for a bit before heading upstairs.
"Did Remm fix you up?" Asten questioned, turning his head slightly towards Arlenn as she entered.
"Yeah, I'm good."
Asten nodded. He was in front of a number of screen, a few cracked, all of them aged. He had collected and brought them back from his travels, and with Remm's help, and reassembled them. This way, he had some sort of contact with the universe. It was a weak single and only worked sometimes, but it was better than nothing. His messages weren't instant like the computers out there on good ships, but had to bounce from connection point to connection point slowly. Responses might take time. Thankfully, he had set up a twin in his quarters in the castle, so by the time he got there, he should have heard something.
"What's the plan, then?"
"I'm just sending out a mass message to those I have in my contacts. I'm asking for help, advice, information... I don't really know where to begin, and understanding it more might help."
"Dad did get a lot of documents," Arlenn said, "I wasn't allowed to see them, but, I saw that he had them..."
"I hate how they treat you," grumbled Asten, "You aren't just a child and you aren't some delicate girl."
Arlenn chuckled, "I know. It's all right. Don't worry about me. I mean, a few million lives are at stake."
"s**t," Asten said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"What?"
"A few million people, Len! In six months! We have to either get them out of here or ... fix everything that is wrong with our little world..."
"I know..."
"Lord, help us..."  

[pythonesque]

October 2: Cause & Effect
Arlenn left, the men trailing her slightly. They had packed up bags as lightly, but efficiently, as they could. Remm wasn't used to riding, so he road behind Asten, gripping his waist tightly and burying his face in his back at times. It made Asten smile slightly. Their other steed ran behind them, obedient to them and loyal, carrying their bags of supplies. It took most of the day to get there, with a few breaks spotted throughout.
"Your traveling is primitive," Remm scoffed at one point, stumbling off the horse and Asten having to catch him.
"But we like our dragons, don't we?" Asten cooed to one of them, and it nuzzled against Asten's cheek.
"Yes, Dragon cute," Remm halfheartedly agreed.
It was getting dark when they arrived at the Castle. People were surprised to see Asten and Remm, having seem them last a few years ago when they first returned. Asten waved and nodded at people who called his name excitedly. The people didn't know anything was wrong yet, and it made Asten's heart sink to see them happy to see him.
Ajax, Asten's younger twin, was at the drawbridge to greet them. He thought he heard hooves through the city and then heard Asten's name being called. He rushed down the stairs, waiting impatiently for them to lower the drawbridge. It had been almost going on a year since they had seen each other, but remained in touch and were close as ever. Ajax and Asten were identical, but Ajax's hair was cut short and neat, he was slightly paler and less freckled from spending more time indoors, and he dressed more sharp and crisp. He threw his arms around his twin and hugged him tightly when they walked though, their horses trailing.
"Remm!" Ajax exclaimed next, pulling Remm into a hug as well. Remm giggled and returned the hug awkwardly.
"Good to see Ajax, too," Remm said politely.
"I'm glad you came," Ajax said to his brother.
"I couldn't leave everyone like this..."
"I know... but I think it's worse than we thought. Come," Ajax said, motioning for them to follow. He asked a stable boy to take care of the dragons.
"New developments?"
“Sorta, but I don’t know how to work that contraption of yours,” Ajax said, raising his eyebrows.
Asten smirked, clapping his brother on his back, “A computer, it’s a computer.”
“I know, I know,” Asten rolled his eyes, “And Mom and Dad aren’t being any help so far. They’re just … panicking and not doing anything.”
“No surprise there,” Asten grumbled.
“C’mon, you should talk to them,” Ajax said, a little more hopeful.
The trudged upstairs, following Ajax. Asten was surprised how well he remember the castle after not living here for a long time. Remm was wide-eyed and looking around constantly, at the stone walls and the torches and the damp. He’d been here a handful of times, but it wasn’t what he was used to.
Ajax knocked on the door to his parents’ office before he slowly opened the door.
“We have some guests?” Ajax said cautiously.
“Guests? Now isn’t the time for-“
“They aren’t really guests,” Ajax fumbled over his words now, “It’s Asten and Remm. Arlenn went and got them…”
“Arlenn did what?” their mother shrilled slightly. Arlenn winced back, farther away from the door and bumping into Asten.
“Mother, really, now isn’t the time to-“
“Arlenn is a young woman. She shouldn’t be running around in the wild by herself!”


"You didn't even know she was gone," scoffed Ajax, frustrated.
"Don't talk to your mother like that," their father butted in.
Ajax let out a frustrated gasp and threw up his hand, "This isn't what we need to be fighting about right now!"
"All right, all right, you're right..." the King grudgingly answered, "Arlenn, Asten?"
Hesitantly, the two of them entered the doorway. Remm stayed back, waiting til it was calmer or safer. Asten looked nervous and clenched his fists anxiously. Arlenn cowered slightly, ready to get yelled at by one her parents for going to get him.
"It's good you're here," the King admitted, "We need all the help we can get..."
Asten looked surprised for a minute, "I want to help. I have a lot of ideas and-"
"No, no, I'm taking control of this. I am still the King, despite what the three of you think about my abilities," he said sternly, making Asten's hope come crashing down again.
"Oh. Right," Asten grumbled, "So, what's the plan?"
"To show them we've improved, that the conditions are fine. We'll fake it if we have to," the King stated, "We don't need to be polluted by outside forces. Look what happened to you when you ran off - gone for years, returning but running off to the countryside with your foreign boyfriend-"
"Enough," Asten said sternly, his eyes flashing, "I did not come here to get reprimanded about how I've lived my life. I came here to help our people, and that should be what we're talking about."
The King lifted his chin up, looking defiant, "I'm just saying, you've done little good for the world with what you've ******** off," Asten said, turning heel, "Ajax, Arlenn, get me if you need help or something. I'm done with this."
"You respect me in my home!" the King yelled after him.
Asten stormed off, Remm nervously following him. They trudged upstairs, Asten seething and waiting until he calmed down to talk to Remm, and Remm knew it was best to leave him alone for now. Asten went up this his quarters, which he had the key for in his pocket. It had stayed untouched since he was last here, and was since a little dusty. He stomped through the room and to the closet, throwing the few things in there side to push a door open. Inside, there was screens and computers and electronics. Remm followed closely.
"Asten..."
"Yes, Remm?" he replied, still upset, but a little calmer now.
"I am sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for. You didn't do anything."
"I am sorry that I have caused grief to the Asten family."
Asten turned, surprised, "You haven't caused grief."
Remm looked uncomfortable and unsure, "King and Queen are not pleased with Remm. They dislike Remm."
"They don't have reason to dislike Remm," Asten insisted softly, knowing that Remm had heard and felt what had happened in the room, and feeling guilty, "I like Remm." Asten took Remm's hands in his own. Remm's hands were always cold.
Remm smiled slightly, but was still hurt.
"I'm sorry I brought you with me. I ... was hoping that with everything going on, they wouldn't really care anymore..." mumbled Asten.
"Priorities are misplaced."
"Yes, very much so. I know they're stressed and I know they have this ... backwards, old-fashioned way of thinking... But they're so frustrating and ... just wrong about what they think. But they're my parents and I love them."
"I know," Remm said, reaching out and gently caressing the side of his face.
Asten leaned in, planting a hard kiss on Remm's lips. Remm kissed back, his fingers lacing through Asten's hair.
"We should check on our feeds," Asten said, finally pulling away from Remm as he realized there was a lot to do. Remm nodded.
Asten slid in front of the computer, booting it up, which took ages. When it opened, there were dings of messages. He opened them, his concern growing. Some of them flat out refused to help, despite Asten having been friends with them previously, and didn't provide any reasoning to why. He went through a couple like this, which was discouraging. Then, he opened one from Rivett, a man he had a fling with and was an owner of a starfleet operation. All it said was:
"Call me on a safe channel. ASAP. -Riv."
Asten's channel was extremely safe - it was ancient and no one care about the weak, blipping messages it sent out, unless they knew what they were looking for. He sent out the alert the Riv, hoping he'd answer. It took a good half-an-hour, but he was there on the screen then. He was blonde with shaggy hair, a scruffy face, and lots of scars. His eyes were piercing green.
"Asten," Riv greeted, looking concerned.
"Rivett, s'been a while... What's happening out there? The Union and the Galaxy and-" Asten was getting frustrated already, not even having begun talking about it.
Riv shook his head, "They've been corrupted, from the inside out. There was an election a year ago... Got some new officials. Shucks, about four of them, I think. Slowly, they swayed votes and bought people off and scared people. They're buying out the universe, eating up planets and worlds and people... It's bad, Asten."
"You're tellin' me. How did this happen?"
"I don't know. I really don't. I didn't vote for any of them, but they won, and people seemed pleased for a short amount of time. Then it went bad... We're not even supposed to contact you."
"I gathered that much from the other replies."
"It's bad, Asten."
"Tell me."
"They're ... declaring planets obsolete left and right. They're doing it to planets that people don't generally care about - like yours. Small planets, old-fashioned planets, ones with little outside contact... Yours is ideal, really. They give them a time frame, making it look like they're trying to help if you don't check into it more. However, they cut of ties. People are killed for trying to help, sometimes..."
"Why?"
Rivett glanced around and swallowed, "They're eating planets for power. I don't know what they're powering - themselves or their ships or ... something worse. But, when the time period is up, they let the planet go. They shut it down and shut off connects totally and ... whatever. Like your orbiter, y'know? Then, when the world goes dark and no one can see, they turn it into energy. That's another reason for the small planets. Thousands, millions, just gone... They keep getting away with it. People are scared. They have too much power..."
"What can we do?" Asten asked quietly, horrified.
"There's people who will help. I'll help-"
"I don't want to risk more people's lives than we have to."
"I'll help," Riv insisted, "We don't want to see people die because of inaction. But, I think people need to be swayed. I think people need to be contacted directly, in person, and be shown that there's still hope. It's easy to shut off a connection or a message, but it's a lot harder to ignore the Celestial Prince at your doorstep."
Asten laughed dryly, "I am no Celestial Prince. But, I'll try..."  

[pythonesque]

October 2nd: (No) Peace of Mind
They talked a little bit more, Asten getting logistics about where Riv and his crew were located currently, and where they would be over the course of the next few weeks. If Riv's team suddenly changed directions now and went hurtling across space towards the planet, it would be a clue to what was going on for the Council. Then, he and Remm headed back into his bedroom. They sat on the edge of the bed, Asten suddenly feeling overwhelmed and putting his face in his hands.
"I can't do this," Asten said, breathing threw clenched teeth.
"You can," Remm said gently, laying a hand on his back, "Help is available. Siblings scared, too, but want to help."
"I couldn't even handle living here and dealing with my parents and the citizens, why should I be trusted to save the whole world?"
"Not just Asten doing the saving," Remm tried to comfort, "Arlenn and Ajax, also."
"Yes, I know... We shouldn't have to do this. There is a king and queen."
"Incompetent King and Queen."
Asten actually laughed, "Yes."
There was a knock on the door before Ajax peeked his head in.
"Twin," Ajax greeted, followed by Arlenn, "I'm sure you didn't just hide out here the whole time when there's world needing to be saved."
"No, of course not. I used the computer to get a hold of some help."
"People want to help us?" Arlenn asked hopefully.
"Sorta... I know some people who want to. Well, one person, really. He says everyone else is scared and if we show them we mean business, they'll help..." Asten stated. Then, he went into retelling all the issues that Rivett told them about, which didn't give any of them any peace of mind.
"So... What does this mean?" Arlenn asked.
"We have to go do it ourselves," Asten stated, matter-of-factly, "Mother and Father aren't going to. No one is going to go out of the way to help us. We have to go get people ... angry and passionate and compassionate."
"Can we?" Arlenn asked quietly.
"I think so. I ... I don't know if we can save everyone... There's so many people..."
There was a thick silence for a stretched out period of time. They all were thinking, feeling, unable to deal with all this being thrown at them all-the-sudden. They felt young and inexperienced, with no real power or ability to do this.
Finally, after swallowing, Asten spoke, "I'm leaving as soon as possible. I have a ship beneath the castle... I'll go work on it now, then leave when I have supplies and everything. We can't let Mom and Dad know, or they might stop us..."
"I'm going," Arlenn stated, stern.
"Arlenn, it's dangerous out there."
"I know."
"I barely know what I'm doing."
Arlenn smirked, "That's why you need more. I'm more level-headed than you are."
Asten stared at her for a minute and then looked away, "All right, you can come."
"I was going to whether you said I could or not."
"I have to stay," Ajax stated, "Someone has to stay here and help... We can't tell people yet, but when it comes time ... they have to know. We can't lie to them. I can make alliances with some of the monsters - there are good monsters, I already have some connections-"
"You have connections with the monsters?" Asten asked, surprised. They had learned as kids that the monsters out there weren't all bad, but were cursed to the shadows and treated as evil, when they were just trying to live. Some of them were deadly and lethal, like the kappas Arlenn ran into, but the dragons and fairies and such were smart.
Ajax smiled, "Yeah, I do. Arlenn and I know 'em because of our dragons."
"Lookit you two," Asten said, feeling proud.
"I'll stay here, to help."
Asten nodded slowly, "We should get to making preparations..."
They split up, each working on something different at first. Asten hurried down to the dungeons, Remm with him, to the ship. Their parents didn't venture down here, so there wasn't any concern with being found out. The guards knew about it and kept it a secret for Asten, respecting him more than they respected his parents in many ways. With Remm's help, mostly for the logistics of it, Asten set to work fixing up the ship for take-off. It was small and a bit old, something Asten had won through fighting rings he partook in when traveling before. It worked well and was fast, but a little bit damaged and worrisome.  

[pythonesque]

October 3rd: Childhood Memories
Arlenn set to finding supplies and sneaking them off without being noticed. Mostly, she was at work with weapons and armor right now. People generally didn't question her, either, since she was sweet and compassionate. They saw how hard she tried and how much trouble her parents gave her, much like Asten. Ajax was really the only one of the three they seemed to tolerate, mostly because he was a people-pleasure and knew how to appease them while still getting his way.
Asten had told her to get anything she could, but that the more modern weapons would be best. Staring at the different items in the weapons cabinet, she began to think that Asten had higher expectations about this than he should. Many of them were old, basic weapons. The weapons with technology were generally off-limits, but she'd get to them.
Carefully, quietly, she picked the lock on that cabinet. It was hidden in the back of the weapons hall, thought of as dangerous and avoided mostly. Thank goodness for no technology at this point, she thought, or alarms would be going off. She pulled out the few swords in there, which were inlaid with some technology. They'd been gifts from royal foreign travelers who stopped in on a docking ship and came with gifts. While the King and Queen acted grateful, they actually distrusted the people and their gifts. Arlenn figured these wouldn't be missed.
There was a lot inside that she hadn't seen before. There were some guns, but they didn't look like the ones she had shot before. Guns were a rarity to begin with, and these had buttons and lights and knobs. They made her nervous, since she didn't know exactly what they did, but she knew they'd need them.
As carefully as she could, she slipped things into a bag she was carrying. When it seemed comfortably full, she turned and started to head through the castle. She used little used staircases and secret passages to get around, just in case she'd run into someone who would start asking questions, or her parents.
However, when she rounded a corner, she almost ran into someone there. She swore, spilling out a dagger and a crossbow, and bending down to hurriedly scoop it up.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" the girl exclaimed, starting to bend down to help and then stopping.
Arlenn glanced up at her. She was one of the adviser's daughters. She was about her age, thin and pale, with dark long, red hair and bright green eyes. Arlenn knew her and spent time with her here and there, always having felt oddly comfortable around her, and one of the few people, besides her brothers, who she could really talk to. She didn't like how the world was being ran, either, and was against many of her father's old-fashioned ways.
"It's okay, Lock," Arlenn said, scooping up her things and straightening back up.
"What're you doing?" Lock asked, peering over her should to look at the bag.
"Oh... Well, Asten's back around for a day or so and needed some things..." Arlenn mumbled. She was never very good at lying.
"He needed swords and daggers?"
"Well, it's dangerous out there in the wilderness, y'know? What with the ... Kappas and Wild Dragons and things."
"Mm..."
"Something's wrong, isn't it?"
"What? No, of course not!" Arlenn said, eyes going a little wide, giving it away all-the-more.
"Tell me," Lock said soothingly.
"...I can't," Arlenn finally said.
"Why not? You tell me everything," Lock insisted. She was a combination of unyielding curious about whatever was going on as well as concerned with Arlenn. Truth was, Lock had a crush on Arlenn and had since they were young.
"Look... It's not good right now, Lock. There's a lot of stuff happening and ... You don't want to know," Arlenn said, getting nervous, "And I don't want to get caught roaming around the castle with all these weapons in bag."
"You're making me worried, Arlenn," Lock said, reaching out and putting a hand on her arm.
Arlenn groaned, "Fine, fine. Whatever. Follow me. You have to promise to keep quiet about this..."
"Of course. I always keep your secrets."
"This one is different..."
Arlenn starting off down the hall again, moving quickly. Lock follow cautiously, keeping an eye open for her. One time, Lock hissed that someone was approaching from behind them. They hurried into a locked room, Arlenn with a skeleton key to the building on her, and waited there for a few minutes. Then, they hurried off, slipping down the back stairs to the dungeons.
"The dungeons...?"
"Uhm, yeah. You don't have to..."
"No, I'm coming."
Arlenn stared at her for a minute, asking herself why she was letting Lock follow her and giving away this huge secret.
"All right. Come on."
Arlenn hurried downstairs, Lock staying close to her. There was a point when the stairs got dark, which Arlenn was used to from wandering the castle alone, that Lock reached out and grabbed Arlenn's arm. Arlenn felt herself blush deeply for a moment.
"It's okay," Arlenn reassured.
"I ... I know," Lock said quietly.
A few more sets of stairs and they were wandering into a cavern that was slightly flood and dimly lit.
"Arlenn?" Asten called.
Arlenn heard Remm talk quietly, which was followed by the sound of Asten standing up and hurrying around the corner to stare at Arlenn and Lock. He was wearing goggles on his head and was covered in blackened soot. His hand was bandaged and still bloody.
"What...? Who?" Asten gawked slightly, not sure how to react for a moment.
"Uhm, this is Lock. You might remember her..." Arlenn said nervously.
"What is she doing here?"
"I followed her," Lock butted in, seeing how nervous Arlenn was and how exasperated that Asten was, "I wouldn't let her alone until she let me follow and ... Sorry."
Asten was still staring, "You're the adviser's daughter."
"Uh, yeah..."
"Oh, lords," Asten groaned, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
Remm was walking towards them now, and he put a gentle hand on Asten's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Lock said, flustered now, "I can go..."
Remm spoke now, gently and soothing for them all, "No, friend can stay. Lock is trustworthy."
"All right, all right. Does she know what's going on?" Asten asked, taking a deep breath.
"Not yet..." Arlenn mumbled.
"Asten," Remm warned to keep the prince calm as Asten opened his mouth the snap at his sister.
"Okay, okay, just ... I'm going to go keep working on the ship..." Arlenn said, taking a slight step backwards, "Just tell her."
Remm hovered between the two areas, worried about all of them. Asten retreated back under the ship, feeling overwhelmed and scared again. Lock was confused and overwhelmed, hearing the woods ship and seeing Arlenn with arm-fulls of weapons. Arlenn was lost and overwhelmed, unsure how the handle this and realizing how major this was.
"Lock, you should sit down..." Arlenn sighed, setting the weapons down to the side.
"What's wrong?" Lock asked, reaching out and touching Arlenn's hand.
"It's ... pretty major," Arlenn finally admitted, "Sit down. Please."
They sat down on the steps, Arlenn looking at her feet for a minute. She sighed, feeling Lock staring at her.
"The world's in a lot of trouble..." Arlenn started off, slowly easing into the story and telling Lock the truth. Once she started talking, she spilled the beans about everything. Arlenn starting crying as she talked, seeing the horror and shock on Lock's face and the reality really hitting her. It made Lock tear up and tears begin to trickle down her cheeks, but Lock hesitantly reached out and wiped away Arlenn's tears.
"So, you're leaving?" Lock asked quietly.
Arlenn nodded.
"You'll come back?"
"Of course. We're not running away, we're going to get help."
"Okay," Lock said, swallowing and trying to remain composed.
"You can't tell anyone. My parents don't want anyone to know... Your father might now, I'm not sure, but ... Ajax and I just happened to be there when we found out," Arlenn explained a little frantically.
"It's okay. I won't tell anyone. I promise," assured Lock softly.
Arlenn nodded.
"What do you need me to do?" Lock asked.
"Oh, uhm..." she looked up at Asten. He had carefully crawled out from under the ship and stood next to Remm after the first few minutes of the story, feeling guilty for getting upset and not helping his sister more.
"Well..." Asten said, slowly, "We still need supplies, like food."
"I can get a lot," Lock said, standing up, "We pick up food from the kitchen for home all the time. They won't care or really notice."
Arlenn stared after she started hurrying up the stairs.
"Wait? Can you find your way back?"
"I think so."
"...Okay."
Asten cross his arms, "Arlenn?"
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry I got upset with you..."
"Oh, heck. It's understandable right now."
Asten smiled slightly and then hugged his sister tightly, "You've grown up so much."
"Oh, shucks, Asten..."
"Really. I remember when all you wanted to do was follow Mom around, or follow me around, and dress up in armor that was too big for you..."
Arlenn smiled slightly.
"You seem a lot more grown up, too," Arlenn admitted.
"Do I?"
"Yeah, well... I know that you're doing this for everyone, but ... when you were younger, you'd just disappear after stuff like this."
"I know, I know. I was stupid sometimes. Mom and Dad just ... they frustrate me so much sometimes. I know this isn't all their fault, but ... look what it made us exposed to happened?"
"They aren't all bad..." Arlenn replied quietly.
"Oh, Arlenn, I know that," sighed Asten, running a hand through his hair, "I don't mean that at all... I just... I love them. They've just made things hard on all of us and harder on the world, which they should be protecting, and ... it makes me ... disappointed."
"Maybe they'll see where they went wrong and fix things?"
"I don't know. I hope so. It's ... it's a little late..."
“No, it’s never too late to change,” Arlenn state definitely.
Asten blinked at her in surprise for a moment, then smiled, “You’re right, little sister.”

Lock was back about an hour later with almost more supplies than she could carry. It was all sensible stuff, like bread and pickled and canned fruits and vegetables and jerky. She handed it over to the siblings, happy to help.
“If you need anything at all, let me know,” Lock told them.
“We’re leaving as soon as Asten finishes and we teach Ajax to work the computer Asten has hidden… Maybe we could teach you, too? Having two people who can use it wouldn’t hurt?” Arlenn said, looking to Asten.
Asten nodded, “Yes, Ajax will probably be away a lot. I’ll have to have extra keys made…”
“Remm will make extra keys, yes?” Remm spoke up, holding at his hand for the original key. Asten handed it over and Remm hurried off to do his work.
“Lock?” Asten asked.
“Hm?”
“Sorry about earlier. It’s just all so … scary.”
“I understand.”
“Come, let’s get the computer thing out of the way. I know it will take time for Ajax to learn.”
They headed upstairs, Asten knowing he needed a break from looking at all the knobs and mechanics of the ship. It was the middle of the night now, but none of them could sleep anyways now. When they found Ajax, he was in the computer room trying to figure it out himself. He looked frustrated and red-eyed, like he’d been crying.
“Jax…?” Asten asked gently.
“What?” Ajax huffed back.
“You doin’ OK?”
“Not really,” Ajax answered, wiping his nose with his forearm.
“…Can I help?”
“It’s not about the stupid computer, which I can’t get to work, either!” Ajax exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the desk.
“All right, okay, let’s take a step away from the computer while we get upset, okay?” Asten said delicately, standing his brother up and walking him to the other room. Remm, Arlenn, and Lock were waiting there, having hung back after seeing Ajax looking upset.
Asten and Arlenn weren’t sure how to handle this. Ajax was normally the one who remained cool and collected in all situations. When they were kids, Ajax always got broken bones, busted lips, and banged up hands and knees, but they never saw him cry then. When their parents were upset with him, usually for sticking up for his siblings, he shrugged it off and didn’t really seem affected, where it hurt Asten and Arlenn. Usually, he was the one trying to calm them down and console them.
“I know everything’s hard right now…” Asten said slowly, sitting next to his twin and putting a hand on his back.
“Do you know what our parents are doing right now?” Ajax asked curtly.
“Uh, not really… Do I want to know?” Asten said smartly, trying to lighten the situation a little.
“Nothing, they aren’t doing anything. They went to bed, like nothing happened…” Ajax said through his teeth, “And here we are, trying to fix this that they shouldn’t have let happen and that we shouldn’t be the ones fixing… You are going to go speeding across the ********’ universe to find help and I’m going to be talking to dragons and trolls and trying to get people to work together to fix this here… And it’s a lost cause, since the Union has made their decision and are corrupted and … and … ******** it.”
Ajax put his head in his hands, feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to start crying in front of everyone.
“Ajax… It’ll be okay,” Asten tried to reassure.
“What if it isn’t?” Ajax, “What if we can’t do this? It seems … impossible.”
“We’ll do all we can and … that’s all we really can do…”
Ajax sat there for a minute and the nodded, swallowing slightly. He looked up at the others around the room, realizing they were all still staring at him.
“Hey, Lock,” Ajax said, smiling slightly, “So, I’m assuming you know all about this.”
“Uh, yeah. Arlenn filled me in… I’m supposed to help you man the computer – if that’s all right.”
“The more the merrier,” Ajax said jauntily, standing up and sounding like his normal self again. He brushed off his vest and headed into the other room again. Asten and Arlenn exchanged looks and shrugged, following him, “So, show me how to work this piece of junk.”
“It isn’t a piece of junk,” Asten said defensively, “It’s a decent computer for our resources.”
“Uh huh,” Ajax answered, hands in his pockets, looking down at the computer.
“All right, it’s a piece of junk,” Asten sighed, rolling his eyes, “Lock, c’mere.”
Lock and Ajax stood on either side of Asten, looking at the computer with some skepticism.
“It’s easy once you start learning. I promise,” Asten assured them, “Let’s start simple… This is how you turn it on and off.”
Asten began with the basics – turning it on and off, typing, choosing and clicking on objects, and so on. Once they seemed to have a handle on it – Lock learning faster than Ajax – he moved onto more complicated things. He went over how to send out messages, both text and voice-based, and then how to video call people.
“Arlenn and Remm, you both know how to work a computer, right?” Asten asked.
“Of course,” Remm scoffed.
“I think I remember,” Arlenn shrugged. She’d been interested and learned a few years ago from Asten and occasionally used the one in the castle to talk to Asten when he was in the country. It’d been a few months since they used it.
“Arlenn remembers,” Remm assured cheerfully. Arlenn laughed. Asten managed to smile.
“All right. You two go downstairs, call this computer from the ship when you get there.”
“Sure,” Arlenn nodded. She and Remm hurried from the room and downstairs. It took them a solid fifteen minutes to get there. Upstairs, Asten, Ajax, and Lock went over the mechanics of the computer again, making sure they had the hang of it.
The computer started beeping and alerting them of a call. Lock looked at Asten, who nodded slightly, and reached out to touch a series of buttons that answered the call. Ajax crossed his arms, staring at the buttons as Arlenn flickered onto the screen.
“We’re going to have to label these or something,” Ajax stated.
“I’ll remember how to do it. I can show you when you forget,” Lock offered timidly.
Ajax smiled, “Sure.”
“We’re going to hang up and call you, now,” Asten said.
“All right,” Arlenn nodded.
“Hang up, Jax,” Asten directed.
“Oh, right,” Ajax grumbled, reaching out hesitantly. He moved his hand over one button and Lock made a frown. He moved his hand towards another and she nodded slightly. Ajax pushed it and the screen was blank again.
“Okay, now try to call her.”
Ajax sighed slightly, reaching out and hitting a few buttons when Lock looked approving. It took a few minutes of trial-and-error. Then, Arlenn started to flicker up on the screen again.
“Hey,” Arlenn said, sounding hushed and them barely being able to see her in the dark, “Someone came down here.”
“What? Who?” Asten replied.
Arlenn turned slightly, looking out of the ship. Remm had felt that they were coming and snuffed the lights out.
“I dunno…” Arlenn said quietly.
“They won’t do anything,” Asten said.
“I know that… I don’t think you want Mom and Dad to find out and try to stop us,” she mumbled, “Remm’s dealing with it…”
There was a tense silence for a little bit. Remm could read minds and could manipulate them, too. He had cautiously stepped out to talk to the men, easing them away from the ships and dungeons, and making any sort of memory of this fade from their minds.
“All right, we’re clear…” Arlenn said as Remm returned to her side.
“We should get going soon,” Asten sighed, “Before more people find out.”
“Sorry,” Lock mumbled.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant…” Asten said, frowning slightly, “I think … you’re going to be a lot of help.”
“Oh,” Lock blushed, “Thanks.”
“Now, I have a bit more work to do on the ship before I’ll be comfortable taking Arlenn and Remm on it.”
The rest of the night was spent in the dungeons, Asten crawling back into and under the ship to work on the mechanics. Remm directed him what to do occasionally, when Asten was getting a little tired and confused by the hours and hours of work. Ajax, Arlenn, and Lock sat around, talking quietly about the future and their fears.
Ajax wouldn’t act too bothered by it on the outside, already embarrassing himself once by almost losing it, but he was scared of Asten and Arlenn leaving. It scared him to know that the two most important people in his life were going to be out there, hurtling across space, fighting against people who wanted their world dead and struggling to get allies.
Arlenn was scared, too, never having gone into space before at all. She’d traveled on her own with Maloy, going pretty far sometimes without letting her parents know. But, she didn’t want to leave all she knew and the safety of the castle, yet she knew if she didn’t, it wouldn’t be here much longer if she didn’t.
Lock was scared, having just realized how strong her feelings were for Arlenn, and being scared that Arlenn wouldn’t return for whatever reason. On top of it, she felt this dark secret she wasn’t supposed to know inside her and this burden on her shoulders about knowing that the end of their world as they knew it was quickly approaching. <********!” Asten suddenly swore. They heard a commotion from under the ship, all of them on their feet now. Remm’s eyes got wide and he hurried close to the ship.
“Asten?” Remm asked worriedly, feeling Asten’s influx of pain and panic.
“It’s okay,” Asten said hesitantly, Ajax helping him now to crawl out from underneath the ship. He was cradling his arm slightly, and they saw it was burnt, blistering, and bubbling.
“Lords, Asten!” Ajax exclaimed, carefully getting him to his feet.
“It’s okay. I was just stupid. It’s fine,” Asten said quickly, not wanting to make them worry too much, despite the searing he felt on his arm. His eyes were watering and he clenched his teeth.
This wasn’t helping their worries. They were already getting off on a bad start, Asten hurt before they even took off. If they had trouble with something like this, what did that mean for when they faced dangerous people, had to maneuver through dangerous terrain in the space, or when the creatures out there came after them?
“It’s okay,” Asten reassured again, “I made a stupid mistake. Fixing ships is dangerous… That’s why they have machines do it, for the most part.”
“Will fix,” Remm said, reaching out for Asten. Carefully, they sat Asten down, and Remm grabbed some supplies from their healing kit.
“We can’t waste them already,” Asten grumbled, “We might need them later…”
“I can go get more,” Lock offered, “I … know how to get into the storage.”
“Go on,” Ajax nodded.
Remm started mending Asten’s burn. When he put burn potion on it, Asten hissed and grew away in pain, but Ajax steadied him.
“You’ve always been like this,” Ajax teased gently, “Always getting hurt and making me worry. Running off and …”
There was silence that hung in the air as Remm continued working on the wound.
“Remember the first time you ran away?” Ajax continued, smiling again, “The first time you really ran away?”
Asten looked up at him.
“When you were gone for three weeks and came back full of briars and thorns and infection?” Ajax continued.
Asten snorted slightly, “Yeah, I remember.”
“…Be careful out there, will you?” Ajax said quietly. He looked up to Arlenn, “Both of you. If anything happened…”
“We’ll be fine,” Arlenn reassured, “Asten will watch out for me and I’ll keep him grounded. And we have Remm, who’s always a lot of help, and my Maloy. We’re a good little team.”
 

[pythonesque]

October 5th: Speed
Once got Asten’s wound patched up, Asten finished up the ship. They finished loading everything onto the ship, now worrying about clothing for the three of the travelers. They backed minimally, but enough that they could last for an extended period of time and have a variety of things for different circumstances.
“Arlenn, I’ll go help you grab the last of your things,” Lock said, slipping her hand into Arlenn’s. Arlenn blushed suddenly.
“Okay.”
When they hurried off, Ajax and Asten exchanged looks. Asten smirked slightly and shrugged.
“I’ll be darned,” Ajax stated, crossing his arms and smiling after them.
“I think I have everything,” Arlenn said dumbly when they got up to the well-lit passageway above the dungeon. It was morning, and light was starting to spill in from outside, but everlasting torches were still lit.
Lock planted a kiss on Arlenn’s lips. It was a little too It was a little too ardent, knocking their noses and teeth together slightly with Arlenn not ready for Lock to make a move. For a moment, Arlenn was wide-eyed in surprised, but then she kissed back. Lock was taller by a good bit, so Arlenn ended up on tiptoes with her fingers in Lock's long hair.
"You'll come back, right?" Lock asked softly, her forehead against Arlenn's.
"Yes. I promise," Arlenn said quietly, "I can't just leave everyone and runway like I'm scared."
"Don't be too stupid, huh?"
"I'll try not."
They kissed again for a long while before they heard footsteps and, giggling, hurried back downstairs.
"Where's the rest of your stuff?" Ajax asked smartly, making Arlenn blush.
"Arlenn did not go to get stuff-" Remm said, blinking in confusion. Sarcasm didn't go over well with him, with his mind-reading abilities. He knew that Ajax had caught on to what was really going on, but didn't understand that reasoning behind being sarcastic about it.
Arlenn only turned redder with Lock blushing lightly now.
"Shhh," Asten smirked, touching Remm lightly on the shoulder.
"Oh," Remm said, making a bit of a face, but understanding a little better now that Asten was near.
"We really should get going. If we wait much longer, Mom and Dad are going to be getting around and looking for us..." Asten said, looking a little nervous, "Are you sure you don't want to come along, Jax?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. Someone has to hold down the fort here - Lords know that the King and Queen won't deal with this whole situation really well," Ajax smiled.
"You'll be the good child, per usual," Asten smiled back.
"Ack, well, what can I say?"
Asten threw his arms around his brother, holding him tight. For a moment, they were both worried they were going to cry. Both had the fear in the back of their head that they wouldn't see each other again - that Asten and Arlenn would get killed out there, or that they wouldn't get help and make it back in time.
"Keep in touch. Lock knows how to use the computer," Asten said in his ear, "I love you, brother."
"I love you, too."
Ajax turned to Arlenn next, and Arlenn's lip quivered slightly.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Ajax said, lifting up her chin slightly, "We'll see each other again soon, and we'll talk on that what-cha-ma-call-it. I love you."
Arlenn managed to smile, even thought she was on the verge of tears. She hugged her brother tightly, pressing her face into his chest. He ran his hand through her hair for a moment.
"Keep on eye on Jax, eh?" Asten said quietly to Lock, giving her a hug.
"Will do. I won't let him break the computer."
"Atta girl. No wonder Arlenn likes you."
As Remm and Ajax hugged, saying their goodbyes and promising to stay safe, Arlenn turned to Lock.
"I will come back," Arlenn promised again.
"You better," Lock answered, throwing her arms around Arlenn. She kissed her on the cheek and hugged her tight for a moment. When they stopped hugging, they lingered close for a moment, Arlenn holding onto Lock's hand.
"Come on, Arlenn. We better go..." Asten said gently, touching her back with his pointer finger. He knew that the longer they stayed, the harder it would be to leave now.
"Yeah, all right," Arlenn nodded, letting go and turning towards the ship. She glanced back and smiled slightly.
They got inside, strapping themselves into the seats. Asten sat in the pilot seat and had Arlenn sit in the co-pilot seat to keep a better eye on her. He knew that Remm could handle himself, so he was sitting in one of the side chairs.
"You sure this can still fly?" Arlenn asked nervously.
"It passed the hover test," Asten answered.
Ajax and Lock were standing near the stairs, watching as Asten booted up ship. It was egg-shaped, blue, with large front windshields and sliding doors. It was decently sized, with the cabin, a bathroom, a living area, a cooking area, and two sleeping areas, more like a small apartment. Lights flashed on, lighting up the rest of the inside, and a series of lights on the outside blazing. Maloy was curled up somewhere in the ship, sleeping. The flight wouldn’t bother him – Dragons were actually made for space traveling.
Asten turned on the engines, them blasting and roaring, the sound echoing through the dungeons. The ship began to hover, making Arlenn grip the arms of the chair in panic.
"It's okay. I know what I'm doing."
"Lords, I hope so!" Arlenn exclaimed as the ship started to jerk forward.
It was a little rusty and not well-kept because of the lack of flying, but once it was in the sky again, it would warm up to flight again. The ship leaped forward, towards the exit through the moats of the castle. Ajax pulled Lock back, away from the sparks and the fire coming from the ship as it started it's journey.
Asten scrapped the ship against the sides of the walls of the large aqueduct, sparks flying. Arlenn closed her eyes tight and held her breath.
"I just got to get the hang of it again," Asten reassured, speaking through gritted teeth himself.
A minute of bouncing off the walls and Asten straightened the ship out, flying it straight and heading towards open air. It burst through, skimming the top of the water for a moment and burning some of the grass. Asten pulled back on the controls, sending the ship into the air.
"I'm going to be sick," Arlenn groaned.
"Are you really?" Asten said, glancing at her nervously. He'd been worried about bringing her. Flying took a lot of adjusting to begin with, and he knew how dangerous this whole mission could be. To earn money years ago, he was in fight rings. This time, they had dug into their inheritances, taking coins that had trickled in from other worlds and the ones they knew could be traded for supplies later on.
"I dunno..." Arlenn groaned, looking pale.
The ship continued it's hurtling towards the sky, out of the atmosphere. It broke through suddenly, jerking them all slightly, and that was when Arlenn threw up. A moment later, they were move level, hurtling through space. It was a lot less rocky now and almost seemed like they weren't moving much at all, thought they were hurtling forward. The ship had artificial gravity, so they didn't float around the cabin or the rest of the ship.
"I'm sorry, Arlenn," Asten apologized and kept apologizing as he unbuckled from his seat. Remm was already there with cloths to wipe Arlenn's face with.
"No, I'm sorry. This is embarrassing," she said, still looking pale.
"No, it's okay. It happened. I warned you," Asten stated. She nodded slightly, letting Asten wipe her face and neck off before he unbuckled her, "Remm, watch the pilot's chair."
Asten walked Arlenn across the cabin, towards the bathrooms. Arlenn was unsteady on her feet. Asten could feel it a little bit, too, having flown in a few years. He had enough previously that it didn't affect him too drastically. Leaving Arlenn in the bathroom for a minute, he got her some new clothes.
"It's okay," Asten comforted her as she still looked pale and green.
"I'm sorry. I'm just making everything worse," Arlenn said, her lip quivering.
"No, no, no. Look, listen to me. I snuck on a supply ship and hid in the back and the first time, I crashed all over their supply room and threw up on the walls. You're fine," Asten reassured.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"I guess that makes me feel better..."
Once Arlenn got changed and cleaned up, Asten directed her to the beds. He assured her it would be calm traveling for a while and sleeping might be helpful, since they hadn't really slept in days and she might begin to adjust slowly. She fell asleep quickly and Asten checked on her often.
"Was this a bad idea, to bring her?" Asten asked Remm as he plopped down in the co-pilot's chair.
"Was good idea," Remm assured.
"You're just saying that."
"Remm does not lie. No need to lie."
Asten sighed, "I know..."
"Arlenn will get used to travel. Arlenn will be important, I am sure."
"What do you know?"
"Not as much as Remm would like. Know that Arlenn is capable and stronger than brothers realize. Arlenn is kind and brave and strong."
"I know that..."
"But is little sister, so vision is clouded for Asten."
"Mm, I suppose...”  

[pythonesque]

October 6-9: Mayhem
The next few days were relatively calm. Arlenn adjusted quickly to the traveling after sleeping most of the first day. Soon, she was peering out the windows awe-inspired and checking out the ship. Maloy wondered around with her, nudging her slightly and purring. It made Asten smile, seeing her interest in it now that she felt better. Ajax checked in with them once, leaving a voice message and saying he couldn't get a good connection with them. They sent one back, to make sure they knew they were all right.
"It can get boring sometimes," Asten admitted.
"Boring? How can this get boring?"
"Well, it all kinda looks the same when there aren't any planets or comets or anything," Asten said, standing next to her, hands in his pockets, "And, as fast as we're going, it's still sometimes a little ... slow. Like riding Maloy, y'know? It still takes time."
"I suppose..."
After another couple of days, Arlenn began to see a little bit of what he meant. They were cooped up in the ship and just traveling, traveling. Asten said it'd be another day or two until they got anywhere worthwhile. Arlenn read a few books she had brought in that time, books that Arlenn had actually brought from other planets full of history and adventure.
"What time is it, even?" Arlenn asked. It was easy to loose track of any sort of idea of time this way.
"Oh..." Asten said, looking at his watch, "Middle of the day back home."
Arlenn yawned, "Why am I so tired?"
"Traveling. Loosing track of day and night. That sort of thing."
"You never seem to sleep," Arlenn said, stretching. He didn't. She'd seen him sleep for a couple of hours here and there, leaving Remm in change. Otherwise, he was in the pilot's seat, hands at the controls.
"Oh, I don't need much sleep..."
"You should get rest sometimes. Teach me how to drive the ship."
"What?"
"Teach me," Arlenn said, jumping into the seat next to him.
"Oh, I guess..."
"You were my age when you started learning, right? And you weren't nearly as brilliant as I am," Arlenn teased, grinning at her brother.
He cracked a smile, "All right, okay. Not long, if you're tired."
"I'm probably tired because I'm bored."
Asten began by showing Arlenn what all the buttons meant. She caught on easily, remembering what most of them were for. He asked her to do a few things, like darken the windshield or turn off the cabin lights to test her skills, and she easily did it. They went over this for a little while, Arlenn absorbing it, and Asten realizing he had to let go of his protectiveness a little bit. If he didn't, having the two of them on this mission would be more problematic than helpful. He'd be too worried about her to work on the real problem.
The next day, Asten let her fly the ship. Since they were just going in a forward direction and there wasn't anything in the direct vicinity, it was safe for her to make an attempt. It was a little rocky at first, the controls needing a certain combination of finesse and strength. Again, Arlenn quickly caught on again. Later that night, realizing he was tired, Asten let Remm and Arlenn be in charge of flying the ship as he slept.
However, he was only asleep for a few hours before Arlenn was shaking him awake.
"Hey, get up!" Arlenn said, sounding a little nervous.
"What? What is it?"
"Nothing's happened yet. There's something on the radar."
"What?"
"Like ... a lot of little something's. Remm said it's probably a meteor shower..."
Asten hurried out of bed, rushing to the cabin. Arlenn followed close behind. He went to the radar screen and peered at it closely, looking between the screen and the space around them outside. As of right now, there wasn't anything in sight. He knew how quickly that could change and kept a close eye on the radar. He sat down in the pilot's chair, Remm standing next to it. Then, he took hold of the controls and began to steer away from the oncoming path of objects spotted across the radar in front of them. However, it seemed like no matter what way that he turned the ship, there was always something on the radar.
"********," Asten swore loudly, trying to swerve the ship another direction to avoid it, “I guess we’ll just have to go through it. Hopefully we can find the safest route…”
Asten slowed the ship down and to have a better reaction time once they approached the objects. In the distance, they could start to see rocks and boulders floating. For the most part, they looked slow-moving.
"Waiting might not be so good," Remm warned nervously.
"What? Why?"
"Just ... bad feeling."
Asten swore under his breath and started up the engines again, kicking them into a forward motion, but at a moderate pace. Small debris started to thunk off the windshield. Asten tried to avoid bigger chunks of things, but it was soon too dense to do so.
"These aren't rocks... Some of them are, but there's metal..." Arlenn mumbled. Asten had noticed and was growing nervous.
"Maybe you should be looking outside," he said, not looking at Arlenn.
"What? What do you think it is?" Arlenn asked glancing between the outside and Asten.
"I think ... it was a space station on a moon... We're getting close to out first destination, and right before we get to that planet, there's a generally uninhabitable planet with a moon that's ..." Asten trailed off, checking the monitor again and now knowing for sure that it was the once-moon, "... that's. ********/> "Arlenn, maybe best if avert eyes to back of ship, yes?" Remm said, even he sounding a bit nervous. He stared at Asten as he talked to Arlenn, Asten's thought affirming their worries.
"I'm not going to run and hide. I knew this would be dangerous," Arlenn said sternly, planting her feet.
"You shouldn't see this."
Soon, the pieces were getting bigger and some were more recognizable as pieces of ships or housing units. They all stared, waiting for something to happen...
"Is that a-" Arlenn started to ask, then her voice caught in her throat. There was a limb, mangled and bloody, but recognizable.
"All right, to the back," Asten ordered more sternly now. He stood up, taking Arlenn by the shoulders, and starting to direct her back into her room. She was currently gaping with slightly glossy eyes at the floating arm as it thunked against the screen. She had seen people hurt and mangled pretty bad, but this was a little different. It made her begin to realize how severe this was.
"I'm okay," Arlenn insisted, though her voice cracked.
"Lenn, I don't want to having to see this stuff..."
"I know, but ... I'm going to have to, right? It's not like I want to, but..."
"...Please? At least for today, just, go back to your room?"
"Fine."
Arlenn went to the back, deciding to read and try to stay distracted. Asten went back out to the pilot's seat, and the scene only began to get worse. There were bodies, torn up and swollen from space, floating in the metal and the moon. Asten couldn't figure out how it happened, and wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
"Could be unrelated," Remm offered, trying to be helpful, as Asten worried it was because of the same situation they were in. Asten pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, trying to block out everything, getting more frustrated at Remm than he should be.
"Maybe best if steer ship..." Remm offered again as a few larger chunks of things approached quickly.
"********, I know," Asten growled, taking hold of the controls again to veer through the debris. They could hear things scrape and lightly thunk off the outside. It hasn't helping Arlenn to ignore it in the back, either. She stuffed her head under a pillow and tried to muffle the noise.
They got through the thick of it, things beginning to thin out again. There were still a lot of debris, since it had slowly spread and begun to float out and away into space. When they thought they were in the clear, there was a jerk of the entire ship. Arlenn toppled out of her bed. Asten braced himself on the dashboard and Remm tripped, falling over.
"Everyone all right?" Asten called.
"Good," Remm answered, sitting up.
"Fine!" Arlenn called, "Can I be un-banished again?"
"Wait a sec-" Asten started to talk, but another jerk shut him up quickly. The engines coughed slightly and the ship began to slow.
Arlenn hurried up front, despite not being told she was allowed. She helped Remm to his feet first before jumping into the pilot's chair.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Her brother shook his head, looking confused and concerned.
The lights flickered.
"I don't like this..." Arlenn whined, growing really scared this time.
"Shh..." Asten said, staring at the dashboard. Everything looked okay, but the engines were reporting failure and the lights were going out and everything non-essential was powering down. Generators were staying on, leaving a few lights on and the gravity and things like that, but the rest of the ship was going into conservation mode based on damages. The ship had now stopped, hanging in space amidst debris and the dead.
Asten stood up, heading over to one of the closets.
"What're you doing?" Arlenn demanded, spinning in the chair to face him.
He pulled out a spacesuit, something old and worn. It was orange with a bulky helmet, like something their knights wore in battle with the fringe and face shield, but had a synthetic layer of protection.
"I think I have to go out there," Asten said evenly, not sounding too alarmed anymore.
"Go out there? Are you nuts? There's ... there's dead bodies everywhere and moon junk and ... Asten, you can't go out there!" Arlenn said, standing up and beginning to panic.
"Hey, shh. This is part of it. This is part of what we have to do," Asten said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't think..." Arlenn swallowed her statement, realizing she had some childish expectations about this journey. She nodded dumbly.
"Remm will monitor Asten's status," Remm said, standing up again.
"Thanks," Asten mumbled.
"What if ... something happens?" Arlenn asked fearfully.
Asten wouldn't look her in the eyes now, instead focusing on putting on the suit, "The communicators will still work. Get a hold of anyone you can and get help. There's enough power and food like this to last you months..."
"Asten..." Arlenn said, desperately.
Asten looked up at her, looking alarmed and afraid. He managed to smile slightly, taking hold of her shoulders again to kiss her gently on the forehead. He and Remm exchanged a look and a slight nod. He was finished with the suit already, having become accustomed to donning it before.
"There's a walkie talkie here," Asten handed Arlenn the communication device, "Let Remm concentrate on monitoring the gauges for everything, eh?"
Arlenn nodded.
Asten pressed the door button, opening up the inside door for him to exit into the lobby. In the lobby, he attached his lifeline to a spot in the wall. Monitors became alive with readouts from him, his heartbeat and his health and his oxygen out there. The doors shut, and once they did, the second pair opened to let him out into space.
"Arlenn?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, I'm here," Arlenn answered, panic in her voice. They couldn't actually see him from in here, but could hear him.
He edged around the outside of the ship carefully. There was a tool belt at his waist and he half pushed himself, half swam through the darkness of space, using hand and foot rungs to stay stabilized to the ship. Soon, he was near the engines. They were glowing and red, like they were working fine. He edged under the ship and saw the problem - a clog in the energy valves. It converted outside energy into their oxygen and mad them able to travel. Normally, the screen was enough to protect from anything getting sucked into that part of the ship that wasn't meant to, but the screen had been torn off at some point and large bits were in there. With a start, he realized one of the pieces stuck was a body.
"Asten?" Arlenn asked as his heartbeat spiked and his breath grew a little strained.
"Yeah, uh?" Asten replied, feeling sick. He hung there a moment, holding onto the hand rung and trying not to get sick inside his suit.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"Asten!"
"I'm fine. There's just a, uhm, clog..."
"A clog?"
"In the energy vacuum. I ... I can fix it."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Mmhm. Just... Not used to this."
He wasn't going to tell them. Arlenn didn't need to know something like that. Remm, as serene and steadfast and inhuman as he seemed, would somehow figure it out unless Arlenn buried it away right away. Things bothered Remm more than others, sometimes, because of that mind-reading and feeling-reading he had.
Carefully, he used the hand rungs on the belly of the ship to pull himself over there. It took some effort to make his body move that way. By this point, it looked like the body was mostly a bloody mass, but he could recognize hair and clothes on it. His stomach was doing backflips.
"Almost there..." Asten mumbled, trying to reassure them, and knowing he wasn't.
"Okay..."
Asten hesitated to teach out to the vacuum. He reached once and jerked his hand back, fearful of the smooshed body. Then, slowly, he reached out to tear away one of the larger rock chunks. At first, it seemed fine, but then, it caused the bodies head to shift and lull, slowly. It still had part of the face - just the eyes - bloodshot and wide and blue. The rest of the face was based in, bloodied and bone, a few teeth visible and remaining. Asten jumped back, fumbling for a moment with the rungs and the rock in his hand, fighting the urge to scream and vomit.
"Asten!" Arlenn called in his ear. It woke him up a little, allowing him to reach a run before he started to stray from the ship. That would mean restarting this little process of getting under here, if they had to have him reeled in.
"I-I'm okay," Asten reassured again, squeezing his eyes shut.
"What's wrong?" she said, softly this time. His already quick heartbeat jumped again, scaring both her and Remm.
"Nothing's wrong," he said, swallowing, "My hand slipped from the rungs when I was trying to get ... the clog and I got scared. It's silly..."
"All right..."
Asten held his breath, to try to steady himself somehow, and set back to work. This time, he didn't look at the body, and tried to ignore what it was. Instead, he focused on reminding himself that he had to do this to keep their mission on track, to keep Arlenn and Remm safe, and that nothing could be done to help these people now. He dug into the vacuum a little more, a little cautious of it. If it was pulling in bodies and moon chunks, it could mean that it would try to drag Asten in when it kicked on. It wasn't supposed to, but Asten wasn't exactly surprised. It was an old ship, and things started going wrong like this, things that were dangerous if not handled consciously.
Soon, much of the bits and pieces were yanked out. There was the body and the last rock remaining, the rock that was keeping the body wedged in there. He set on breaking that apart with a hammer, knocking much of it off into space. Then, he had to reach in and dig again. His body and arm was so close to the dead, and he could feel it through his suit. It felt welt and stick and goopy, somehow. Maybe it was his imagination and panic making it up, but he almost swore he could hear it-
All the sudden, the rock and the body were wedging free, but the vacuum kicked back on. One hand was steadying Asten, and the other was reaching, and now the one was getting pulled in with the body and the rock.
"Turn it off!" Asten shouted.
"What?"
"Turn the - ah! Turn the vacuum - ah! - off!"
The vacuum was ripping at his hand, his arm, pulling it in and ripping it up with the rocks and the body. He tried to pull against it, but wasn't nearly as strong as the ship. His hold was ripped from its hold, and he thwacked against the moon rock, head hitting and bouncing off the inside of his helmet, and he felt blood run down the side of his head. His mask was pushing up against the dead body now, smearing blood against the screen. And his arm, he couldn't even explain the pain.
"Ah, Remm! Arlenn!" he cried, desperate, "Ahrgh!"
The vacuum ate things, tearing it up and disintegration it into usable energy. It was tearing at strips of his arm - his skin, his nail, his muscle . Thankfully, it was focusing on the rock and body, since it was easier to continue eating at that than him, alive and struggling. However, his focus was fading and he saw darkness on the edge of his vision. The pain was unbearable, his head was bleeding, his panic was high...
Then, it all stopped. The vacuum coughed once, spitting him and the other objects back out. He started drifting back through space, feeling like he was falling, as his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Asten?" Arlenn called, frantic, beginning to cry, "Asten!"
Remm, in one of these rare moments, took charge now. He hurried over to the controls, pushing the buttons that made the ship began to retract the lifeline. It pulled Asten in slowly and gently, as he floated and bleed, unconscious in space. It seemed like some of the longest minutes of both Arlenn and Remm’s lives. The cord pulled him into the small lobby, and they immediately saw all the blood.
“No, no, no. Hurry up,” Arlenn muttered at the door, standing at the door with wide eyes. The outside door shut, leaving Asten to fall against the floor. It took another minute before the inside doors opened and allowed Arlenn and Remm to rush through.
Arlenn squeezed through the barely opened doors and rushed to Asten's side. She knelt down, hesitant to do anything. His arm was mangled and bloodied. There was blood on his helmet, too, but Arlenn couldn't tell where it was actually from. With all the blood, tearing, and torn up cloth, it was hard to tell how bad it was at first. With a start, she realized his was missing his pinky and ring finger.
"Oh, lords..." Arlenn groaned, clasping a hand to her mouth.
Remm was hesitantly standing to the side. Asten was out cold, so he couldn't get a read on his feelings, but Arlenn's were overwhelming him. She looked up to him with wide eyes.
"Should I ... can I take off his helmet?" Arlenn asked.
"I ... don't know," Remm admitted honestly, ringing his hands.
"Asten, can you hear me at all?" Arlenn asked him, gently touching his chest. She could tell her was breathing, but there was no response. Hesitantly, she reached out for his helmet. As gently as possible, she lifted his head up and eased the helmet off. There was blood on the outside of it, which didn't make much sense, but also blood on the inside. He had a gash on the side of his head, wet with blood.
Carefully, she picked him up. Arlenn was strong, as strong as either of her brothers, both naturally and from training. Cradling him carefully, she headed to the room that Remm and him shared. Remm hurried to the doors, opening the few closed doors between there and the room. Then, she laid him out on the bed and hovered nervously over him for a moment.
"It'll be okay, Asten," she said softly, brushing hair out of his face. Remm stood nervously in the corner, unsure of what to do. He didn't do well under certain types of pressure, and seeing the person who mean the most to him in the whole universe hurt was one of them.
Arlenn grabbed the first aid kit. She'd been trained to deal with wounds and injuries, from dragons and trolls and monsters, but this seemed a little different. Taking a deep breath, she tried to tell herself it wasn't that different, that people lost fingers dealing with those things, too, and that she'd just deal with it like it was the same situation.
With supplies in-hand, she rushed back into the bedroom. Remm was still hovering nervously halfway across the room, unsure and scared. She set her things down on the nightstand and took a deep breath - the linens were already heavily stained with blood from his arm and his head.
Fumbling and unsteady, she applied some creams delicately that were made to stop bleeding. There wasn't a whole lot she could do right this minute, besides stop the bleeding, clean the wounds, and then bandage up the damage. Still, stopping the bleeding was sometimes half of the battle in itself.
The wound on his head, while bleeding a lot, really didn't seem that bad. It was swollen and bruising, but after some cream and wrapping Asten's head with bandages, the bleeding soon slowed then stopped. However, his arm was another story. It was mangled and stripped of flesh and muscle, sometimes to the bone, and the two missing fingers made Arlenn feel sick. It seemed like when she got one part mended a little, she realized how bad another section of his limb was.
It took a solid hour of work, leaving Arlenn drained and covered in her brother's blood, for her to actually stop all the bleeding and managed him up adequately. She realized there was blood smeared on her face, too, from wiping sweat away or pushing a few stray hairs from her face.
"Can you ... Can you sit with him for a minute? He should be okay now. I have to ..." Arlenn trailed off when Remm nodded. She was wide-eyed and pale, feeling overwhelmed and trembling slightly.
She hurried off to the bathroom, turning on the sink and scrubbing her hands until they felt raw. Then, she filled the basin and plunged her face into it, waiting a moment to pull away, gasping for air. It was then that she started to cry, heaving sobs that shook her shoulders. She put her face in her hands, leaning on the sink and trying to calm herself down. Things were bad enough without making Remm more stressed or anything else. Arlenn took a long time in the bathroom, figuring that Remm would come get her if anything went wrong. Finally, she washed the last of the blood from her skin and headed back out.
"Arlenn is all right?" Remm asked. He was sitting next to Asten, his hand on Asten's chest. He looked dull - his white skin and hair was a bit gray now.
"Yeah, I guess..." she mumbled, plopping down in a chair in their room, "Asten seems okay?"
"Out cold."
"I figured..."
Remm and Arlenn waited impatiently for Asten to wake up. He slept pretty soundly for the day, looking pale and a little gray, but seemed like he was only sleeping. Arlenn debated calling Ajax for help, but then she didn't know what to tell him and decided to wait for a while to see what happened. They had left the ship off, too, unsure what to do and how to handle the ship now.
Arlenn was sleeping in the chair when Asten let out a low groan, shifting in his bed. He blinked his eyes open, everything seeming bright and a little fuzzy. Remm was at his side in a moment.
"Lords..." groaned Asten, his voice hoarse.
Arlenn heard her brother's voice, woke up, and scrambled to her feet. She hovered by his feet, nervous and scared.
Arlenn's hand went to his head, feeling the wrapping there.
"Wait-" Arlenn reached out and tried to stop him, but he was already mid-movement.
Then, Asten winced, feeling the paint shoot through his hand. His eyes grew wide and he turned a little green.
"Ohhh, ********," Asten groaned, remembering all that happened. It was a little foggy, but he started to remember the accident and being unsure what the outcome was going to be. He laid back in his bed, fighting the urge to throw up or cry.
"Hey, it's okay," Arlenn said gently, trying to keep him calm. She gently touched his ankle, letting him know that she was there. He looked down at her, seeing how hard she was trying, feeling strangely proud all the sudden. He realized that she must have taken care of him, knowing Remm wasn't exactly the best at handling blood and wounds.
Asten cleared his throat slightly, choking back tears, "So, uh, how many fingers..."
"Two. Just the unimportant ones," Arlenn said, smiling slightly.
Asten actually laughed, "Oh, good."
"It was your pinky and ring finger," Arlenn clarified, knowing that she was, by default, the one who had to remain calm and take charge, "Your arm's ripped up pretty good, too. Are you in much pain?"
"Uh, kinda," Asten admitted hesitantly. He glanced at Remm, who knew the truth of the throbbing, stringing, shooting pain that was going on in his arm, especially any time that he moved. Arlenn crossed her arms, "Yeah, I'm in pain..."
All right," Arlenn said, turning to the cabinets and pulling out some pain medication, "Here, take these."
Remm stepped aside, allowing Arlenn to take charge. Asten swallowed the pills with a drink of water.
"Thanks," Asten said, glancing at his arm.
"You'll be okay, right?" Arlenn said, voice quiet and small all-the-sudden.
"Yeah, of course," Asten said, looking up at her and smiling slightly, "It's all right. It isn't my dominant hand or anything... Thanks for taking care of me."
"Of course I'd take care of my brother," Arlenn shrugged slightly.
"The ship isn't moving," Asten said, cocking his head slightly in realization.
"I can't fly it myself," Arlenn stated, "Remm and I thought it was best if we waited..."
"It'll take a few hours to charge up again now," Asten stated, not seeming too concerned.
"I will turn on," Remm stated, everyone a bit more at ease now that Asten was awake. He hurried off and started hitting buttons to turn the full engines back on.
"What even happened out there?" Arlenn asked, "You ... you looked pretty bad."
"Ah," Asten said, uncomfortable. He looked at his arm, seeing how even now the bandages were red and bloodstained, "It was the vacuum that creates the fuel for the ship. It was jammed..." Blearily, he remembered the dead body being jammed in the vacuum and he blanched again. More of what happened was coming back to him now, and thinking of all he left Arlenn to deal with was making his chest feel tight. He tried to blink away some tears, but it wasn't working this time.
"Hey, it's okay," Arlenn said gently, "I didn't mean..."
Tears started streaming down Asten cheeks, just at everything. Everything that happened in the last day, of the pain he felt and loosing his fingers, of the body stuffed into the vacuum of the ship, of dragging Arlenn and Remm along with him, of leaving Ajax behind, ...
"Asten, it'll be all right" Arlenn hugged her brother's shoulders, putting her head against his shoulder. He continued to cry gently, unsure what else to do right now, but feeling a little better in the embrace. She let him cry for a long while, until he calmed down and let out little hiccups. She hurriedly wiped of his face and smiled at him.  

[pythonesque]

Gilding the Lily
Gilding a Lily
“Your name’s Charlotte, you said?” Johann repeated gently, sitting her down on a chair in the bathroom.
Hesitantly, she nodded. She felt foolish and violated, but was grateful for this kind stranger who brought her into his home. She had bled on his carpet and some of his furniture, but he didn’t mention it, he only carefully guided her to the bathroom. He looked sad. He understood what she went through, seeing the bruises and the wounds, the ripped clothes and the punctures on her neck.
“Do you remember... who did this?” Johann asked, getting a washcloth damp with warm water.
“It’s foggy right now. Everything’s foggy,” she mumbled in reply, then sniffled, trying to hold back tears.
“Shh, it’s okay. It may come to you soon. When you get … attacked like this …” he trailed off. He knew she was still recovering, reeling about the fact that her life was just turned on its head and slowly accepting the fact.
“I’m one of you now…” Charlotte said, horrified and wide eyed, staring at him, “I’m a Vampire, like you…”
“’Fraid so,” Johann said, looking sympathetic, “Let me wipe the blood off your face…”
“Did this happen to you?” she asked quietly as he began to gently dab one of the wounds on her face. She hissed and grew back, then apologized.
“No. I’m a natural born Vampire. It’s complicated…” he answered, pausing, “It’s not like your human legends. Our blood still pumps and our breath is still there, just … slowed and not as necessary. Vampires can still bear children. It’s more of a … a … virus that transforms you when … this happens than the … “
“Than the dying,” Charlotte finished, understanding. She nodded slowly, her eyes brimming with tears and looking distant.
“Right...” Johann said, swallowing, “Look, I’m really very sorry about all of this.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Well, no, but…”
“But what?”
“Nothing.”
She cocked her head, curious, “I have the right to know after all that just happened to me.” Her voice broke a little as she spoke.
He looked surprised and the nodded, “I just feel … responsible sometimes. They are my brethren, and I am … their Prince.”
“You … You’re a-a…”
“It’s not like that. I distanced myself from them, from my father and my clan and from the Vampire world. I … just worry that if I would have stayed, I could have changed things.”
“I can’t believe any of this,” Charlotte said, holding her head.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”  

[pythonesque]

⇉ ♛ ⇇
I think I'm going to continue this, for the summer at least.
At this rate, it'll take me 365 years to complete.