Megrez’s thoughts had had time to simmer over the two week cooldown. The emotions she had felt courtesy of her past self had settled, and she felt that she was ready to see the aftermath of last visit’s dramatic events. Once again, she flung herself across the universe to the planet named for its corresponding star in the Big Dipper: Megrez.

When she landed on her planet, she had a sense that she was still in the capital city, though this particular section was unfamiliar. She had been placed in front of yet another doorless building, and her experience with planet travel thus far had led her to believe that planet travel typically put her in front of important places, or at least places where there would be visions.

With that in mind, she advanced into the building in front of her, entering what appeared to be a lobby. Right as she entered, a woman who appeared to be a nurse blinked into existence in front of her. Her face was grave and her tone was serious, almost disapproving. “He’s in room 112,” she said bluntly, then walked off down a hallway. Megrez followed her; all of the number plates appeared to be broken or worn to illegibility, so she had to rely on the nurse’s every move to make it to what was room 112. She disappeared in front of a certain door, and so Megrez chose to enter that room.

She walked in on Melantha holding Elliot’s hand as he laid in a hospital bed. Elliot shook his head and said, “I don’t understand… how can you still be so kind to me, after what I’ve done?”

“I don’t hate you,” Melantha said. “I am angry at you, and I’m hurt that you would endanger this planet. But I don’t hate you.”

“I was going there to tell them I was done. I was going to disappear from that planet, because I couldn’t keep lying to you. I never thought I’d fall in love with you… but here I am.” Elliot’s head lolled off to the side, avoiding Melantha’s gaze. Megrez came to the conclusion that he must have been on a lot of painkillers.

“I understand. Look at me,” Melantha said, and she nudged Elliot’s head back over toward her. “Falling in love with a mysterious new advisor wasn’t something I expected either. But here we are. I know you love me, and that I love you. I’ll forgive you for this someday, but you have a lot of making-up to do. You’ll be monitored now until we don’t think you have to be, and you definitely won’t be leaving this planet any time soon. Until you can prove that your loyalty is to me, you’re going to be very limited.”

“I understand. If I were you, I’d do the same thing. I don’t expect you to ever fully forgive me for this. I don’t know if I can forgive myself. I will do my best to show you where my loyalties truly lie, but you’re the one who will choose whether to forgive me or not.”

“If you do what you’re supposed to do, then I will forgive you.” Melantha brushed a strand of hair out of Elliot’s face, and the two of them were gone.

A strange warmth flowed into Megrez, and with it, a new understanding. Even after Elliot’s betrayal, Melantha still loved him. More importantly, her love for her people and her planet far surpassed any hurt she had felt. The powerful love she felt for all her people, Elliot included, prevented any hate from settling in her heart, and it gave her the courage to let the traitor live and redeem him instead of destroying him.

As the warm feeling settled, Megrez felt several conclusions roll into place in her mind. Love was far more important than she had ever considered before. She loved her friends and had sworn to protect them from what she had seen in that terrible vision. Megiddo and Penthesilea had shown her what it had felt like to be loved in return, and after seeing and feeling what had just happened, she knew for sure that she loved her world. She would swear to defend it from the scourge of the Negaverse and avert that cruel future. If she didn’t give hate a chance to settle in her heart, then Chaos couldn’t follow it and settle there as well. Only when a person stopped loving was when Chaos really took hold. She would show the world just how much she loved it, and she would not lose anyone again.

Megrez knew what to write her song for the ritual about now. When she was finished, she was going to come back and do that ritual just as Melantha had wanted to do it. She would make her past self and current self proud. Slowly, she backed out of the hospital room and returned to Earth, where she would make a beeline for her computer and start writing.

[Word Count: 840
Megrez traveled to her planet on November 22nd. She will not be able to go again till December 6th.]